Richard Dyer-Bennet (1913–1991) was born in Leicester, England to Richard Stewart Dyer-Bennet (1886–1983) and Miriam Wolcott Clapp. He was raised in California and Canada, and became known for his scholarly and precise interpretations and arrangements of folk songs and ballads, some of which date back to the 13th century. He called himself “The Twentieth Century Minstrel.”

As a young man, he was taken on by a voice teacher, Gertrude Wheeler Beckman, who encouraged him to make singing a career. He sought out and studied with Sven Scholander (1860–1936), a well-known Swedish ballad singer. Scholander sang long ballads accompanied by lute. Dyer-Bennet was won over by his work, and learned over a 100 hundred of Scholander’s ballads.

Beginning in the early 1940s, Richard was performing in New York clubs with other notable early artists of the American folk music revival like Woody Guthrie, Lead Belly, Burl Ives, Pete Seeger and Josh White, frequently appearing at the Village Vanguard. At his peak, Dyer-Bennet performed dozens of concerts a year. Unlike other folk performers, he performed formally in evening dress. His performances eventually led to him signing up with impresario Sol Hurok who promoted his music.

He recorded for Asch/Stinson, Decca, Mercury, Remington, and Vox Records. Dissatisfied with his earlier recordings, Dyer-Bennet founded his own record company—in partnership with Harvey Cort—in 1955. Releasing his recordings on Dyer-Bennet Records gave him control over the sound and structure of his albums, leading to records that followed the progression of his live performances and more accurately reproduced his voice and guitar.

Like many other folk singers in New York during the 1950s, he was affected by the red scare and his concert bookings started to dwindle. He redirected his focus to recording and his work as a voice teacher. Despite a 1972 stroke limiting his playing abilities, Dyer-Bennet learned to play one-handed and continued to produce music. In his later years, he recorded Schubert’s “Die Schline Müllerin” song cycle. His final project was an unfinished epic recording of The Odyssey.

The Dyer-Bennet audio recordings, which date from 1955–1974, were donated to the Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage in 1995. They consist of 15 phonograph records and master open-reel tapes from Dyer-Bennet Records. The collection also includes a small amount of business records relating to the production of the albums.

Playlist

Smithsonian Folkways Presents · Introduction to Paredon Records

Gallery

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• 1 / 17
  Paredon catalog
  Courtesy of the Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections, Smithsonian Institution.
• 2 / 17
  Puerto Rican Independence Fighters
  Courtesy of the Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections, Smithsonian Institution.
• 3 / 17
  Barbara Dane at a Broadside Magazine concert, New York City, September 1964.
  Photo by Diana Davies. Courtesy of the Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections, Smithsonian Institution.
• 4 / 17
  Irwin Silber at his desk in the Folkways Records office.
  Photo by Diana Davies. Courtesy of the Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections, Smithsonian Institution.
• 5 / 17
  The Covered Wagon Musicians
  Courtesy of the Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections, Smithsonian Institution.
• 6 / 17
  Pepe y Flora
  Courtesy of the Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections, Smithsonian Institution.
• 7 / 17
  Mikis Theodorakis
  Courtesy of the Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections, Smithsonian Institution.
• 8 / 17
  Marcel Khalife
  Photo by Diana Davies. Courtesy of the Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections, Smithsonian Institution.
• 9 / 17
  Barbara Dane performs at the 1965 Newport Folk Festival.
  Photo by Diana Davies. Courtesy of the Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections, Smithsonian Institution.
• 10 / 17
  Beverly Grant and the Human Condition
  Photo by Federico Sanchez. Courtesy of the Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections, Smithsonian Institution.
• 11 / 17
  Bernice Johnson Reagon
  Photo by Barbara Dane. Courtesy of the Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections, Smithsonian Institution.
• 12 / 17
  Cutumay Camones
  Courtesy of the Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections, Smithsonian Institution.
• 13 / 17
  Italian protesters
  Courtesy of the Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections, Smithsonian Institution.
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  Bernardo Palumbo and group
  Photo by Emilio Rodriguez. Courtesy of the Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections, Smithsonian Institution.
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  Layout board featuring photo of “Charlie” Chin, Nobuko Miyamoto, Chris Kando Iijima.
  Courtesy of the Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections, Smithsonian Institution.
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  Luis Godoy and Grupo Mancotal
  Courtesy of the Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections, Smithsonian Institution.
• 17 / 17
  Irwin Silber and Barbara Dane at home, Oakland, California, Dec. 1991.
  Photo by Michael Berns. Courtesy of the Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections, Smithsonian Institution.

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