Boyd Bennett

Boyd Bennett ( born December 7, 1924 in Muscle Shoals, Alabama; † 2 June 2002 ) was an American songwriter, drummer and rock and roll singer. His most famous song was the Top Ten hit " Seventeen".

Biography

Bennett was born in Alabama, but grew up in Goodlette Ville near Nashville, Tennessee on. Age of four he sang gospel music with his grandfather. At the age of 14 he won a talent competition with folk songs in Evansville and formed his first band when he attended high school. After military service in the U.S. Navy in 1946, he worked as a disc jockey in Louisville, Kentucky, and came alongside on as drummer and singer of various bands. With his western swing band The South Landers, which was soon renamed Boyd Bennett and His Rockets, he played on the stages of region in Kentucky, Ohio and specially regularly in the Rustic Ballroom in Jasper, Indiana. In addition, the musicians had temporarily own TV show as Boyd Bennett and His Space Buddies.

After Bill Haley & His Comets in 1954 with their "new" music that has been designated as a little rock and roll later, celebrated great successes, also changed Bennett and the Rockets their style. In 1955 they recorded " Seventeen", a song that Bennett had co-written with Carl Gorman and John Young. It was their biggest hit, and peaked at number five on the U.S. pop charts. A cover version of the Fontane Sisters placed even on rank 3, and Rusty Draper found himself with a version in the top 20 again. In the UK, managed alongside Bennett's original, reached the 16th place, also a cover of Frankie Vaughan in the Top 20

In addition to Bennett also sang band member Big Moe (actually James Muzey ); He was lead singer on " Seventeen" as well as on the second hit in the U.S., " My Boy - Flat Top ". Also this song, also a joint effort by Bennett and Young, was more successful than in other versions Bennett Original: Dorothy Collins thus reached the U.S. top twenty; in the UK it came as " Seventeen" in a rendition of Frankie Vaughan in the charts. Bennett and his "Rocket " now also toured together with Haley and his " comet "; the audience was fooled a Battle of the Bands, a " battle of the bands " between the two combos.

Despite the commercial success, critics were not enthusiastic about Bennett's rhythms and saw him as a poor imitation of Haley's troupe: "The title [ Seventeen ] is regarded as a confirmation that one with a plate of little musical quality and banal text with the country-rock audience could satisfy well. Big Moe intoned the words monotonically as the band behind it skipped a beat unpolished. "

1956 served as the Rockets band of Moon Mullican on the classic rockabilly single " Seven Nights to Rock". A cover version of Carl Perkins ' " Blue Suede Shoes " on Bennett was the lead singer, was this year then already the last hit for Boyd Bennett and His Rockets. By 1959, they made further recordings for King Records; Bennett then moved at short notice to Mercury. After a few unsuccessful singles - only "Boogie Bear" 1959 could still penetrate into the lower chart regions - " he saw that he was too old for contemporary rock and roll audience, and decided to retire from the business. " More than three decades later, Bennett was taken for his contribution to this genre of music in the Rockabilly Hall of Fame.

The royalties of his songs had Bennett made ​​for multiple millionaire; He was businessman, led the Thunderbird Nightclub in Indianapolis and became co-owner of a television station. About ten years later he founded a company to manufacture parts for heating and air conditioning. During this time he lived in Dallas, Texas. Except for occasional charity gigs with country singer Ray Price he had left the rockabilly scene behind. Only in 1980 he was again recorded music, but this time he devoted himself, as in childhood, again the Gospel; four albums with gospel music have been published. In 1996, Boyd Bennett his last public appearances - he sang in Jerusalem at the garden grave "Amazing Grace" and in the Bethlehem Church of the Nativity, the " Our Father ". With his wife, Ann- Margaret, he led in his last years a company for medical and orthopedic supplies, coated with both the 2002 to Sarasota, Florida.

Bennett suffered from pulmonary fibrosis and was ill with cancer - long-term consequences of his service in the U.S. Navy, whose ships he inhaled deadly asbestos dust from insulation and which he ultimately died in June 2002.