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Born. - 11 April 1922
Place. - Ikorodu, Lagos State,
Died. - 14 May 1983 (aged 61) Lagos,
Instruments - Saxophone, guitar, piano.
Bernard Olabinjo Benson was born on 11 April 1922 in Ikorodu, Lagos State. While at secondary school he also learned tailoring, but after leaving school he became a boxer for a brief period, and then a sailor in the Merchant Navy. In 1944, he left his ship in London, where he made his entertainment debut with the Negro ballet, touring several European capitals. He met his wife, Cassandra (half Scottish and half Caribbean in origin), while in Britain, and on return to Nigeria in 1947 they established the Bobby Benson and Cassandra Theatrical Party.
Their performances included serious music, where he played guitar and saxophone while his wife danced. Based on the popularity of his music, he formed the Bobby Benson Jam Session, a dance band that played swing, jive, sambas and calypsos. In the 1950s, he expanded his band to eleven members, including a trumpet section, and began playing in the popular highlife style. Their first big hit was "Taxi Driver", followed by several others.
Bobby was an entertainer and a comedian as well as a singer, a great performer. He had a show on NTA in the 1970s, where he performed as a stand-up comedian and magician as well as playing and singing. He became a friend of B.B. King and Hugh Masekela. He established the Caban Bamboo, a popular nightclub later converted into the Hotel Bobby. He had several wives, and ten children. Benson died in Lagos on Saturday, 14 May 1983.
Bobby Benson started by playing standard big-band music, but later introduced African themes, as a pioneer of Highlife music in Nigeria. His song "Taxi Driver" became a classic hit in West Africa, covered by several other musicians, blending Caribbean and jazz styles. Other hits were
"Gentleman Bobby"
"Iyawo se wo lose mi"
"Mafe"
"Nylon Dress" and
"Niger Mambo
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Posted By: Ben Iyoha
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