Benjamin Milam Barnes, Jr. (January 1, 1934 – August 8, 1985) was an American

country music Country (also called country and western) is a popular music, music genre originating in the southern regions of the United States, both the American South and American southwest, the Southwest. First produced in the 1920s, country music is p ...

singer, songwriter, and guitarist. He is best known for his 1956 hit "Poor Man's Riches".

Biography

Barnes was born January 1, 1934, in

Beaumont, Texas Beaumont is a city in the U.S. state of Texas. It is the county seat of Jefferson County, Texas, Jefferson County, within the Beaumont–Port Arthur metropolitan area, located in Southeast Texas on the Neches River about east of Houston (city ...

. He first played ukulele, and then guitar, in his childhood, and entered various talent shows in

in his teens. He then befriended

George Jones George Glenn Jones (September 12, 1931 – April 26, 2013) was an American Country music, country musician, singer, and songwriter. He achieved international fame for a long list of hit records, and is well known for his distinctive voice an ...

, who also mentored him and had him play rhythm guitar in his road band. At a recording session with Jones at

Gold Star Studios Gold Star Studios was an independent recording studio located in Hollywood, Los Angeles, Hollywood, California. In its entire history, Gold Star was one of the most successful commercial recording studios in the world. Founded by David S. Gold ...

Houston Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

in 1955, Barnes was encouraged by

Starday Records Starday Records was an American record label producing traditional country music during the 1950s and 1960s. History The label began in 1952 in Beaumont, Texas, when local businessmen Jack Starnes (Lefty Frizzell's manager) and Houston record di ...

owner and record producer

Pappy Daily Harold W. Daily (February 8, 1902 – December 5, 1987), better known as "Pappy" Daily, was an American country music record producer and entrepreneur who cofounded the Texas-based record label Starday Records. Daily worked with many of the well ...

to audition as an artist. His first Starday release, "Once Again", was issued in 1956. Following three more unsuccessful releases, he issued "Poor Man's Riches" in August 1956, which went to No. 2 on the ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

'' country charts. Although later recordings were unsuccessful, Barnes appeared on the ''

Louisiana Hayride ''Louisiana Hayride'' is a radio and later television country music show that was broadcast from the Shreveport Municipal Memorial Auditorium in Shreveport, Louisiana; during its heyday from 1948 to 1960, it helped to launch the careers of some ...

'' and continued to record for various other labels throughout his career. His second chart entry came in 1961 on

Mercury Records Mercury Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group. It had significant success as an independent operation in the 1940s and 1950s. Smash Records and Fontana Records were sub labels of Mercury. Mercury Records released ...

with "Yearning". At this point, Barnes also operated a tavern in Beaumont. Barnes continued to record until shortly before his death in 1985.

Bear Family Records Bear Family Records is a Germany-based independent record label, that specializes in reissues of archival material, ranging primarily in country music but varying in everything from 1950s rock and roll to old German movie soundtracks. History T ...

issued a compilation titled ''Benny Barnes: The Complete 1950s Recordings'' in 2007.

Discography

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Barnes, Benny 1934 births 1985 deaths American male singer-songwriters American country singer-songwriters American country guitarists American male guitarists Musicians from Beaumont, Texas Country musicians from Texas Mercury Records artists Starday Records artists 20th-century American guitarists 20th-century American singer-songwriters Singer-songwriters from Texas Guitarists from Texas 20th-century American male singers de:Benny Barnes