Richard Dyer-Bennet went to high school in Germany (pre-Hitler—late 1920s, I believe), where he picked up some German folk songs from fellow students and learned a few chords on the guitar. Some years later, he was singing at a party in San Francisco where voice teacher Gertrude Wheeler Beckman heard him, was impressed by the quality of his voice, and told him about the Swedish lute-singer, Sven Scholander. Dyer-Bennet studied voice with her for some time, then scraped his nickels together and, in 1935, went to Sweden to meet Scholander.

This is an excellent web page about Richard Dyer-Bennet:   HERE.   And an excellent article, well worth reading in its entirety.

Another good article in Folkworks. Click HERE (this is a pdf file) and scroll down to page 14.

In his very early performances he used a lute, like Scholander's, but then decided that the classic guitar was more versatile for the range of songs he wanted to sing. He used a guitar made by Vicente Tatay for many years, then in the 1950s he got a Manuel Velasquez. Both were fine concert quality instruments (my own classic guitar teacher, Edward Hern, owned a Velasquez). Some of his accompaniments, such as his accompaniment to "The Joys of Love" (Richard Dyer-Bennet Records #1), were the finest blends of voice and classic guitar I have ever heard.

I've had the good fortune to hear Dyer-Bennet in concert several times, and on a couple of occasions, I had a chance to chat with him. When I first met him in 1957(?), he was very friendly and encouraging of my ambitions and efforts.

A unique artist and a very nice guy.

Don Firth