Joe Bennett
Joe Bennett was a native of Spartanburg, South Carolina where he grew up in the Cannon’s Campground community and attended Cowpens High School. He developed a love for music at an early age and took private guitar lessons from the late Jerome Fowler who once taught the legendary Hank Garland. As a child, Bennett started a band called The Jamborettes.
In 1956, while still in high school, he formed the rock and roll band that came to be known as the Sparkletones, which is now enshrined in the Rockabilly Hall of Fame. The band members, ranging in age from 13 to 16 at the time the band was formed, included: Joe Bennett, the eldest of the group, on guitar, Wayne Arthur on bass, Howard “Sparky” Childress on guitar and Jimmy Denton on drums. In January 1957, Bob Cox, a talent scout for CBS, held auditions at the Spartanburg Memorial Auditorium, and The Sparkletones took first prize at the event. Convinced they would be a success, Cox quit CBS to manage the group and flew them out to New York City to sign with ABC-Paramount. Their big hit was the song “Black Slacks.” They toured, appeared on the “Ed Sullivan Show” and even met Elvis Presley.
Joe Bennett, the well-known leader of the Rockabilly group often billed as Joe Bennett and The Sparkletones, passed away on Saturday, 4 July 2015 at the Rainey Hospice House in Anderson, South Carolina at the age of 75. He had been suffering from complications related to Parkinson’s disease and Lewy body dementia as a result of being exposed to the chemical Agent Orange while serving in the Air Force during the Vietnam War. Not only will he be remembered as the leader of the Sparkletones, but he will also be evoked for his work and passion as a teacher.
Follow Joe Bennett and The Sparkletones
Recent Posts
The Osmonds and My Conversion to the Mormon Faith
Throughout the years, I have been blessed to meet some of the members of the world-renown Osmond family through telephone conversations, emails and letters, and personal meetings. With each encounter, I have been thoroughly impressed by their genuineness, kindness,...
Imagine Dragons’ 8-Month Tour
Today, June 10, 2015, Imagine Dragons begin an exhausting 8-month tour (with time off for Christmas) that will take them all over the U.S. and Canada, then to the Pacific Rim, then all over Europe. Tickets can be purchased from links on their official website, and all...
Gladys Knight – “Where My Heart Belongs”
In an up close and personal interview for Arise Entertainment 360, the Empress of Soul, Gladys Knight talks about the early days of Motown, the struggles that she faced as a single parent, and how she overcame a gambling addiction and also quit smoking. She also talks...
Alex Boyé Elected to Interweave Solutions’ Board of Directors
Interweave Solutions is a non-profit organization that has been revolutionizing the charitable industry by helping people in developing countries create their own sustainable incomes. Interweave helps neighbors help each other end poverty through self-reliance groups....
Mormons Serving Their Communities
The word “service” is more than just a byword for members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. In fact, one might even say that “service” is a major part of their life. They learn from their youth to be a loving and caring people, and to “lift up the...
Brandon Flowers New Solo Album Has a Personal Twist
When Brandon Flowers played a demo of his song titled “Still Want You” for Ariel Rechtshaid, a record producer, he was almost certain that he would get the same reaction that he had already received from others who had heard it, including his fellow band members....