Benny Benack
Encyclopedia
Benidict E. "Benny" Benack (August 31, 1921 - July 23, 1986) was at the forefront of the Pittsburgh
jazz
scene in the 1960s and '70s. A talented trumpet
player, Benack was made famous by his song "Beat'em Bucs" and was a staple at Pittsburgh Pirates
and Pittsburgh Steelers
games. The Benny Benack Orchestra played the styles of traditional jazz, dixieland
, and swing. He was known as the "King of Dixieland" in Pittsburgh for many years.
Benack was born to Italian immigrant parents in 1921 and grew up in Clairton, Pennsylvania
, a suburb of Pittsburgh. His father, Charlie, was a self-taught photographer who started out walking from one mill town to another in the Monongahela River
valley, his equipment on a donkey, making family portraits and class photographs. Uninterested in following in the photography business, young Benny began playing trumpet at age five, and practiced for six or seven hours a day throughout his childhood.
He was educated in the fine arts department of the Carnegie Institute of Technology, now Carnegie Mellon University
, where he was friends with jazz composer Sammy Nestico
. He also attended the University of Pittsburgh
. He played at army bases in Florida and India during WWII, was director of a group of young musicians known as the Dodge Kids, and toured the country with the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra and the Raymond Scott Orchestra. During the late 50's and 1960s, he was an innovative bandleader at Clairton High School, introducing jazz, swing, and high-stepping routines to the marching band's pregame and halftime performances.
Benack died in 1986 of lung cancer. He had three children with his wife Gretchen: Peek, Flip, and Suzie, each of whom had two children of their own. Peek and Flip both live near Pittsburgh with their families, while Suzie moved to upstate New York. Peek continues the family musical tradition as Benny Benack Jr., playing trumpet, clarinet and saxophone. Peek's son, Benny Benack III, is following in his grandfather's footsteps as a jazz trumpeter and currently attends the Manhattan School of Music on a full tuition scholarship. Flip currently owns and operates Benack Sound Productions, an audio/visual production company in Pleasant Hills, a suburb of Pittsburgh (about ten miles (16 km) south, along U.S. Rte. 51, within three miles (5 km) of Clairton).
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Pittsburgh is the second-largest city in the US Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Allegheny County. Regionally, it anchors the largest urban area of Appalachia and the Ohio River Valley, and nationally, it is the 22nd-largest urban area in the United States...
jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
scene in the 1960s and '70s. A talented trumpet
Trumpet
The trumpet is the musical instrument with the highest register in the brass family. Trumpets are among the oldest musical instruments, dating back to at least 1500 BCE. They are played by blowing air through closed lips, producing a "buzzing" sound which starts a standing wave vibration in the air...
player, Benack was made famous by his song "Beat'em Bucs" and was a staple at Pittsburgh Pirates
Pittsburgh Pirates
The Pittsburgh Pirates are a Major League Baseball club based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. They play in the Central Division of the National League, and are five-time World Series Champions...
and Pittsburgh Steelers
Pittsburgh Steelers
The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional football team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The team currently belongs to the North Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League . Founded in , the Steelers are the oldest franchise in the AFC...
games. The Benny Benack Orchestra played the styles of traditional jazz, dixieland
Dixieland
Dixieland music, sometimes referred to as Hot jazz, Early Jazz or New Orleans jazz, is a style of jazz music which developed in New Orleans at the start of the 20th century, and was spread to Chicago and New York City by New Orleans bands in the 1910s.Well-known jazz standard songs from the...
, and swing. He was known as the "King of Dixieland" in Pittsburgh for many years.
Benack was born to Italian immigrant parents in 1921 and grew up in Clairton, Pennsylvania
Clairton, Pennsylvania
Clairton is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, along the Monongahela River. It is part of the Pittsburgh Metropolitan Area. The population was 6,796 at the 2010 census. Under Pennsylvania legal classifications for local governments, Clairton is considered a third-class city...
, a suburb of Pittsburgh. His father, Charlie, was a self-taught photographer who started out walking from one mill town to another in the Monongahela River
Monongahela River
The Monongahela River is a river on the Allegheny Plateau in north-central West Virginia and southwestern Pennsylvania in the United States...
valley, his equipment on a donkey, making family portraits and class photographs. Uninterested in following in the photography business, young Benny began playing trumpet at age five, and practiced for six or seven hours a day throughout his childhood.
He was educated in the fine arts department of the Carnegie Institute of Technology, now Carnegie Mellon University
Carnegie Mellon University
Carnegie Mellon University is a private research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States....
, where he was friends with jazz composer Sammy Nestico
Sammy Nestico
Samuel "Sammy" Louis Nestico is a prolific and well known composer and arranger of big band music...
. He also attended the University of Pittsburgh
University of Pittsburgh
The University of Pittsburgh, commonly referred to as Pitt, is a state-related research university located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. Founded as Pittsburgh Academy in 1787 on what was then the American frontier, Pitt is one of the oldest continuously chartered institutions of...
. He played at army bases in Florida and India during WWII, was director of a group of young musicians known as the Dodge Kids, and toured the country with the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra and the Raymond Scott Orchestra. During the late 50's and 1960s, he was an innovative bandleader at Clairton High School, introducing jazz, swing, and high-stepping routines to the marching band's pregame and halftime performances.
Benack died in 1986 of lung cancer. He had three children with his wife Gretchen: Peek, Flip, and Suzie, each of whom had two children of their own. Peek and Flip both live near Pittsburgh with their families, while Suzie moved to upstate New York. Peek continues the family musical tradition as Benny Benack Jr., playing trumpet, clarinet and saxophone. Peek's son, Benny Benack III, is following in his grandfather's footsteps as a jazz trumpeter and currently attends the Manhattan School of Music on a full tuition scholarship. Flip currently owns and operates Benack Sound Productions, an audio/visual production company in Pleasant Hills, a suburb of Pittsburgh (about ten miles (16 km) south, along U.S. Rte. 51, within three miles (5 km) of Clairton).