From:  "Dik de Heer" 
Date:  Fri Mar 18, 2005  1:35 am 
Subject:  This Is My Story : Joe Bennett and the Sparkletones

JOE BENNETT AND THE SPARKLETONES

This group is back on the rock 'n' roll scene in its original line-up:
Joe Bennett (lead singer, lead guitar), Howard "Sparky" Childress
(vocals, rhythm guitar), Wayne Arthur (upright bass) and Jimmy
"Sticks" Denton (drums). Recently they have played Viva Las Vegas
2003, Hemsby (May 2003, their debut performance in the UK) and,
just a few days ago, the 5th Rockabilly Rave (11-14 March, 2005).

When the group formed in 1955, their ages ranged from 12 to 16.
All four had been raised in Spartanburg, South Carolina, attended
Cowpens High School in that town, and came from respectable middle-
class families. Indeed, in contrast to a lot of kids who wanted to play
music for a living, all four members of the Sparkletones were regular
churchgoers, and Joe Bennett was one of the leaders of the Church
Youth Movement in South Carolina.

They were discovered in 1956 by Robert F. Cox, a CBS talent scout,
who became their manager and featured them on his local TV show.
By June 1957, Cox had secured them an audition in the NYC offices
of ABC-Paramount. As legend would have it, they were "signed on the
spot", with a recording session only hours later, at Bell Sound Studio.
Out of this session came "Black Slacks", written by Bennett and
Denton, which sported teenage expressions like "cool breeze", "hep
cat", "crazy little mama", "cool daddy-o" and "rarin' to go". It became
the group's first release (ABC-Paramount 9837) and went to # 17 on
the Billboard charts, with a 19-week run in the Top 100.

The group went on a nationwide tour (42 performances in 35 days!),
appeared on American Bandstand and the Ed Sullivan Show, and then
toured with Alan Freed's Rock & Roll Shows. Their follow-up, also an
ode to teen footwear, was called "Penny Loafers and Bobby Socks".

It peaked at # 42 in early 1958. Not a bad showing, but nothing with the
Sparkletone name upon it would ever chart again. "Cotton Pickin' Rocker",
"We've Had It" and "Do the Stop" (all on ABC) were all competent rockers,
but ABC was now promoting Danny and the Juniors and the Royal Teens.

The band broke up in late 1958, because everyone was tired, having been
on the road for so long. In 1959-60, four further singles were released on
the Paris label, all credited to Joe Bennett and the Sparkletones, but
only Joe Bennett and Wayne Arthur sing on those records, backed by
studio musicians. October 1959 saw the release of "The King Is Coming
Back" (about Elvis) by Billy and Eddie on Top Rank and there has been
some speculation over the years that this was a Sparkletones recording.
(It is included on the Sparkletone CD mentioned below.) However, though
the song was written by Joe Bennett and Jimmy Denton, they do not sing
on the record. Asked by Now Dig This who Billy & Eddie were, Joe said
that he didn't know. "I believe they were British guys."

Joe joined the Air Force in 1960 and the group members all drifted off
in different directions.

In 1965 their manager put pressure on ABC and talked them into giving
the Sparkletones one more shot"("Run Rabbit Run"/"Well Dressed Man"),
but that was their last release. The group is now back on the scene, and
intends to record again.

Their records have become collector's items over the years, especially for
Joe's phenomenal Fender lead guitar playing. Another reason is that the
songs (all self-written) remain fresh, containing youthful enthusiasm that
was missing in many other recordings from the late fifties.

CD: The Sparkletones : Complete Recordings 1957-1959 (Sparkletone
SP-CD 99012). 24 tracks. In spite of the 1995 copyright tag, this was
released in 2001 on the Danish bootleg label Sparkletone.

More info: http://www.rockabillyhall.com/JoeBennett.html
Further reading: "The Cat's Pyjamas : The Sparkletones interviewed by
Trevor Cajiao" in: Now Dig This, 244 (July 2003), page 19-22.

(Tony, I suppose you've seen them at the Rockabilly Rave. How did it go?)

Dik