Richard Dyer-Bennet (6 October 1913 in Leicester, England – 14 December 1991 in Monterey, Massachusetts) was an English-born American folk singer (or his own preferred term, "minstrel"), recording artist, and voice teacher.

Biography

He was born on 6 October 1913 in Leicester, England, to Richard Stewart Dyer-Bennet (1886–1983) and Miriam Wolcott Clapp.[1]

Dyer-Bennet studied voice with Gertrude Wheeler Beckman and Sven Scholander. 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.[1]

He was heir presumptive of the Dyer baronets from 1983 until his death.

He died on 14 December 1991 at his home in Monterey, Massachusetts.[1]

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. 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: Richard Dyer-Bennet 10
  • 1962: A Richard Dyer-Bennet Concert (Stinson Records)
  • 1962: Mark Twain's 1601
  • 1962: Richard Dyer-Bennet 11: Stephen Foster 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

Bibliography

  • 1970: The Richard Dyer-Bennet Folk Song Book. New York: Simon and Schuster.

Videography

References

  1. 1 2 3 Bruce Lambert (16 December 1991). "Richard Dyer-Bennet Dies at 78; Minstrel Who Led a Folk Revival". The New York Times.
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