Sam Bennett (1865–1951) was an English Morris dancer, fiddler and traditional singer from Ilmington, Warwickshire.
Sam Bennett | |
|---|---|
| Born | 5 November 1865 |
| Died | 13 February 1951 (aged 85) |
| Occupation(s) | Morris dancer, folk musician, fruit merchant |
He was visited by Cecil Sharp in 1909. Sharp studied the dances of Bennett's Morris dancing troupe, but was critical of some "new" elements of the dances, noting that the older dancers in the village performed one particular dance "exactly as Kimber dances it". He noted down some of Sam's songs including "Thorney Moor Woods" and "Admiral Benbow".[1]
Bennett collaborated with Mary Neal and Clive Carey around 1910, who recorded Ilmington dances in the Esperance Morris Book.[1]
In the 1930s, the American song collector James Madison Carpenter recorded Sam Bennett singing several old ballads, all of which can be heard online courtesy of the Vaughan Williams Memorial Library; these include Lord Bateman,[2] Barbara Allen,[3] Blow Away the Morning Dew,[4] Lord Lovel[5] and Our Goodman.[6]
Peter Kennedy recorded an 85 year old Bennett singing several songs in 1950; the full recording is available via the British Library Sound Archive.[7]
The Ilmington Morris Men credit Sam Bennett with the survival of their local tradition.[8]
I have played more than 100 tunes on the fiddle in an evening and know more than 40 songs, while the country dances I picked up from bands of old fiddlers as they were danced a quarter of a century ago’ (Sam Bennett, Stratford-upon-Avon Herald 18 August 1910).[1]
References
edit- ^ a b c "Bennett, Sam – Cecil Sharps People". cecilsharpspeople.org.uk. Retrieved 14 October 2021.
- ^ "Lord Bateman (VWML Song Index SN16624)". The Vaughan Williams Memorial Library. Retrieved 3 October 2022.
- ^ "Barbara Allan (VWML Song Index SN19040)". The Vaughan Williams Memorial Library. Retrieved 14 October 2021.
- ^ "Blow Away the Morning Dew (VWML Song Index SN19042)". The Vaughan Williams Memorial Library. Retrieved 14 October 2021.
- ^ "Lord Lovell (VWML Song Index SN19045)". The Vaughan Williams Memorial Library. Retrieved 14 October 2021.
- ^ "Our Goodman (VWML Song Index SN19931)". The Vaughan Williams Memorial Library. Retrieved 14 October 2021.
- ^ "Sam Bennett, Ilmington, Warwickshire 1950 – Peter Kennedy Collection – World and traditional music | British Library – Sounds". sounds.bl.uk. Retrieved 14 October 2021.
- ^ "Sam Bennett | THE~TRADITIONAL~ILMINGTON~MORRIS~MEN". Retrieved 14 October 2021.