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Dyer-Bennet Records

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Richard Dyer-Bennet Biography

Richard Dyer-Bennet (1913–1991) was born in Leicester, England to Richard Stewart Dyer-Bennet (1886–1983) and Miriam Wolcott Clapp. Raised in California and Canada, he established his career in New York after a formative period in Sweden and the United Kingdom. Dyer-Bennet would become known for his scholarly and precise interpretations and arrangements of folk songs and ballads, some of which date back to the 13th century, thus leading him to call 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 who 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, City Hall, and occasionally Carnegie Hall. At his peak, Dyer-Bennet performed dozens of concerts a year. Unlike other folk musicians, he performed formally in evening dress, an aesthetic that matched the “highly polished simplicity” (Osborne 1997:15) of his inimitable vocal style and the diversity of his folk and classical repertoire. His performances eventually led to him signing up with impresario Sol Hurok who promoted his music.

Gallery
Click to view slideshow
  • Black and white line caricature of Richard Dyer-Bennet wearing a suit and playing the guitar.
  • In black and white, Richard Dyer-Bennet stands in front of a barn door with his hands in his pockets and papers tucked underneath his arm. He looks into the distance with a pipe in his mouth.
  • Black and white image of Richard Dyer-Bennet sitting at a bar wearing a tuxedo. One elbow is rested on a guitar case on the bar and the other hand holds a cigarette.
  • In a black and white image, an older Richard Dyer-Bennet sits cross legged in grass, singing and playing guitar with his eyes closed.
  • In black and white, an older Richard Dyer-Bennet sits in profile, smoking a cigarette in a flared hand.
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    Caricature of Richard Dyer-Bennet.
    Courtesy of the Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections, Smithsonian Institution.
  • 2 / 5
    Richard Dyer-Bennet.
    Courtesy of the Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections, Smithsonian Institution.
  • 3 / 5
    Richard Dyer-Bennet.
    Photo by Archie Lieberman. Courtesy of the Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections, Smithsonian Institution.
  • 4 / 5
    Richard-Dyer-Bennet.
    Courtesy of the Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections, Smithsonian Institution.
  • 5 / 5
    Richard Dyer-Bennet at his home in Massachusetts.
    Photo by David Dyer-Bennet.
Click the image above to view gallery

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 radio and television producer 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 and his family were profoundly affected by the Red Scare, even though his songs were not political. His recordings were no longer played on radio and his concert bookings dwindled. He redirected his focus to recording and working 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 translated and recorded Schubert’s “Die schöne 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 number of business records relating to the production of the albums and photographs donated by his family.

—Jeff Place, Curator and Senior Archivist, Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections, Smithsonian Institution