Bobby Benson

Bernard Olabinjo "Bobby" Benson (11 April 1922 – 14 May 1983) was an entertainer and musician who had considerable influence on the Nigerian music scene, introducing big band and Caribbean idioms to the Highlife style of popular West African music.

Life

Bernard Olabinjo Benson was born on 11 April 1921 in Ikorodu, Lagos State, into an aristocratic family. While at secondary school, Bobby Benson 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 senior wife, Cassandra (half-Scottish and half-Caribbean in origin), while in Britain, and upon returning to Nigeria in 1947, they established the Bobby Benson and Cassandra Theatrical Party. Benson's innovations in musical style also influenced the evolution of popular Jùjú music.

"Taxi Driver", his biggest hit, and "Niger Mambo", an African melody with the Latin beat, were covered with different interpretations by American artists such as Stanley Turrentine and Jackie McLean. Randy Weston covered "Niger Mambo" in a solo performance on his 1978 album Rhythms-Sounds Piano, describing the piece as representing exactly what is called "high life style" in West Africa.

Benson also had musical collaborations with the internationally acclaimed and musical legend Eddy Grant, who stayed in Lagos and performed at the Hotel Bobby for many years. This collaboration lasted for many years, allowing Grant to be able to acclimatise himself to the Nigerian culture. Consequently, Grant was able to speak and record many successful songs and albums in Yoruba and Pidgin English.