Benjamin Eidson, known professionally as Benny Joy (November 5, 1935 – October 24, 1988) was an American

rockabilly Rockabilly is one of the earliest styles of rock and roll music. It dates back to the early 1950s in the United States, especially the Southern United States, South. As a genre it blends the sound of Western music (North America), Western music ...

guitarist and singer who released three

singles Singles are people not in a committed relationship. Singles may also refer to: Film and television * ''Singles'' (miniseries), a 1984 Australian television series * ''Singles'' (1992 film), written and directed by Cameron Crowe * ''Singles'' ...

in his recording career, and was popular regionally in Florida. As a result of the rockabilly revival in England, Joy's material was met with renewed interest.

Biography

Joy was born in

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

, Georgia, United States, soon moving with his family to

Tampa Bay Tampa Bay is a large natural harbor and shallow estuary connected to the Gulf of Mexico on the west-central coast of Florida, comprising Hillsborough Bay, McKay Bay, Old Tampa Bay, Middle Tampa Bay, and Lower Tampa Bay. The largest freshwater in ...

, Florida, where he was taught to play guitar by his neighbors. He performed on the local music club circuit, quickly gaining a reputation for his spontaneous dancing theatrics, and meeting contemporary guitarist Big John Taylor. The manager of the

independent record label An independent record label (or indie label) is a record label that operates without the funding or distribution of major record labels; they are a type of small- to medium-sized enterprise, or SME. The labels and artists are often represented ...

TRI-DEC Records, Daz Dodds, was encouraged to sign the two musicians, which resulted in several demos accompanied by Taylor, including Joy's best-known song "Spin the Bottle" being released as a single in 1957 to regional success. Much of Joy's material from the

recording sessions The term studio recording means any recording made in a studio, as opposed to a live recording, which is usually made in a concert venue or a theatre, with an audience attending the performance. Studio cast recordings In the case of Broadway musi ...

, which was mostly self-composed, such as "Little Red Book", "Hey High School Baby" and "Miss Bobby Sox" had a common theme revolved around teenage angst. In 1958, Joy switched to

Ram Records RAM Records is an independent record label established in 1992 by Andy C with the help of his friend Ant Miles. It specialises in drum and bass. The label and business is run by Andy C and business partner Scott Bourne (Red One). Ram Records ...

, releasing his second single the

Buddy Holly Charles Hardin Holley (September 7, 1936 – February 3, 1959), known as Buddy Holly, was an American singer and songwriter who was a central and pioneering figure of mid-1950s rock and roll. He was born to a musical family in Lubbock, Texas ...

-influenced "Ittie Bittie Everything". Also during the year, he became one of the earliest rockabilly music artists to tour Europe as Joy supported

the Platters The Platters was an American vocal group formed in 1952. They are one of the most successful vocal groups of the early rock and roll era. Their distinctive sound bridges the pre-rock Tin Pan Alley tradition and the new burgeoning genre. The ac ...

Barry De Vorzon Barry De Vorzon (born July 31, 1934) is an American singer, songwriter, producer, and composer. His earliest hit compositions were "Just Married" (1958), written with Al Allen and recorded by Marty Robbins, which reached number 26 on ''Billboar ...

, and

Raymond Scott Raymond Scott (born Harry Warnow; September 10, 1908 – February 8, 1994) was an American composer, band leader, pianist, record producer, and inventor of electronic instruments. Though Scott never scored cartoon soundtracks, his music is ...

, among others. Joy followed it up with a similar tour six weeks later in the summer of 1959, by which time his final single "Crash the Party" was issued on

Decca Records Decca Records is a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis (Decca), Edward Lewis. Its U.S. label was established in late 1934 by Lewis, Jack Kapp, American Decca's first president, and Milton Rackmil, who later became American ...

to both the U.S. and Europe. Joy failed to have a breakout record and began working as a disk jockey and on the television program ''

American Bandstand ''American Bandstand'', abbreviated ''AB'', is an American music-performance and dance television program that aired in various versions from 1952 to 1989, and was hosted from 1956 until its final season by Dick Clark, who also served as the pro ...

''. He also became a songwriter, penning several songs for

Marty Robbins Martin David Robinson (September 26, 1925 – December 8, 1982), known professionally as Marty Robbins, was an American singer, songwriter, actor, multi-instrumentalist, and NASCAR racing driver. Robbins was one of the most popular and suc ...

Jackie Wilson Jack Leroy Wilson Jr. (June 9, 1934 – January 21, 1984) was an American singer and performer of the 1950s and 60s. He was a prominent figure in the transition of rhythm and blues into soul. Nicknamed "Mr. Excitement", he was considered a mas ...

Charlie Rich Charles Allan Rich (December 14, 1932July 25, 1995) was an American country music singer, songwriter, and musician. His eclectic style of music was often difficult to classify, encompassing the rockabilly, jazz, blues, country music, country, sou ...

Burl Ives Burl Icle Ivanhoe Ives (June 14, 1909 – April 14, 1995) was an American musician, actor, and author with a career that spanned more than six decades. Ives began his career as an itinerant singer and guitarist, eventually launching his own rad ...

Debbie Reynolds Mary Frances "Debbie" Reynolds (April 1, 1932 – December 28, 2016) was an American actress, singer, and businesswoman. Her career spanned almost 70 years. She was nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Most Promising Newcomer for her portra ...

Johnny Rivers Johnny Rivers (born John Henry Ramistella; November 7, 1942) is an American musician. His repertoire includes pop, folk, blues, and old-time rock 'n' roll. Rivers charted during the 1960s and 1970s but remains best known for a string of hit sing ...

, and Carl Smith. As a result of England's rockabilly revival, Joy's recordings are championed among

record collector ''Record Collector'' is a British monthly music magazine. It was founded in 1980 and distributes worldwide. History The early years The first standalone issue of ''Record Collector'' was published in March 1980, though its history stretches ba ...

s. His material has been made more accessible as much of his recordings are featured on the

compilation album A compilation album comprises Album#Tracks, tracks, which may be previously released or unreleased, usually from several separate recordings by either one or several Performing arts#Performers, performers. If by one artist, then generally the tr ...

s ''Crash the Rockabilly Party'' and the five-LP collection, ''The Benny Joy Story 1957–61''. One of his 1958 recordings, "Dark Angel", was included in another compilation album, ''Hillbillies in Hell: Country Music's Tormented Testament'' (2016). He died in October 1988, from cancer at the age of 52.

Discography

Singles

* 1957 – "Spin the Bottle" b/w "Hey' ... High School Baby!" – Tri-Dec 8667 * 1958 - "Spin the bottle" b/w "Steady with betty" - Dixie 45-2001 * 1958 – "Crash the Party" b/w "Little Red Book" – Antler DJ-41X45 * 1959 - "Ittie bittie everything" b/w "Money Money" - With Big John Taylor - Buck Ram BRP 1000 * 1961 - "Sincerely Your Friend" b/w "New York-Hey Hey" - Decca 31199 * 1961 - "You Go Your Way (And I'll Go Mine)" b/w "Birds Of A Feather Fly Together" - Decca 31280 * 1963 - "Somebody Else's Heartache" b/w "I'm Of No More Use To You Old Death" - Dot 45-16445

Compilation albums

* ''Rockin' and Rollin' with Benny Joy'', Collector Records, CLCD 4401 (1992) * ''Crash the Rockabilly Party'',

Ace An ace is a playing card, die or domino with a single pip. In the standard French deck, an ace has a single suit symbol (a heart, diamond, spade, or club) located in the middle of the card, sometimes large and decorated, especially in the c ...

, CDCHD 703 (1998)

References

External links

Benny Joy
on

Discogs Discogs (short for discographies) is a database of information about audio recordings, including commercial releases, promotional releases, and bootleg or off-label releases. While the site was originally created with a goal of becoming the la ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Joy, Benny 1935 births 1988 deaths Decca Records artists American rockabilly musicians 20th-century American musicians Country musicians from Georgia (U.S. state)