Willie P. Bennett
| Willie P. Bennett | |
|---|---|
 Willie P. Bennett at the Roots of Heaven festival at Patronaat in Haarlem, Netherlands (2006) | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | William Patrick Bennett |
| Born |
26 October 1951 Toronto, Ontario |
| Origin | Toronto, Ontario, Canada |
| Died |
15 February 2008 (aged 56) Peterborough, Ontario |
| Genres | Folk, country, alternative country, bluegrass |
| Occupation(s) | singer/songwriter, mandolinist, harmonica player |
| Years active | 1971–2007 |
| Labels | Woodshed, Duke Street, BNatural, independent. |
| Associated acts | Fred Eaglesmith, Dixie Flyers |
| Website | http://www.williepbennett.com |
William Patrick "Willie P." Bennett (26 October 1951 – 15 February 2008) was a Canadian folk-music singer and song writer, harmonica player, and mandolinist.
Life and career
Born in Toronto, Bennett was part of the 1970s folk music scene in Canada, alongside such figures as Bruce Cockburn, Stan Rogers and David Wiffen. He released his first single ("White Line") in 1969 and his final solo album (the Juno Award–winning Heartstrings) in 1998.
While commonly regarded as a major talent, Bennett did not become as famous as his contemporaries until 1996, when Stephen Fearing, Colin Linden and Tom Wilson formed Blackie and the Rodeo Kings, a supergroup named for Bennett's 1978 album, and recorded a tribute album featuring Bennett's songs. Bennett's first subsequent album of new material, Heartstrings, won a 1999 Juno Award for Best Roots and Traditional Album – Solo.[1] On 10 September 2010 in Edmonton, Alberta, Bennett was inducted into the Canadian Country Music Hall of Fame during the Canadian Country Music Awards. The award was accepted by his mother, sister and nephew.
While Bennett was highly regarded as a songwriter[2] and solo performer, early in his career he formed and fronted the newgrass group Bone China Band, touring through Ontario. Throughout his career, he kept busy as a sideman in bands fronted by other artists. From 1974 to 1979 he toured and recorded with the Dixie Flyers, playing harmonica. Bennett also played harmonica live and on recordings with Joe Hall, Doug McArthur, Sneezy Waters and several other pop and country artists. In the early 1990s, Bennett was a member of Toronto-based Pat Temple's band, the High Lonesome Players, playing live and appearing on their 1991 album, Connecting Lines. In 1991 he joined Fred Eaglesmith's band, the Flying Squirrels, with whom he toured and recorded,[1] playing chiefly mandolin and harmonica and singing backup vocals, also serving as road manager, until shortly before his death. During a 2007 Victoria Day weekend concert in Midland, Ontario, he suffered an on-stage heart attack – which he played through but which forced him to stop touring.
He died of a heart attack on 15 February 2008, at his home in Peterborough, Ontario.[3] At the time of his death, he was recording an album and was planning on rejoining Fred Eaglesmith on tour. His sister inherited his music rights.[4]
Awards and tributes
Bennett co-wrote the song "Goodbye, So Long, Hello" with Russell deCarle. The song was recorded by deCarle's band Prairie Oyster, released as a single, and named the 1990 Song of the Year by the Canadian Country Music Association.[5]
In 2010, Bennett was inducted into the Canadian Country Music Association's Canadian Country Music Hall of Honour.[6]
David Essig, producer of Bennett's first three albums, paid tribute to him in the song "Willie P", released on the 2009 album Double Vision (with Rick Scott). Canadian country singer Corb Lund wrote a song for Bennett on his 2009 album Losin' Lately Gambler, entitled "It's Hard to Keep a White Shirt Clean". Americana songwriter Kenny Butterill wrote a song for Willie, "Wille We Miss Ya", released on his 2014 release Troubadour Tales.[7][8]
In 2014, the "Willie P. Bennett Legacy Project" was launched online, providing a space to share stories and new versions of Bennett's songs and to start a memorial award in his honour.[9]
Discography
Singles
| Year | Single | CAN Country | Album |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1969 | White Line | — | Single only |
| 1979 | Lace And Pretty Flowers / This Lonesome Feelin' | — | Blackie and the Rodeo King |
| 1989 | The Lucky Ones / Ain't Got No Notion | 19 | The Lucky Ones |
| Train Tracks / Goodbye So Long Hello | — |
Albums
| Year | Album | Label |
|---|---|---|
| 1975 | Tryin' to Start Out Clean | Woodshed Records |
| 1977 | Hobo's Taunt | Woodshed Records |
| 1979 | Blackie and the Rodeo King | Woodshed Records |
| 1985 | The Lucky Ones | Self-Released |
| 1991 | Collectibles (Anthology) | Dark Light Records |
| 1993 | Take My Own Advice | Dark Light Records |
| 1998 | Heartstrings | Bnatural Records |
Other contributions
| Year | Album | Artist | Label | Details |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1973 | Collage | Various artists | Bytown BFFTF 1 | Includes "White Line" ('69 single or Tryin' to Start Out Clean version?) |
| 1975 | Light Medium Heavy | The Dixie Flyers | Boot Records | Harmonica, band member |
| 1976 | Cheaper to Lease | The Dixie Flyers | Boot Records BBG 6002 | Harmonica, band member |
| 1976 | Sisteron | Doug McArthur | Posterity Records | Harmonica |
| 1977 | Larger Than Life | Denis Lepage | Boot Records BBG6001 | Lead vocal & additional lyrics ("John Henry, The Gambler"), harmonica |
| 1977 | Just Pickin | The Dixie Flyers | Boot Records BBG 6004 | Harmonica, band member |
| 1978 | For Our Friends | The Dixie Flyers | Boot Records | Harmonica, band member |
| 1978 | Hard Rock Miner | Glen Reid | Boot Records | Harmonica, band member |
| 1979 | Five by Five | The Dixie Flyers | Boot Records | Harmonica |
| 1979 | Denis Lepage & Station Road | Denis Lepage & Station Road | Boot Records BOS 7190 | Harmonica |
| 1979 | Live at the Nervous Breakdown | Various Artists | Includes "Has Anyone Seen My Baby Here Tonight" (live), with Mendelson Joe (mislabeled "Storm Clouds" on LP cover) | |
| 197? | It's High Time | Coyote | Harmonica | |
| 197? | Musician at Large | Richard Knechtel | Harmonica | |
| 1981 | Sings Hank Williams | Sneezy Waters | Sawdust Records, Borealis Records (1999 CD release) | Harmonica |
| 1981 | Touch the Earch | Various | CBC | Includes "My Pie" from Tryin' to Start Out Clean |
| 1987 | Indiana Road | Fred Eaglesmith | Mandolin, harmonica, backing vocals, band member | |
| 1987 | Summer Heart | Terry Christenson | RCA Victor KKL1-0579 | Harmonica |
| 1990 | Different Kind of Fire | Prairie Oyster | Co-wrote "Goodbye, So Long, Hello" with Russel deCarle | |
| 1991 | There Ain't No Easy Road | Fred Eaglesmith | Mandolin, harmonica, backing vocals, band member | |
| 1991 | Connecting Lines | Pat Temple & His High Lonesome Players | Harmonica, band member | |
| 1993 | Drinking with the Poet | Scott B. Sympathy | Smokeshow Records FPD 3121 | Harmonica |
| 1993 | Things Is Changin' | Fred Eaglesmith | Mandolin, harmonica, backing vocals, band member | |
| 1994 | From the Paradise Motel (live) | Fred Eaglesmith | Barbed Wire Records BWR2001 | Mandolin, harmonica, harmony vocals, band member |
| 1995 | Drive-In Movie | Fred Eaglesmith | Mandolin, harmonica, backing vocals, band member | |
| 1995 | The Stars Above | Tim Harrison | Second Avenue Songs – SAS 2004 | Harmonica |
| 1996 | High or Hurtin' | Blackie & the Rodeo Kings | True North TNSD 0115 | Vocals, harmony vocals, harmonica, mandolin |
| 1996 | Slightly Haunted | Lynn Miles | Philo | Mandolin, harmonica |
| 1996 | She & She & She | Bird Sisters | Bird Sisters | Harmonica |
| 1997 | Blue Plate Special | Prairie Oyster | Velvel | |
| 1997 | Flying Jenny | Linda McRae | Stony Plain | Harmonica |
| 1997 | Lipstick, Lies and Gasoline | Fred Eaglesmith | Razor & Tie | Mandolin, electric mandolin, harmonica, harmony vocals, band member |
| 1998 | Painter Passing Through | Gordon Lightfoot | Reprise CDW 46949 | Harmonica on "Uncle Toad Said" |
| 1998 | Industrial Lullaby | Stephen Fearing | Red House | Harmonica |
| 1999 | Festival to Go: All Canadian Sampler Vol. 2 | Various Artists | Festival Distribution FDI 003 | Includes "Restless Wind" from Heartstrings |
| 1999 | Handle with Care | Paul McKay & the Perfect Strangers | Windprint 001 | Lead vocals ("Bless This World'", "Back to the Country", "Maybe It's Crazy", "Wildwood Lullaby"), harmonica ("Back to the Country") |
| 1999 | 50 Odd Dollars | Fred Eaglesmith | Razor & Tie | Mandolin, harmonica, harmony vocals, band member |
| 2000 | Rough but Honest Miner | Richard Wright | Winter Quarters Press | Harmonica (member of Wake Up Jacob Band) |
| 2001 | Ralph's Last Show (Live) | Fred Eaglesmith | Mandolin, harmonica, backing vocals, band member | |
| 2001 | Walk On | Terry Tufts | Borealis | Harmonica, Jew's harp |
| 2002 | Falling Stars and Broken Hearts | Fred Eaglesmith | Mandolin, harmonica, backing vocals, band member | |
| 2003 | Balin | Fred Eaglesmith | AML Records | Mandolin, harmonica, harmony vocals, band member |
| 2003 | The Official Bootleg Series, Vol. 2 (Live) | Fred Eaglesmith | Mandolin, harmonica, backing vocals, band member | |
| 2003 | Dirty Rotten Shame | Stephen Hogg | ||
| 2003 | Just a Songwriter | Kenny Butterill | No Bull Songs | Mandolin |
| 2005 | Canadian Fiddle | John P. Allen | Guitar & harmonica on "Lace and Pretty Flowers" | |
| 2005 | Roger Marin Jr | Roger Marin Jr | Co-wrote "It Breaks My Heart" with Roger Marin Jr. | |
| 2006 | Milly's Cafe | Fred Eaglesmith | Mandolin, harmonica, backing vocals, band member | |
| 2006 | I'm a Mountain | Sarah Harmer | Cold Snap Records, Zoë Records | Harmonica on "How Deep in the Valley" |
| 2007 | Lovers Find Reasons | Lindsay Jane | ||
| 2007 | Anywhere | Paul O'Toole | Mandolin on "Creepy Coated Love Song" | |
| 2007 | Redneck Lullaby | J.P. Riemens & the Bar Flies | Songhamer | Harmonica ("Indian Girl", "Small Town Inertia"), backup vocals ("Redneck Lullaby") |
| 2007 | I Dreamt I Had a Recurring Dream | Wally High and the Non-Prophets | Independent | Co-wrote "Angels in Prison (Biting at Angels)" |
| 2008 | Tinderbox | Fred Eaglesmith | Mandolin, harmonica, backing vocals, band member |
Cover versions
| Song | Artist | Album | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Andrew's Waltz | Blackie & the Rodeo Kings | Kings of Love | 1999 |
| Blackie & the Rodeo King | Blackie & the Rodeo Kings | High or Hurtin' | 1996 |
| Caney Fork River | Old Man Luedecke | My Hands Are on Fire and Other Love Songs | 2010 |
| Come on Train | Blackie & the Rodeo Kings | High or Hurtin' | 1996 |
| Country Squall | Blackie & the Rodeo Kings | High or Hurtin' | 1996 |
| Don't Have Much to Say | Sneezy Waters | You've Got Sawdust on the Floor of Your Heart | 1978 |
| Driftin' Snow | Blackie & the Rodeo Kings | High or Hurtin' | 1996 |
| Faces | Blackie & the Rodeo Kings | High or Hurtin' | 1996 |
| For the Sake of a Dollar | Blackie & the Rodeo Kings with Russell deCarle | High or Hurtin' | 1996 |
| Goodbye, So Long, Hello | Prairie Oyster | Different Kind of Fire; single | 1990 |
| Has Anyone Seen My Baby Here Tonight | Blackie & the Rodeo Kings | High or Hurtin' | 1996 |
| If I Could Take My Own Advice | Prairie Oyster | Different Kind of Fire; b-side to "Goodbye, So Long, Hello" | 1990 |
| If You Have to Choose | Blackie & the Rodeo Kings | Kings of Love | 1999 |
| Job Disorder | Scott B. Sympathy | Neil Young Street | 1990 |
| Blackie & the Rodeo Kings | High or Hurtin' | 1996 | |
| Lace and Pretty Flowers | Blackie & the Rodeo Kings | High or Hurtin' | 1996 |
| John P. Allen | Canadian Fiddle (violin) | 2005 | |
| Sneezy Waters | You've Got Sawdust on the Floor of Your Heart | 1978 | |
| Music in Your Eyes | Colleen Peterson | Beginning to Feel Like Home | 1973 |
| Garnet Rogers | Garnet Rogers | 1984 | |
| Blackie & the Rodeo Kings | High or Hurtin' | 1996 | |
| Stan Rogers | From Coffee House to Concert Hall | 1999 | |
| Patience of a Working Man | Blackie & the Rodeo Kings | Kings of Love | 1999 |
| Rains On Me | Blackie & the Rodeo Kings | High or Hurtin' | 1996 |
| Red Dress | Blackie & the Rodeo Kings | Kings of Love | 1999 |
| Stealin' Away | Colleen Peterson | Coleen | 1977 |
| Blackie & the Rodeo Kings | High or Hurtin' | 1996 | |
| Step Away | Blackie & the Rodeo Kings with Emmylou Harris | Kings & Queens | 2011 |
| The Lucky Ones | Blackie & the Rodeo Kings | Kings of Love | 1999 |
| This Lonesome Feelin' | Denis Lepage & Station Road | At the Cowboy Arms Hotel | 1980 |
| Tryin' to Start Out Clean | Colleen Peterson | Coleen | 1977 |
| Turnkey | Blackie & the Rodeo Kings | High or Hurtin' | 1996 |
| White Line | Blackie & the Rodeo Kings | High or Hurtin' | 1996 |
| Billie Hughes | Horton, Bates & Best – The Last Catch | 1981 | |
| David Wiffen | Coast to Coast Fever | 1973 | |
| John Starling | Long Time Gone | 1993 | |
| Jonathan Edwards | Rockin' Chair | 1975 | |
| Peter Pringle | Peter Pringle | 1976 | |
| Pure Prairie League | Can't Hold Back | 1979 | |
| The Seldom Scene | Live at the Cellar Door | 1974 | |
| Blackie & the Rodeo Kings | Swinging from the Chains of Love | 2008 | |
| Willie's Diamond Joe | Blackie & the Rodeo Kings | BARK | 2003 |
| Matt Andersen | Coal Mining Blues | 2011 | |
| Russell deCarle Trio | "Live at Loud Mouse Studios" | 2014 |
See also
References
- 1 2 Rellinger, Paul. "Music community singing sad note with death of local folk music icon". Peterborough This Week, 20 February 2008.
- ↑ Heeley, James. "Death of an icon". Peterborough Examiner, 19 February 2008.
- ↑ "Canadian folk singer Willie P. Bennett dead". Canwest News Service. 21 February 2008. Retrieved 30 September 2010.
- ↑ Quill, Greg (18 February 2008). "Willie P. Bennett, 57: A '70s folk pioneer". Toronto Star. Retrieved 23 April 2013.
- ↑ "Willie P. Bennett". CCMA Hall of Fame. Canadian Country Music Association. Retrieved 23 April 2013.
- ↑ http://www.ccma.org/cgi/page.cgi/hall_of_fame_inductees.html?log=view&log_id=78
- ↑ http://willieplegacy.com/news
- ↑ http://www.kennybutterill.com/discography/troubadour-tales/
- ↑ http://willieplegacy.com/
External links
- Mowat, Bruce F. "Bennett, Willie P.". The Canadian Encyclopedia. Retrieved 4 November 2007.
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