Bobby Bennett (The Famous Flames)

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Bobby Bennett
Also known asBobby
Born(1938-06-27)June 27, 1938
King, Loma Records

Robert J. Bennett (June 27, 1938 – January 18, 2013), better known as Bobby Bennett, was an American singer, songwriter, choreographer, comedian, and musician, noted for being a member of the vocal group

James Brown Revue. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
as a member of The Famous Flames in 2012.

Biography

Early life and career

Bobby Bennett was born Robert J. Bennett on June 27, 1938 in

A&T University in Greensboro. During his time in college, Bennett majored in Agricultural Studies.[2]

In the spring of 1958, Bennett left college for a

summer break, finding work in New Jersey to earn funds for the following school year. Following this, he visited New York to see his old friend, J. C. Davis whose band, The Bucket-Heads, was playing for James Brown and The Famous Flames at the Rocklin Place in New York City as Davis had become Brown's first bandleader. Bennett and Davis were school buddies who did shows together while attending high school. Bennett eventually became Davis' valet.[3][4]

The Famous Flames

Main article: The Famous Flames

While attending the performance, Bennett found out from Davis that one of the Famous Flames, Robert Gram, was leaving the show to get married and wasn't going to return. Davis insisted that Bennett should try out for the position because Davis felt that Bennett had the voice and talent. Auditions started at the Teresa Hotel in New York City. Bennett beat out twenty other hopefuls to get the position and became a full-fledged member of the Famous Flames in 1958, causing Bennett to permanently drop out of college. During the time Bennett joined, James Brown had not yet established himself as a dominant force in music and was himself considered still just a member of the Famous Flames. Brown's manager, Ben Bart, had caused a rift in the original lineup of the group after suggesting the group perform under the "James Brown and The Famous Flames" billing following the success of their first hit, "Please, Please, Please". When Bennett joined, the Famous Flames consisted of Brown, "Baby Lloyd" Stallworth and Johnny Terry.

Contrary to popular belief, The Famous Flames were not backup musicians.They were a

singing group.[5]

Founder

The Apollo Theater on April 24, 1959. One of Bennett's first recordings as a Famous Flames member was with the song, "Good, Good Lovin'", which became a regional hit. Between 1960 and 1964, Bennett would participate in several hit recordings with the Flames including "Think", "Bewildered", "I Don't Mind", "Shout and Shimmy", "I'll Go Crazy", "Oh Baby Don't You Weep", "This Old Heart
" and others. Despite the frequently incorrect crediting of James Brown as the sole artist on these songs, they were recorded and made hits by the entire group, "James Brown and The Famous Flames". Bennett, along with the other Famous Flames, also wrote or co-wrote several songs with the group. By the early 1960s, the Famous Flames had established themselves as the top-ranked R&B group of the time, both on record and on tour.

Following their success, it was suggested that the group record a live album. The group's explosive, high energy live performances across America rarely failed in bringing audiences to states of frenzy.

King Records president Syd Nathan's protests that live albums didn't sell, Brown financed his own money to release the Live at the Apollo album in 1963, which eventually reached # 2 on the Billboard Pop Album Chart, and sold over a million copies, a feat unprecedented for a R&B album at that time. Like most of the material featuring the Famous Flames, they weren't credited with Brown on this album,(but they were included in the album's intro by Fats Gonder), though later reissues in the CD era would credit the group alongside Brown later on. The group started experiencing mainstream success following the Apollo album and by 1965 had appeared in TV shows such as The Ed Sullivan Show, the Dick Clark-hosted shows, American Bandstand and Where the Action Is and other shows, both nationally and regionally.[7] The group also began touring globally, performing in venues such as The Olympia in Paris, Royal Albert Hall in London and also appeared on the UK music show, Ready Steady Go!
The group's popularity had become so massive that Bennett later said they couldn't leave their hotels to go sightseeing because "we were getting mobbed by people."

The group also appeared in two Hollywood motion pictures, The T.A.M.I. Show,[8][9] which was a 1964 All-Star concert film, taped at the

Warner Bros. Records
, where he recorded "Soul Jerk Pts. 1 & 2", under the billing, Bobby Bennett & The Dynamics.

As the group's fortunes increased, however, James Brown began to think in terms of solo success, apart from the Flames, helping to bring dissension within the group, which Bennett confirmed in an interview with the

Licking Stick" (King 6166) in 1968. Only Byrd participated in the recording with Brown, beginning a period in which the duo sung duets on several hits including "Get Up (I Feel Like Being a) Sex Machine", "Soul Power", "Make It Funky", "Talkin' Loud and Sayin' Nothing" and "Get Up, Get into It, Get Involved". Byrd didn't receive label credit on these songs. Because of this and other reasons, mainly financial disputes, Famous Flames founder, Bobby Byrd too, finally left for good in 1973.[15]

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction in 2012

On April 14, 2012, Bobby Bennett was inducted retroactively with the rest of The Famous Flames, into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. When the group's lead singer, James Brown, was inducted into the Hall of Fame's inaugural class in 1986, the other members of his group, Famous Flames members Bennett, Bobby Byrd, Johnny Terry, and Lloyd Stallworth, were not inducted. This caused a 26-year controversy, and puzzled many of the group's fans.[1][16] Finally, in 2012, The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame formed a special committee to discuss certain deserving pioneering groups that were not inducted with their lead singers in the Hall of Fame's initial years of inductions . As a result of this committee's decision, The Famous Flames, including Bennett, were one of the six groups automatically inducted into the Hall of Fame, without the need for nomination and voting, under the premise that they should have been inducted with James Brown back in 1986.[citation needed] Bennett, the sole surviving member of the Famous Flames at age 74, accepted on behalf of the group.[17]

In an interview with the Rock Hall on the eve of The Flames' induction, Bobby said: "James (Brown) was a Flame. Bobby Byrd was a Flame. Lloyd Stallworth was a Flame, and Bobby Bennett (who's still here), was a Famous Flame also." "We performed all over the world. "We were the best out there: best dancers, best singers, we were good". Everyone else opened for us:

Patti La Belle (and The Bluebelles). Everybody has worked with James Brown and The Famous Flames. We were the stars of every show that was out there".[17]

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame awarded Bobby Bennett, and the other members of The Famous Flames, Bobby Byrd, Lloyd Stallworth, and Johnny Terry, posthumously on April 14, 2012.

In a 2012 interview with Goldmine, the famous Oldies music magazine, Bobby Bennett, the last surviving member of the Famous Flames, when asked how he'd like the group to be remembered, said:

"I want (people) to know one thing,” replied Bennett. “We were the Famous Flames… James Brown was a Famous Flame, Bobby Byrd was a Famous Flame, Lloyd Stallworth was a Famous Flame and Bobby Bennett was a Famous Flame…wherever we played, we were the Famous Flames. We were never the band, never. We were the 3 guys who danced (and sang) with him and the 3 guys who performed with him at every concert. We were not no 'band'. We were the group that worked hard on stage and did a wonderful performance on stage for the whole public."[18] Bobby's statement about The Famous Flames being a singing group and not "backup musicians" was also confirmed by Flames lead singer James Brown in a 1982 interview on The David Letterman Show.[5]

Bennett died at his home in Maryland on January 18, 2013, of complications of diabetes, less than one year after the group's Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction. Ten days later, on January 28, 2013, The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame website issued an article paying tribute to him.[19] He is survived by his wife of many years, Sandi, and their children.

Actor/choreographer Aakomon Jones played Famous Flame Bobby Bennett in the James Brown biofilm "Get on Up", which opened in U.S.theatres on January 8, 2014. He also served as choreographer for the film.[20][21][22][23]

In 2020, Bobby Bennett was posthumously inducted with the rest of The Famous Flames' members

National Rhythm and Blues Hall of Fame, some seven years after the induction of Flames lead singer James Brown
into the same organization. [24]

References

  1. ^ a b "Maryland's Bobby Bennett, James Brown backup singer, inducted into Rock and Roll Hall of Fame – The Reliable Source". The Washington Post. April 16, 2012. Retrieved March 16, 2013.
  2. ^ "Article 404 - The Times-News - Burlington, NC". Thetimesnews.com.
  3. ^ "The Famous Flames". Future Rock Legends. Archived from the original on May 11, 2012. Retrieved March 16, 2013.
  4. ISBN 9780857120328
    . Retrieved March 16, 2013.
  5. ^ a b '00s Grits & Soul (December 26, 2015). "James Brown Interview 1982". YouTube.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  6. ^ "James Brown & The Famous Flames The Legendary TAMI Show Performance". YouTube. November 21, 2015.
  7. ^ No, Al Q (March 5, 2012). "james_brown_jerry_blavat | Flickr – Photo Sharing!". Flickr. Retrieved March 16, 2013.
  8. YouTube[dead link
    ]
  9. ^ "Prisoner of Love James Brown Tami Show.Wmv". YouTube. July 16, 2010. Retrieved March 16, 2013.
  10. YouTube
  11. ^ "James Brown in Ski Party". YouTube. February 20, 2012. Retrieved March 16, 2013.
  12. ^ Live at the Garden (Expanded Edition). "Live at the Garden (Expanded Edition): James Brown: Music". Amazon.com. Retrieved March 16, 2013.
  13. ^ Redferns (April 6, 2012). "The Famous Flames: James Brown was their leader, but they were R&B legends, too (Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Class of 2012)". Cleveland.com. Retrieved March 16, 2013.
  14. ^ Anonymous (September 13, 2007). "the "A" side: Bobby Byrd – Keep On Doin' What You're Doin' (Brownstone 4205)". Redkelly2.blogspot.com. Retrieved March 16, 2013.
  15. ^ "james brown self destructs". YouTube. August 6, 2014.
  16. ^ "Saturday " Soul " Check ~ James Brown | Longshot's Blog". Longshotsblues.wordpress.com. December 4, 2010. Retrieved March 16, 2013.
  17. ^ a b "2012 Hall of Fame Inductee Bobby Bennett of the Famous Flames". YouTube. April 18, 2012. Retrieved March 16, 2013.
  18. ^ Phill (August 3, 2012). "Famous Flame Bobby Bennett recalls life with James Brown | Goldmine Magazine". Goldmine Magazine: Record Collector & Music Memorabilia. Retrieved March 16, 2013.
  19. ^ Hall, Rock (January 18, 2013). "Remembering Bobby Bennett of the Famous Flames | The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum". Rockhall.com. Retrieved March 16, 2013.
  20. ^ "Aakomon Jones - News". IMDb.com.
  21. ^ "Chadwick Boseman channels James Brown on the 'Get On Up' set". Hitflix.com. April 30, 2014.
  22. ^ "Set Visit: 'Get On Up' team promises a James Brown biopic done right". Hitflix.com. April 30, 2014.
  23. ^ "The trailer for the James Brown biopic... - Bloc Talent Agency". Facebook.com.
  24. ^ "Facebook". Facebook.com. Retrieved October 26, 2020.

External links

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