Richard Dyer-Bennet (6 October 1913 in
Leicester
Leicester ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest settlement in the East Midlands.
The city l ...
, England – 14 December 1991 in
Monterey
Monterey (; es, Monterrey; Ohlone: ) is a city located in Monterey County on the southern edge of Monterey Bay on the U.S. state of California's Central Coast. Founded on June 3, 1770, it functioned as the capital of Alta California under both ...
, Massachusetts) was an English-born American
folk singer
Folk music is a music genre that includes #Traditional folk music, traditional folk music and the Contemporary folk music, contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be c ...
(or his own preferred term, "
minstrel
A minstrel was an entertainer, initially in medieval Europe. It originally described any type of entertainer such as a musician, juggler, acrobat, singer or fool; later, from the sixteenth century, it came to mean a specialist entertainer who ...
"), recording artist, and voice teacher.
Biography
He was born on 6 October 1913 in
Leicester
Leicester ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest settlement in the East Midlands.
The city l ...
, England, to Richard Stewart Dyer-Bennet (1886–1983) and Miriam Wolcott Clapp.
[
Dyer-Bennet studied voice with Gertrude Wheeler Beckman and ]Sven Scholander
Sven Scholander (1860–1936) was a Swedish singer, musician, composer and sculptor. Sven Scholander. ''sv.wikipedia.org''. Retrieved: August 21, 2012. His musical innovations led to a revival in Swedish lute playing while his solo performances o ...
. His first album released included the song, The Lonesome Valley, used for many years to sign off the Midnight Special on WFMT each Saturday night. A favorite interview of Studs Terkel.
He had a stroke in 1972 paralyzing his left side and he stopped giving concerts.
He was heir presumptive of the Dyer baronets
There have been two baronetcies created for persons with the surname Dyer, both in the Baronetage of England. One creation is extant as of 2015.
The Dyer Baronetcy, of Staughton in the County of Huntingdon, was created in the Baronetage of Englan ...
from 1983 until his death.
He died on 14 December 1991 at his home in Monterey, Massachusetts
Monterey is a small town in Berkshire County, Massachusetts, United States. It is part of the Pittsfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 1,095 at the 2020 census.
History
Prior to settlement by European-Americ ...
.[
]
Legacy
During his peak performance years, he gave 50 concerts a year. He recorded extensively for many labels, and eventually founded his own, Dyer-Bennet Records, and recorded in his own living room. The albums he recorded on his own label have been re-released on CD by Smithsonian Folkways
Smithsonian Folkways is the nonprofit record label of the Smithsonian Institution. It is a part of the Smithsonian's Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage, located at Capital Gallery in downtown Washington, D.C. The label was fou ...
. The CD ''Richard Dyer-Bennet 1'' includes a biographical essay written by Dyer-Bennet's daughter, Bonnie, which highlights his progressive politics and his battle with a debilitating stroke in later life (he taught himself to play harp one-handed so that he could continue to perform and teach). A biography – ''Richard Dyer-Bennet: The Last Minstrel'' – by Paul O Jenkins was published in December 2009 by the University Press of Mississippi. The book chronicles Dyer-Bennet's eventful life and includes a foreword by his daughter.
Discography
;Dyer-Bennet Records releases
* 1949: ''Richard Dyer-Bennet: Twentieth Century Minstrel (Decca DLP 5046)''
* 1952: ''Folk Songs (Remington REP-1)"
* 1955: ''Richard Dyer-Bennet 1''
* 1956: ''Richard Dyer-Bennet 2''
* 1956: ''Richard Dyer-Bennet 3''
* 1957: ''Richard Dyer-Bennet 4''
* 1958: ''Richard Dyer-Bennet 5: Requests''
* 1958: ''Richard Dyer-Bennet 6: Songs With Young People in Mind''
* 1958: ''Richard Dyer-Bennet 7: Beethoven Scottish and Irish Songs''
* 1959: ''Richard Dyer-Bennet 8: Gems of Minstrelsy''
* 1960: ''Richard Dyer-Bennet 9''
* 1962: ''Mark Twain
Samuel Langhorne Clemens (November 30, 1835 – April 21, 1910), known by his pen name Mark Twain, was an American writer, humorist, entrepreneur, publisher, and lecturer. He was praised as the "greatest humorist the United States has p ...
's 1601
This Epoch (reference date)#Computing, epoch is the beginning of the 400-year Gregorian leap-year cycle within which digital files first existed; the last year of any such cycle is the only leap year whose year number is divisible by 100.
Jan ...
''
* 1962: ''Richard Dyer-Bennet 10''
* 1962: ''Richard Dyer-Bennet 11: Stephen Foster
Stephen Collins Foster (July 4, 1826January 13, 1864), known also as "the father of American music", was an American composer known primarily for his parlour music, parlour and Minstrel show, minstrel music during the Romantic music, Romantic ...
Songs''
* 1964: ''Richard Dyer-Bennet 12: Songs of Ships, Seafaring Men, Watery Graves...and One Edible Rat''
* 1964: ''Richard Dyer-Bennet 13: Stories and Songs for Children and Their Parents''
;Folkways Records releases
* 1967: ''The Asch Recordings, 1939 to 1945 – Vol. 2'' (Folkways Records
Folkways Records was a record label founded by Moses Asch that documented folk, world, and children's music. It was acquired by the Smithsonian Institution in 1987 and is now part of Smithsonian Folkways.
History
The Folkways Records & Service ...
)
* All the Dyer-Bennet Records releases have been re-released by Smithsonian Folkways
Smithsonian Folkways is the nonprofit record label of the Smithsonian Institution. It is a part of the Smithsonian's Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage, located at Capital Gallery in downtown Washington, D.C. The label was fou ...
.
Bibliography
*1970: ''The Richard Dyer-Bennet Folk Song Book.'' New York: Simon and Schuster.
Videography
*1980:
References
External links
"Richard Dyer-Bennet Resource Page"
Dyer Bennet
at Smithsonian Folkways
Smithsonian Folkways is the nonprofit record label of the Smithsonian Institution. It is a part of the Smithsonian's Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage, located at Capital Gallery in downtown Washington, D.C. The label was fou ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dyer-Bennet, Richard
1913 births
1991 deaths
American folk singers
20th-century American singers
Musicians from Leicestershire
People from Leicester
People from Berkshire County, Massachusetts
British emigrants to the United States