Boyd Byron Bennett was an American rockabilly songwriter and singer.
15 Facts About Boyd Bennett
1.
2.
Boyd Bennett was born in Muscle Shoals, Alabama, United States, but attended high school in Tennessee and formed his first band there.
3.
Boyd Bennett grew up in North Davidson, Tennessee, just outside Nashville.
4.
Boyd Bennett's grandfather taught members of churches within the community how to read music.
5.
Boyd Bennett taught Boyd by the age of four years how to read the notes in music, before Boyd could actually read song lyrics.
6.
Boyd Bennett sang in quartets and played guitar and sang outside of bars for extra funds.
7.
Boyd Bennett's Rockets became King's house band, backing up Moon Mullican, Earl Bostic, Bill Doggett, Merle Travis, and Otis Williams and the Charms.
8.
Boyd Bennett aimed the song directly at the teenage audience, but producer Syd Nathan dismissed the effort and claimed that teenagers had no money to buy records.
9.
Boyd Bennett shrewdly waited until Nathan left for a two-week vacation, and prevailed upon Nathan's assistant Henry Glover to release the record.
10.
Boyd Bennett worked as a disc jockey in 1955 in Louisville, Kentucky.
11.
In March 1956, Boyd Bennett's group released their cover version of "Blue Suede Shoes".
12.
In 1959, Boyd Bennett left King Records and commenced a subsequent brief recording career with Mercury.
13.
Boyd Bennett retired in Dallas, although he made infrequent concert appearances, often with Ray Price.
14.
Boyd Bennett recorded for Dallas-based Christian record label Rainbow, including the 1980s album "Step Into The Sunshine".
15.
Boyd Bennett died of a lung ailment in Sarasota, Florida on June 2,2002.