» ONLINE STORE
» DIGITAL LINKS
Artists by Genre
» Blues
» Country/Folk
» Jazz
Company Info
» Booking
» Catalog List
» Demo
Submissions
» Distribution
» Home
» Links
» MySpace
» Photo Gallery
» Services
» Upcoming
Shows
"Steve"
|
|
Marc Benno
 For
over 40 years, Marc
Benno has been giving blues, rock and pop an unmistakable Texas flavor.
A singer/songwriter who plays the guitar and piano, Benno is also a
behind-the scenes force, who has helped some of rock and
blues’ greatest talents sound even better. The list of
legends he’s worked with includes The Doors, Eric Clapton,
Lightnin’ Hopkins, Bill Wyman, Georgie Fame, Rita Coolidge,
Eddie Murphy and Leon Russell.
Born in Dallas, Benno grew up immersed in popular music – his
father managed the Texas State Fair’s Music Hall garden.
Backstage, Benno met stars like Sam Cooke, Laverne Baker,Frankie
Avalon, Paul Anka, the Drifters and Lloyd Price. But, the first album
Benno remembers hearing was Lightnin’ in New York, by the
legendary Lightnin Hopkins (a rural-blues guitarist who lived in
Houston.)
 Still
in his early teens, Benno started his own regionally successful
pop/R&B group, and in the mid-1960s headed to Los Angeles to
further his career, a move he says put him “in the right
place at the right time.” His blues background made him
sought after by rock groups looking for some rootsy authenticity. One
day, he was tapped to play on an album by the psychedelic rock greats
The Doors. The sessions were for the classic L.A. Woman (1971), the
group’s last LP before Jim Morrison’s death.
“I didn’t know who they were,” Benno
recalls. “But they needed someone who could play a bluesy,
Texas guitar.”
He also recorded a pair of albums with Leon Russell as the Asylum
Choir. Benno fondly remembers crashing in Russell’s closet,
and working with a plethora of musicians who would hang out and jam.
One of them was Eric Clapton, who played guitar on two tracks from
Benno’s 1979 album Lost in Austin: “Last
Train” and “Chasin Rainbows.”
 “Clapton
was a
down-to-earth guy,” Benno says of the man nicknamed
“God” by his fans. “Even though
he’s from England, he reminds me of someone from Texas, so
down to earth and humble and into the blues.”
 With
his career on the rise, Benno struck a deal with A&M Records in
1970 to launch a solo career. He released three albums, 1970s
self-titled album, 1971’s Minnows and 1972’s
Ambush. After Ambush, Benno formed a new band, Marc Benno & The
Nightcrawlers, who were primed to become the next big thing, and went
off on tour opening for Humble Pie and The J. Geils Band –
getting star treatment on tour. One of the Nightcrawlers was a young
guitarist named Stevie Vaughan (he’d start using Ray later).
Benno remembers with pride, “He didn’t sing -
he’d just play the hell out of the guitar.”
However, the label had grown bearish on the prospects for blues-based
rock. The multi-talented Benno could have easily shifted into a pop
career, but he was committed to becoming an even better blues
guitarist, and the Nightcrawlers album was never picked up by
A&M.
 During
1974-75, his childhood influences came full circle when he joined
Lightnin Hopkins’ band as 2nd guitar player. Benno attests to
Hopkins’ colorful personality. “He was dead serious
about music, because he was the real thing. You had better know how to
play the blues to be around him.” “One time, he
fired the bass player on stage... Another time, Benno went to get his
boss a beer only to receive an odd reprimand:
“Don’t you ever open my beer,” Hopkins
told him. “Go get me another beer and don’t open
it.” Hopkins went on to claim that country bluesman Blind
Lemon Jefferson (1893-1929) had been killed by poisoned beer, a story
that is hard to substantiate, but “true if
Lightnin’ said it.” Benno adds that his time with
Hopkins was essential in making him an authentic blues player.
Benno’s career got an unexpected boost in 1985, when his song
“Rock & Roll Me Again” was recorded by The
System for the Beverly Hills Cop soundtrack. Even better, the album won
the Grammy for Best Score for a Motion Picture, a first in
Benno’s career.
By the end of the 80s, the partying lifestyle and the long hours away
from home were catching up with Marc, and he became burned out, losing
his interest in music until the mid-90s when his friends finally helped
him get back on track, and helped him realize he didn’t have
to be high to do his job.
Since moving to San Antonio in 2000, Benno has been working hard again,
writing songs, jamming with local musicians, and even finding time to
get a psychology degree, a big step for a guy who had dedicated 100
percent of his professional efforts towards music since he was 13.
Having lived through all the things that make one a great blues player,
Benno can view his career with perspective and insight. But his
creative fire and ambition remain undimmed. Live, Benno can do an
uptempo R&B set, but he can also do pop, jazz and country.
He’s tough to categorize and is reaching out to audiences
that don’t just want the same thing over and over again.
Quotes
"CD
is solid, good
blues guitar tidbids throughout, strong backing band and good lyrics.
This gets a strong 4.5 out of 5." -STLBlues.net
"I Got It Bad is a solid set of Texas blues with fine songs and
excellent guitar." -Graham Clarke, Blues Bytes
"...tasty mixture of swinging guitar, horn-backed arrangements and
original songs...a king of contemporary Texas blues with some West
Coast rhythms added." -Blue Notes, Post Gazette
"as much Texas tone as anyone could want." -Blues Revue
"a refreshing listen" -Kyle Palarino, BluesWax
Testimonial:
“Marc Benno brings to the stage not
only his formidable vocal talents, which include a keen and perceptive
realization of the lyric content of the piece being performed but also
such a relaxed and mature style of singing and playing guitar that the
listener immediately becomes captivated and enchanted with the easy
professionalism with which he imbues his chosen material. Moreover,
he's great to watch. You know he knows what he's doing. He has a
wonderful sense of time...and humor, which he shares with his
audiences, but not the ultra-hip, exclusive brand, of which the average
person is outside. Benno's real...and for real. One can't help but
enjoy a Marc Benno performance. He's been out of the public eye for
much too long, but thankfully, he's interested in returning...we need
him. This rare breed of a seasoned and confident, talented and
sensitive performer is not in abundance these days.” --Steve LaVere (Music
Historian/Robert Johnson Estate)
 |
Marc
Benno - I Got It Bad
Style: Blues
From
his work
with Leon Russell on the Asylum Choir albums to his appearance on the
Doors LA Woman, to his work as a second guitarist for
Lightnin’
Hopkins, Marc Benno has been an important part of the music scene for
over 40 years. This veteran songwriter and musician returns with an
album of original blues tunes featuring the West Side Horns from San
Antonio and including Jimmie Vaughan's drummer George Rains and Sir
Douglas Quintet bassist Jack Barber. A strong and powerful return to
the blues!
Catalog
#4510 (Released Jun 16, 2009) |
|
|
 |
Marc
Benno - Crawlin
Style: Blues/Rock
The
original
recordings of the infamous Texas blues-rock band featuring Stevie Ray
Vaughan on lead guitar (this
is the first recorded appearance by Stevie),
Doyle Bramhall on drums, Tommy McClure on bass
guitar and Billy Etheridge on keyboards, performing classics written by
Marc Benno and the band. Concentrating on Benno’s songwriting
talents, the band took on a sound of their own and became underground
legends in the Austin music scene of the 70’s. The album,
which
also features Stevie’s first instrumental, was recorded at
Sunset
Sound in Hollywood right before the Nightcrawlers went off on tour with
J. Geils and Humble Pie. They returned from tour to find their label
wasn’t looking for another blues based project, and the album
has
sat unreleased until now!
Catalog
#4511 (Released Jun 16, 2009) |
|
|
This site is ©
Copyright Blue Skunk Music 2005-2010, All Rights Reserved
|
|
