Wayne Bennett was an
AmericanThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
bluesBlues is the name given to both a musical form and a music genre that originated in African-American communities of primarily the "Deep South" of the United States at the end of the 19th century from spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts and chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads...
guitaristA guitarist is a musician who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themselves on the guitar while singing.- Versatility :The guitarist controls an extremely...
.
Biography
He was born in
SulphurSulphur is a city in Murray County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 4,794 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Murray County.-Geography:Sulphur is located at ....
,
OklahomaOklahoma is a state located in the South Central region of the United States of America. With an estimated 3,751,351 residents as of the 2010 census and a land area of 68,667 square miles , Oklahoma is the 28th most populous and 20th-largest state...
, and died in New Orleans
LouisianaLouisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...
. He worked with blues musicians such as
Bobby BlandRobert Calvin Bland better known as Bobby "Blue" Bland, is an American singer of blues and soul. He is an original member of the Beale Streeters, and is sometimes referred to as the "Lion of the Blues"...
,
Boxcar WillieBoxcar Willie, born as Lecil Travis Martin was an American country music singer, who sang in the "old-time hobo" music style, complete with dirty face, overalls, and a floppy hat...
,
Buddy GuyGeorge "Buddy" Guy is an American blues and jazz guitarist and singer. He is a critically acclaimed artist who has established himself as a pioneer of the Chicago blues sound, and has served as an influence to some of the most notable musicians of his generation...
,
John Lee HookerJohn Lee Hooker was an American blues singer-songwriter and guitarist.Hooker began his life as the son of a sharecropper, William Hooker, and rose to prominence performing his own unique style of what was originally closest to Delta blues. He developed a 'talking blues' style that was his trademark...
and
Elmore JamesElmore James was an American blues guitarist, singer, songwriter and band leader. He was known as "the King of the Slide Guitar" and had a unique guitar style, noted for his use of loud amplification and his stirring voice.-Biography:James was born Elmore Brooks in the old Richland community in...
, as well as with jazz musicians, including Cannonball Adderley,
Sonny StittEdward "Sonny" Stitt was an American jazz saxophonist of the bebop/hard bop idiom. He was also one of the best-documented saxophonists of his generation, recording over 100 albums in his lifetime...
and
Dexter GordonDexter Gordon was an American jazz tenor saxophonist and an Academy Award-nominated actor . He is regarded as one of the first and most important musicians to adapt the bebop musical language of people like Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, and Bud Powell to the tenor saxophone...
. In 1990, Bennett played on
Willy DeVilleWilly DeVille was an American singer and songwriter. During his thirty-five year career, first with his band Mink DeVille and later on his own, Deville created original songs rooted in traditional American musical styles. He worked with collaborators from across the spectrum of contemporary...
's album
Victory MixtureVictory Mixture is a 1990 album by Willy DeVille. The album consists of cover versions of New Orleans R&B and soul classics by DeVille’s musical idols...
. Wayne also played with
the Chi-LitesThe Chi-Lites are a Chicago-based smooth soul vocal quartet from the early 1970s, one of the few from the period not to come from Memphis or Philadelphia...
, the
Lost GenerationThe "Lost Generation" is a term used to refer to the generation, actually a cohort, that came of age during World War I. The term was popularized by Ernest Hemingway who used it as one of two contrasting epigraphs for his novel, The Sun Also Rises. In that volume Hemingway credits the phrase to...
, the
Hues CorporationThe Hues Corporation was a pop and soul trio formed in Santa Monica, California in 1969. They are best known for their 1974 hit, "Rock the Boat" which sold over two million copies.-Career:...
; among many others and cut his own
recordA gramophone record, commonly known as a phonograph record , vinyl record , or colloquially, a record, is an analog sound storage medium consisting of a flat disc with an inscribed, modulated spiral groove...
in 1968, an
instrumentalAn instrumental is a musical composition or recording without lyrics or singing, although it might include some non-articulate vocal input; the music is primarily or exclusively produced by musical instruments....
called "Casanova, Your Playing Days are Over" on the now defunct
BrunswickBrunswick Records is a United States based record label. The label is currently distributed by E1 Entertainment.-From 1916:Records under the "Brunswick" label were first produced by the Brunswick-Balke-Collender Company...
labelIn the music industry, a record label is a brand and a trademark associated with the marketing of music recordings and music videos. Most commonly, a record label is the company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the production, manufacture, distribution, marketing and promotion,...
.
Bennett was a guitarist originally known for his jazz-tinged blues guitar work with Bobby "Blue" Bland. He worked with Bland for a long time, and his solo on "
Stormy Monday"Call It Stormy Monday " is a blues song written by T-Bone Walker and first recorded in 1947. Confusingly, it is also sometimes referred to as "Stormy Monday Blues", although that is the title of a 1942 song by Earl Hines and Billy Eckstine...
" on Bland's album
Here's The Man is still considered by many guitarists to be a classic, drawing both from
T-Bone WalkerAaron Thibeaux "T-Bone" Walker was a critically acclaimed American blues guitarist, singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, who was one of the most influential pioneers and innovators of the jump blues and electric blues sound. He is the first musician recorded playing blues with the...
and jazz influences. Another standout solo on Bland's "Wishing Well" displays a compelling virtuosity in the blues idiom that would become a model for young guitarists in England such as
Eric ClaptonEric Patrick Clapton, CBE, is an English guitarist and singer-songwriter. Clapton is the only three-time inductee to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame: once as a solo artist, and separately as a member of The Yardbirds and Cream. Clapton has been referred to as one of the most important and...
who would become part of the
British InvasionThe British Invasion is a term used to describe the large number of rock and roll, beat, rock, and pop performers from the United Kingdom who became popular in the United States during the time period from 1964 through 1966.- Background :...
of the 1960's.
Bennett himself never liked to claim to be a blues player, preferring instead to be as versatile as he could be, and taking pride in being able to quote from a wide variety of popular music, including TV theme songs. In his earlier years he played a Gibson ByrdlandThe Byrdland is an electric guitar, made by Gibson. Its name derives from the names of guitarists Billy Byrd and Hank Garland for whom the guitar was originally custom built by Gibson.-Thinline series:...
hollow-body, but in later years he was also seen playing a custom Tom Holmes Cadillac solid-body.
At one time or another Bennett had also been a member of the house orchestra at the ApolloThe Apollo Theater in New York City is one of the most famous, and older, music halls in the United States, and the most famous club associated almost exclusively with Black performers...
in New York, the Regal TheatreThe Regal Theatre is a theatre located in the suburb of Subiaco in Perth, Western Australia.The theatre was named for King George VI who, at the time, had taken up the throne....
in Chicago, the Howard in Washington, D.C.Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
, the Uptown Theatre in Philadelphia and the Royal Theatre in BaltimoreBaltimore is the largest independent city in the United States and the largest city and cultural center of the US state of Maryland. The city is located in central Maryland along the tidal portion of the Patapsco River, an arm of the Chesapeake Bay. Baltimore is sometimes referred to as Baltimore...
.
Some of Bennett's training included studying guitar with Harry Volpe in New YorkNew York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
for two years; studying harmony with Nate Griffin in ChicagoChicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
for one year; studying harmony with Junior ManceJulian Clifford Mance, Jr. is an American jazz pianist and composer.-Biography:...
in Chicago for two years; and studying harmony and ear training with Tony Hanson in Cleveland, OhioCleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Cuyahoga County, the most populous county in the state. The city is located in northeastern Ohio on the southern shore of Lake Erie, approximately west of the Pennsylvania border...
for one year.
Bennett died from heart failure, a week before a scheduled replacement could be transplanted, at the age of 60.
With others
- Sam McClain - 1
- Ramsey Lewis
Ramsey Emmanuel Lewis, Jr. is an American jazz composer, pianist and radio personality. Ramsey Lewis has recorded over 80 albums and has received seven gold records and three Grammy Awards so far in his career.-Biography:...
- Columbia - 1
- Tyrone Davis
Tyrone Davis , born Tyrone Fettson, was a leading American soul singer with a distinctive style, recording a long list of hit records over a period of more than 20 years. He had three no...
- Dakar-Brunswick - 5
- Bobby Bland
Robert Calvin Bland better known as Bobby "Blue" Bland, is an American singer of blues and soul. He is an original member of the Beale Streeters, and is sometimes referred to as the "Lion of the Blues"...
- Duke-Peacock - 8
- The Chi-Lites
The Chi-Lites are a Chicago-based smooth soul vocal quartet from the early 1970s, one of the few from the period not to come from Memphis or Philadelphia...
- Brunswick - 4
- Jackie Wilson
Jack Leroy "Jackie" Wilson, Jr. was an American singer and performer. Known as "Mr. Excitement", Wilson was important in the transition of rhythm and blues into soul. He was known as a master showman, and as one of the most dynamic singers and performers in R&B and rock history...
- Brunswick - 4
- The Lost Generation
The Lost Generation was an American soul group from Chicago, Illinois. The members began singing together in 1969, after Jesse Dean completed time in the United States Army, and shortly after forming, Lowrell Simon's childhood friend, Gus Redmond , had the group record with producer Carl Davis...
- Brunswick - 2
- Hamilton Bohannon
Hamilton Bohannon is an American percussionist, band leader and record producer, who was one of the leading figures in 1970s disco music...
- Brunswick - 3
- Independents - Scepter - 1
- Jerry Butler
Jerry Butler is an American soul singer and songwriter. He is also noted as being the original lead singer of the R&B vocal group, The Impressions, as well as a Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee.Butler is also an American politician...
- Mercury - 1
- Jimmy Reed
Mathis James "Jimmy" Reed was an American blues musician and songwriter, notable for bringing his distinctive style of blues to mainstream audiences. Reed was a major player in the field of electric blues, as opposed to the more acoustic-based sound of many of his contemporaries...
- ABC-Blues Way - 5
- Five Blind Boys
The Five Blind Boys of Mississippi was a post-war gospel quartet. Powered by lead singer Archie Brownlee, their single "Our Father" reached the Billboard R&B charts in the early 1950s, one of the first gospel records to do so.-History:...
- Peacock - 2
- Soul Stirrers - GRT/Chess - 1
- Mighty Clouds Of Joy
The Mighty Clouds of Joy is an American gospel quartet.-Career:The Mighty Clouds of Joy were formed in 1960 and started out in a tradition-based style. Eventually they added soul, R&B, and rock flourishes into their musical mix without diluting the essential religious essence of their material...
- GRT/Chess - 2
- Salem Travelers - GRT/Chess - 1
- Fats Domino
Antoine Dominique "Fats" Domino, Jr. is an American R&B and rock and roll pianist and singer-songwriter. He was born and raised in New Orleans, Louisiana, and Creole was his first language....
- Imperial - 1
- Operation Breadbasket
Operation Breadbasket was an organization dedicated to improving the economic conditions of black communities across the United States of America....
- Chess - 2
- Little Junior Parker
Junior Parker was an American Memphis blues singer and musician. He is best remembered for his unique voice which has been described as "honeyed," and "velvet-smooth"...
- United Artist - 1
- James Cotton
James Cotton is an American blues harmonica player, singer and songwriter, who has performed and recorded with many of the great blues artists of his time as well as with his own band.-Career:...
- 3
- Zuzu Bollin
Zuzu Bollin was an American Texas blues guitarist and singer from Frisco, Texas. Originally named A.D...
- 1
The source of this article is
wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The text of this article is licensed under the
GFDL.
