Ivy Benson
Ivy Benson | |
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swing | |
Occupation(s) | Bandleader |
Instrument(s) | Alto saxophone, clarinet, piano |
Years active | 1921–1982 |
Ivy Benson (11 November 1913 – 6 May 1993) was an English musician and bandleader, who led an
Early years
Benson was born on 11 November 1913 in Holbeck, Leeds, the daughter of Douglas Rolland "Digger" Benson and his wife Mary Jane Mead.[1] Her father, a musician who played several instruments[1] including trombone for the Leeds Symphony Orchestra,[2] began teaching her the piano at the age of five. She played at working men's clubs from the age of eight,[2] billed as Baby Benson, and performed on BBC Radio's Children's Hour aged nine.[3]
Ivy's father had ambitions for her to become a concert pianist, but she was inspired to become a jazz musician after hearing a Benny Goodman record and learned to play clarinet and alto saxophone.[1][3] She left school at 14[1] and took a job at the Montague Burton factory in Leeds, putting aside half a crown from her wages each week to save up for her first saxophone.[4] She supplemented her income by playing in dance bands in the evenings.[5]
Career
Benson joined Yorkshire-based six-piece band Edna Croudson's Rhythm Girls in 1929, touring with them until 1935,[6] after which she toured with bands including Teddy Joyce and the Girlfriends where she became a featured soloist.[1] She moved to London in the late 1930s and formed her own band. Their first significant engagement was performing with the all-female revue Meet the Girls, which starred Hylda Baker.[3]
During the
Benson's band had a high turnover of musicians, as they frequently left to marry
In the 1950s, she played summer seasons at
Film and television appearances
Benson appeared as herself with a speaking role in the feature film The Dummy Talks (1943), which starred Jack Warner.[1] She and the band were scheduled to take part in a BBC Television broadcast in 1946, but were forced to cancel 48 hours before they were due to go on air following a dispute with the Stoll Theatres Corporation, who she was contracted to. Stoll advised her that she faced a ban from their theatres, saying that they considered that television "will be a great detriment to the theatre".[3][7]
Benson and the band appeared on the television series The Music Box in 1957.[8] She was the subject of an episode of the UK tribute show This Is Your Life in 1976.[4]
Benson retired to the seaside resort of
Personal life
Benson married theatrical producer Caryll Stafford Clark in 1949;[1] the couple divorced in 1951.[10] In 1957, she married Top Sergeant Brantley Callaway of the United States Air Force, whom she met while performing in a summer season on the Isle of Man. The marriage ended after she refused to accompany him when he returned to the United States in 1963 and they were divorced in 1964.[1][5][10] An operation left her unable to have children.[11]
In the early 1980s Benson moved to Clacton, where she continued to perform as pianist, organist and volcalist at local concerts.[12] She suffered a heart attack at her home and died on 6 May 1993, aged 79.[13]
Honours
Benson was made an
Cultural references
In 1984, The Silver Lady, a play by Liane Aukin based on Benson's life, was staged at the
Discography
- Ivy Benson And Her Orchestra (1977)[3]
- Ivy Benson And Her All Girl Band (2000)[17]
- You Danced to These Bands (2001)[18]
See also
- Gracie Cole – trumpeter with the Ivy Benson band.
- June Smith – singer and trumpeter with the Ivy Benson band
- All-female band
References
- ^ required.)
- ^ OCLC 61259135.
- ^ OCLC 60219087.
- ^ a b c d e "Farsley historian launches appeal about pioneer of girl power". Farsley Today. Yorkshire Post Newspapers. 4 November 2008. Retrieved 29 April 2011.
- ^ OCLC 34439480.
- ^ OCLC 53879364.
- Glasgow Herald. 12 June 1946. Retrieved 30 April 2011.
- ^ "Music Box, The (1957)". Screenonline. British Film Institute. Retrieved 27 April 2011.
- ^ McGarrigle, Interview by Clyde (12 February 2016). "Sean Pertwee: my family values". Theguardian.com. Retrieved 17 October 2019.
- ^ a b Cliffe, Peter (10 May 1993). "Obituary: Ivy Benson". The Independent. Retrieved 29 July 2011.
- Evening Times. Retrieved 30 April 2011.
- ^ John Chilton. Who's Who of British Music (1997), p. 28
- ^ "Ivy Benson dies at 79". The Times. London. 7 May 1993.
- ^ "Bandleader Ivy Benson gets Leeds blue plaque". BBC News Online. 5 July 2011. Retrieved 18 July 2011.
- ^ Tucker, Sherrie (20 August 2000). "Television/Radio; A Hazy Look at Women's and Music's History". The New York Times. Retrieved 9 August 2011.
The fictitious Blonde Bombshells appears to be loosely based on the actual, and extremely popular, Ivy Benson's All Girl Orchestra.
- ^ Anglesey, Natalie (21 January 2009). "News & Reviews: Blonde Bombshells of 1943". City Life. Retrieved 30 April 2011.
- Allmusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved 20 July 2011.
- Allmusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved 20 July 2011.
External links
- Ivy Benson and her All Girl Band
- Ivy Benson at IMDb
- "The 1940s bandleader who braved virulent sexism". BBC News. 13 October 2014.