Al Benson
| Al Benson | |
|---|---|
| Born |
Arthur Bernard Leaner June 30, 1908 Jackson, Mississippi, United States |
| Died | September 6, 1978 (aged 70) Three Oaks, Michigan, US |
| Occupation | Radio DJ, music promoter, preacher, businessman, civil rights activist |
Arthur Bernard Leaner (June 30, 1908–September 6, 1978), who was known professionally as Al Benson, was an African-American radio DJ, music promoter and record label owner in Chicago between the 1940s and 1960s. He was particularly significant for his promotion of rhythm and blues music and black involvement in the recording industry in Chicago. "He was the first black radio personality to have a six figure salary...[and] was referred to as the Godfather of Black Radio." He was also an ordained minister, and became an important figure in the civil rights movement in Chicago.
He was born in Jackson, Mississippi. He learned tap dancing with his father's jazz band as a child, and worked in vaudeville shows before moving with his parents in 1923 to Chicago. There, he founded a storefront church, and worked in a wide variety of jobs including cook and probation officer, as well as becoming an established figure in Congressman William Dawson's political machine. As Rev. Arthur Leaner, he made his first broadcasts, of sermons and gospel music, on radio station WGES in 1943.
In 1945, using the pseudonym Al Benson, he started broadcasting a regular weekly one-hour secular show on WGES, in a different slot in which - unlike in the religious program - he was allowed to advertise products. He referred to himself on air as "the Old Swingmaster". Within two years, his output had increased to twenty hours a week, on WGES and WJJD, and in 1948 he was voted the most popular DJ in Chicago. The following year, he was elected to the honorary post of "Mayor of Bronzeville", which he won for several consecutive years, a testament to his huge popularity among African-Americans in the city. This is attributed to the fact that he spoke in colloquial terms with a strong Southern accent, like many of those who had migrated to the city, and that he played many of the blues and rhythm and blues records that had previously been ignored by broadcasters because of their "suggestive" lyrics and "lowlife" connotations.
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