edbentleymusic.com

 Singer/Songwriter

 Ed Bentley

Bio 

ED BENTLEY: FULL CIRCLE

In late 2004 Ed Bentley was inducted into the Rockabilly Hall of Fame after having been away from the music scene for over 20 years. Running a sucessfull Insurance business at the time was a nice secure life but there was always that feeling,"somethings missing". That "something" was performing and writing country songs. Ed's induction into the RABHOF was the needed spark, and before long he sold the Insurance business, grabbed his guitar and jumped right back into music with both feet. He started making frequent trips to Nashville, renewing old aquaintances, co writing with some great writers, opened a publishing company and finally started recorded again. Ed's latest CD being "Who Needs Jamaica", features some of the songs he has written or cowritten over the last two years.

It all started back in 1956 when the music of Elvis Presley, Carl Perkins and Johnny Cash was humming over the airwaves and into the homes & hot rods of teenagers across the nation.

Many adults figured the sounds were just a passing fad. The kids, including 14-year-old Ed Bentley, knew better.

For Ed, Johnny Cash's "I Walk the Line" was a life-changing experience. He loved the music of Cash, Carl Perkins & Jerry Lee Lewis so much he would shamelessly beg his sister for money to buy their records. He also began to realize he was destined to become a musician.

Edward Bentley was born February 5, 1942 to Edward and Esther "Pat" (Graham) Bentley. They lived on a farm in Belmont, a rural community in western New York state.

His mother - who was later re-married to a man named Loveless - was a well known performer in her own right. Ed smiles when he says his mom "is the original Patty Loveless."

The teenage Ed enlisted her to teach him to play guitar. He took to the instrument like a duck takes to water.

In 1957, Ed won $5 and a brand new, white cowboy hat by performing Marty Robbins' "White Sport Coat and a Pink Carnation," in an ameteur contest at a Buffalo, NY nightclub.

Before long, he was performing with such artists as Joanie Marshall, Ernie Weber, and Happy Mann & the Country Squires. He eventually formed the Memphis Sound Band, becoming known as "Eddie" Bentley.

Ed also started playing with the house bands at two Buffalo nightclubs - Club Utica and the T & T Western Paradise. He backed such artists as Mac Wiseman, Bobby Helms and Mel Street.

But, while he logged plenty of playing time, Ed realized he wasn't making any headway in recordings. So, he packed up his guitar in 1961 and moved to Memphis, Tennessee.

He joined Eddie Bond & the Stompers soon after his arrival. His bandmates included the now-legendary John Hughey on steel guitar, and Jimmy Smith on piano.

Bond also owned a club called the Little Black Book where Carl Perkins, Charlie Rich and Harold Dorman -- who wrote "Mountain of Love" -- were booked. Ed earned a whopping $15 weekly, playing there six nights per week.

In the wee hours of the morning he'd return to his $8-per-week room at a boarding house he shared with several other young musicians, and a fair amount of cockroaches.

"Those were great days in Memphis. We played because we loved the music, we obviously didn't do it for the money," Ed laughs.

Ed returned to Buffalo's music scene a year later. In 1964 he recorded the regional hit "Lovin' Man" on the Canadian ARC label.

Shortly afterward, he recorded an instrumental piece called "Brang" with Ted Russell, a.k.a. Wade Curtis & the Rhythm Rockers -- also listed in the Rockabilly Hall of Fame.

From 1965 to about 1967, well-known east coast radio personality Tommy Shannon managed Ed's career.

Ed was recording under the name of "Jimmy Satan" -- and while the name lent a certain aura of danger to his persona, it didn't help to sell many records.

Several of Ed's recordings from that era were released on a Detroit-based Motown subsidiary, including "Look at the Clock Up There," "Richard Cory," and "Dream, Woman, Dream."

Ed also played with bands, including Kathy Lynn & the Playboys, with whom he would play again in later years. The year 1967 brought "Drift on You Bum" on the Buffalo-based GJM label, and "the Fool" was recorded in 1968.

Among the great Buffalo studio musicians appearing on Ed's records during that time were Tommy Calandra, Gary Mallaber -- who went on to play with the Steve Miller Band -- and Stan (Szelest) and the Ravens, who later worked with Lonnie Mack, Ronnie Hawkins and the Band.

Ed flew to Nashville in 1969 to record "Little Children Run and Play" for Paula Records, a label out of Shreveport, La.

After 1969, Bentley elected to shelve the recording career for a while, opting instead to pursue another area of the music business. In 1971 he opened the Ed Bentley Music Center in Buffalo, where he sold musical instruments -- catering to his fellow musicians. He was also still going strong with his music, playing honky tonks and shows with the likes of Merle Haggard, Rose Maddox, and Buffalo's legendary Stone Country Band.

From 1980 to 1982 he was a district sales manager for Gibson Guitar Co., traveling between Detroit, Michigan and Cleveland, Ohio.

He decided in 1985 to return to his rural roots, and settled in the small community of Delevan, NY -- about 40 miles southeast of Buffalo.

Ed has since worked as a salesman, stockbroker, and eventually, an insurance ageny owner. He has recently sold the insurance business and now devotes most of his time performing and writing.

Although he put down his guitar, for the most part, over those years, Ed still had the occasion to play with local bands for events around the area. In late 2004, Ed was inducted into the Rockabilly Hall of Fame.

"After we found him to be the 'real deal,' he was brought into the fold," said founder Bob Trimmers. "These veterans should receive their much deserved recognition. That's our purpose and it has great rewards, especially when cats like Ed are still giggin' and recording."

He's seen his love of music transcend the generations, and noted that his three children and four grandchildren all have an affinity for playing music. Ed still finds time to commute to Nashville a few times a year to cowrite with some of the worlds finest songwriters .

Like his hero, Johnny Cash, Ed Bentley still "walks the line."