Jay Walter Bennett (November 15, 1963 – May 24, 2009) was an American multi-instrumentalist, engineer, producer, and singer-songwriter, best known as a member of the band

Wilco Wilco is an American Rock music, rock band based in Chicago. The band was formed in 1994 by the remaining members of alternative country group Uncle Tupelo after singer Jay Farrar's departure. Wilco's lineup changed frequently during its fir ...

from 1994 to 2001.

Biography

Early life and work with Wilco

Jay Bennett was born November 15, 1963, in Rolling Meadows, Illinois, a suburb northwest of

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

. Bennett was a founding member of Titanic Love Affair. The band recorded three albums in the 1990s: ''Titanic Love Affair'' (1991), ''No Charisma'' (EP, 1992), and ''Their Titanic Majesty's Request'' (1996). He also played guitar with Steve Pride and His Blood Kin and Gator Alley. Nearing a master's degree in education at the

University of Illinois The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC, U of I, Illinois, or University of Illinois) is a public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Champaign–Urbana metropolitan area, Illinois, United ...

, Bennett became a classroom teacher at Urbana Junior High, first as a substitute in 1985. Bennett was a full-time middle-school math teacher in 1986 at the then redesignated Urbana Middle School. He also worked for several years as an electronics technician for a local audio-video repair store. From 1994 through 2001 Bennett was a member of

. Conflicts between front man

Jeff Tweedy Jeffrey Scot Tweedy (born August 25, 1967) is an American musician, singer songwriter, author, and record producer best known as the lead vocalist and guitarist of the band Wilco. Tweedy, originally from Belleville, Illinois, began his music care ...

and Bennett that would contribute to Bennett's split with Wilco are visible in the Sam Jones film '' I Am Trying to Break Your Heart: A Film About Wilco.'' Although Bennett sought to act as both mixer and engineer for ''

Yankee Hotel Foxtrot ''Yankee Hotel Foxtrot'' is the fourth studio album by the American rock band Wilco, originally self-released on September 18, 2001, on their website, and in retail stores on April 23, 2002, through Nonesuch Records. Recording sessions for the a ...

'', Tweedy was unsure of Bennett's abilities against those of producer Jim O'Rourke. Bennett claimed he "tried to stay away from the mixing, having been reminded that Jim didn't like a lot of folks around when he was mixing." Tweedy and Bennett frequently argued over whether the album should be accessible to a general listener, or attempt to cover new musical ground. Unbeknownst to Bennett, Tweedy invited O'Rourke to remix "I Am Trying to Break Your Heart", and the results impressed the other band members – even Bennett. Tensions grew between Bennett and O'Rourke because Bennett wanted to play a more integral role regarding the mixing of the album. O'Rourke cut the contributions of other members on several of the songs; some songs, such as "Poor Places", only featured the

Loose Fur Loose Fur was an American rock supergroup comprising Wilco members Jeff Tweedy and Glenn Kotche, along with Wilco collaborator and Sonic Youth's multi-instrumentalist Jim O'Rourke. The trio first convened in May 2000 in preparation for a Tweedy ...

trio of Tweedy, O'Rourke and Wilco drummer Glenn Kotche. Bennett claimed he contributed organ, guitars, and the "Noiz section" to "Poor Places". The album was completed in 2001, and Bennett was dismissed from the band immediately afterwards.

Solo career

After leaving Wilco, Bennett released five solo albums. The first, entitled ''The Palace at 4 am'', was a collaboration with Champaign musician Edward Burch. 2004's ''Bigger Than Blue'' was a more stripped-down set of personal songs. In the same year he released ''The Beloved Enemy'', which saw Bennett exploring his personal turmoil in even more intimate detail. ''The Magnificent Defeat'' was released by

Ryko Rykodisc is an American record label owned by Warner Music Group, operating as a unit of WMG's Independent Label Group and distributed through Alternative Distribution Alliance. History Claiming to be the first CD-only independent record lab ...

Records in September 2006. He released ''Whatever Happened I Apologize'' in November 2008 on rockproper.com. Bennett had been working on a sixth record, titled ''Kicking at the Perfumed Air''. It was released posthumously for free on May 24, 2010, on the Jay Bennett Foundation's website. In addition to his popularity in Wilco and as a solo performer, Bennett also played on albums by

Sheryl Crow Sheryl Suzanne Crow (born February 11, 1962) is an American singer-songwriter, musician, and actress. She is noted for her Optimism, optimistic and Idealism, idealistic subject matter, and incorporation of genres including Rock music, rock, Po ...

Allison Moorer Allison Moorer (born June 21, 1972) is an American Country music, country singer-songwriter. She signed with MCA Nashville in 1997 and made her debut on the U.S. Billboard Country Chart with the release of her debut single, "A Soft Place to F ...

, Sherry Rich and Billy Joe Shaver, produced Michelle Anthony's 2004 release, "Stand Fall Repeat", West of Rome's 2005 release, "Drunk Tank Decoy", and Blues Traveler's 2005 release, '' ¡Bastardos!''. Bennett mixed the album ''Double Barrel'' by Chicago country-rock band Old No. 8.

Later life and death

In May 2009, Bennett sued Wilco frontman

for breach of contract stemming from his work for Wilco. The suit came less than two weeks after Bennett publicly revealed that he needed hip replacement surgery which he could not afford due to his

health insurance Health insurance or medical insurance (also known as medical aid in South Africa) is a type of insurance that covers the whole or a part of the risk of a person incurring medical expenses. As with other types of insurance, risk is shared among ma ...

considering the situation a "pre-existing condition." Jay Bennett where are you - May 24 2009

On May 24, 2009, Bennett died unexpectedly in his sleep. On the weekend of his death, members of Titanic Love Affair and fellow bands and friends from its heyday had descended on Champaign-Urbana for a "Play or Pose Reunion" at which Bennett was expected to perform. When Bennett failed to show up for festivities, they posted a picture on the "Play or Pose" website, brandishing a placard reading "Jay Bennett, we're here, where are you? We love you." The Champaign County coroner reported about one month later that Bennett's death was accidental, and was the result of an

overdose A drug overdose (overdose or OD) is the ingestion or application of a drug or other substance in quantities much greater than are recommended. Retrieved on September 20, 2014.

of the prescription

painkiller An analgesic drug, also called simply an analgesic, antalgic, pain reliever, or painkiller, is any member of the group of drugs used for pain management. Analgesics are conceptually distinct from anesthetics, which temporarily reduce, and in s ...

Fentanyl Fentanyl is a highly potent synthetic piperidine opioid primarily used as an analgesic (pain medication). It is 30 to 50 times more Potency (pharmacology), potent than heroin and 50 to 100 times more potent than morphine. Its primary Medici ...

. He was wearing a Duragesic patch on his back when his body was found, said Champaign County Coroner Duane Northrup. At the time of his death, Bennett lived in Urbana, Illinois, where he spent most of his time writing songs and recording in his private studio, Pieholden Studios, which was named after "Pieholden Suite" on Wilco's ''

Summerteeth ''Summerteeth'' (stylized as summerteeth) is the third studio album by the American rock band Wilco (stylized as ''wilco''), released on March 9, 1999, by Reprise Records. The album was heavily influenced lyrically by 20th century literature, as ...

''. Immediately after his death, a friend of Bennett's posted a blog through the musician's MySpace account, saying that Bennett had "been in a really good place these last few years." The post also revealed that he had been looking forward to engineering an unreleased Titanic Love Affair album, another album with Edward Burch titled ''The Palace at 4 am Part II'', and that he had recently enrolled in graduate school classes at the

.MySpace blog entry o
Jay Bennett
's page. The post ended by encouraging fans to engage in some of Bennett's favorite activities: "listen to a

Nick Lowe Nicholas Drain Lowe (born 24 March 1949) is an English singer-songwriter, musician and producer. A noted figure in Pub rock (United Kingdom), pub rock, power pop and New wave music, new wave,MythBusters ''MythBusters'' is a science entertainment television series created by Peter Rees (producer), Peter Rees and produced by Beyond International in Australia. The series premiered on the Discovery Channel on January 23, 2003. It was broadcast in ...

'' on

Discovery Discovery may refer to: * Discovery (observation), observing or finding something unknown * Discovery (fiction), a character's learning something unknown * Discovery (law), a process in courts of law relating to evidence Discovery, The Discovery ...

, play

Warren Zevon Warren William Zevon (January 24, 1947 – September 7, 2003) was an American rock singer and songwriter. His most famous compositions include "Werewolves of London", "Lawyers, Guns and Money" and "Roland the Headless Thompson Gunner". All t ...

’s "

Roland the Headless Thompson Gunner "Roland the Headless Thompson Gunner" is a song composed by Warren Zevon and David Lindell and performed by Zevon. It was included on Zevon's 1978 album ''Excitable Boy'', and while never released as a single became a fan favorite. It was the las ...

," rent ''

Pay It Forward Pay it forward is an expression for describing the beneficiary of a good deed repaying the kindness to others rather than paying it back to the original benefactor. It is also called serial reciprocity. The concept is old, but the particular ph ...

'' (one of his favorite movies), write a song with the TV on and the sound off," and focus on Bennett's loving spirit. Former bandmate Jeff Tweedy also made a brief statement on Wilco's official website: "We are all deeply saddened by this tragedy. We will miss Jay as we remember him – as a truly unique and gifted human being and one who made welcome and significant contributions to the band's songs and evolution. Our thoughts go out to his family and friends in this very difficult time." Bennett's final album, ''Kicking at the Perfumed Air'', was released on July 10, 2010, through The Jay Bennett Foundation. It was made available free of charge, with a suggested donation.

''Where Are You, Jay Bennett?'' documentary

Co-Directed by Gorman Bechard and Fred Uhter, this music documentary "delves into the life and career of Jay Bennett. The extremely talented musician was a crucial member of

during the band’s formative years." Released on Blu Ray and pay-per-view on April 19, 2022, and as part of a

Record Store Day Record Store Day is a semi-annual event established in 2008 to "celebrate the culture of the independently owned record store". Held on one Saturday (typically the third) every April and every Black Friday in November, the day brings together f ...

release with vinyl editions of Bennett's last two albums, ''Whatever Happened I Apologize'' and ''Kicking at the Perfumed Air'' on April 23, 2022, "the new film does a wonderful job of capturing the quirkiness, inventiveness and brilliance of someone who never met an instrument he couldn't play. Bennett once described hearing the open spaces of the songs and holes that became his sonic landscape. They were at the core of the remarkable string of Wilco’s albums ''

Being There ''Being There'' is a 1979 American satirical comedy-drama film starring Peter Sellers, Shirley MacLaine, and Melvyn Douglas. Directed by Hal Ashby, it is based on the 1971 novel '' Being There'' by Jerzy Kosiński, and adapted for the scr ...

'', ''

'' and ''

''." The film was originally started by Uhter, who asked Bechard to take over the project when it stalled. It takes a hard look at Bennett's years in Wilco. "Jay Bennett's reputation never quite recovered from the battering it took in Sam Jones' documentary ''I Am Trying To Break Your Heart: A Film About Wilco'', about the complex, lengthy gestation of 2002's ''Yankee Hotel Foxtrot'' in often painful detail, portrayed a band slowly pulling itself apart, with chief songwriters Bennett and Jeff Tweedy its twin opposing forces. Filmmakers Gorman Bechard and Fred Uhter seek to redress the balance''"''.

Discography

Albums

* ''The Palace at 4 a.m. (Part I)'' (with Edward Burch) (2002) * ''Bigger than Blue'' (2004) * ''The Beloved Enemy'' (2004) * ''The Magnificent Defeat'' (2006) * ''Whatever Happened I Apologize'' (2008) * ''Kicking at the Perfumed Air'' (2010) * ''Where Are You Jay Bennett?'' OST (2022)

References

External links

* Official Spotify Artist Pag

*
R.I.P. Jay Bennett
" a remembrance by Bob Boilen at

NPR National Public Radio (NPR) is an American public broadcasting organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It serves as a national Radio syndication, syndicator to a network of more ...

's All Songs Considered blog {{DEFAULTSORT:Bennett, Jay 1963 births 2009 deaths Record producers from Illinois American rock guitarists American male guitarists American rock songwriters American male songwriters American rock singers American multi-instrumentalists Wilco members Singer-songwriters from Illinois Writers from Urbana, Illinois Drug-related deaths in Illinois The Minus 5 members 20th-century American singer-songwriters 20th-century American guitarists People from Rolling Meadows, Illinois Guitarists from Illinois 20th-century American male musicians