Nathan Bennett is a forefather in Paducah music history. Behind many artists, there is often an educator who helped shape their education and development. For many Paducaheans, that person was Nathan.
- Nathan Lynn, Local and Family History
The story of Paducah’s great jazz musicians cannot be told without mentioning the legendary Nathan “Nath” Bennett.
A lifelong resident of Paducah, Bennet was born on December 10, 1872, to Henry and Maggie Bennett. The 1880 US Census shows him as student, living with his parents on Oak St in Paducah. He married Mammie Hunt in Metropolis, Illinois on October 10, 1895. The two lived most of their lives in Paducah at 1008 North 7th St.1
Over the years Nathan worked numerous jobs; waitering at the Richmond Hotel, owning a saloon at 9th and Boyd, working as a laborer, an expressman, a coal distributor, and a junk dealer. But for the sake of our story, he was most notable as a music teacher. He was a self-taught musician as far as anyone knew. While some told tales that he did not even play instruments himself, others said he was proficient on the piano, violin, cello, cornet, trombone, and saxophone. Regardless, Nathan taught both black and white students in the community. He believed that his talent belonged to God and that teaching was “the Lord’s work.” He organized a Black children's band that performed classical music around the city. He orchestrated at Lincoln High School commencements. He wrote numerous scores and reportedly refused money from students, rather, finding financial stability with his other jobs.2
Trombone great, Nat Story credited Bennett with teaching him drums and saxophone when he was a child. He was also credited with the early training of Boyd Atkins and Garnett Bradley. 3
Paducah native, Angienella Chappell notes in her 1979 oral history, "He lived over on North 7th Street. Where he received his music knowledge from, no one knows. He wasn't a player. He didn't play the piano, but he taught the piano and if you went to him and you practice your lessons and did what he told you to do, you could play it. He was also the teacher of all the wind instruments, wind and brass instruments in Paducah at that time because people, the young men from both races went to him for their lessons. We had very good black musicians that rose up in the world from his teaching.”4
While teaching was his forte, he was also a composer. Journalist, Mary Hoffman noted, “So remarkable was his musical ear and ability that, without any training, he could reproduce in a musical score virtually any music he heard, even such elaborate works and concertos.” She went on to state, “The scores of his own works show a comprehensive knowledge of harmony.”5
Nathan died on March 12, 1957, and is buried in Oak Grove Cemetery. His legacy is far reaching and he will be remembered for his influence on Boyd Atkins, Garnett Bradley, L.Z. Milligen, Nat Story, Leo Caldwell, Nathanial Stewart, Hillman's Jazz Band and so many other Paducah music greats.6
To learn more about Paducah’s musical history visit the Local and Family History Room at the McCracken County Public Library or visit our Historic Digital Collections
Citation
1Division of Vital Statistics, Commonwealth of Kentucky, 116575902 Certificate of Death for Nathan Bennett § (1957).
Illinois, U.S. Marriage Index, 1860-1920, Metrpolis, Il §. Accessed March 4, 2025. https://www.ancestrylibrary.com/search/collections/60984/records/248564?tid=&pid=&queryId=3e0a05aa-406e-427d-8249-ef4fc1a03b70&_phsrc=Gzp366&_phstart=successSource.
U.S. Census Bureau, and U.S. Census Bureau, Year: 1880; Census Place: Paducah, McCracken, Kentucky; Roll: 430; Page: 157a; Enumeration District: 126 §. Accessed March 4, 2025. https://www.ancestrylibrary.com/search/collections/6742/records/17745393.
2 Hoffman, Mary M. “Self-Taught Negro Musician Dies at 84.” The Paducah Sun. March 17, 1957, Vol. 80, No. 65 edition. https://www.newspapers.com/image/428955225/?match=1&terms=Nath%20Bennett.
3 Don Pepper, “Jazz Pioneer and the Kids of Rosary Chappel,” Paducah Sun-Democrat, (Paducah, KY), December 8, 1953.
4 Chappell, Angienella. Interview by Mary Bates. October 4, 1979, OH098 Jackson Purchase Oral History Project, Murray State University, Pogue Library, https://digitalcommons.murraystate.edu/oh-lifestyles/10/ . Accessed March 4, 2025
5 Hoffman
6 Division of Vital Statistics
7U.S. Census Bureau, and U.S. Census Bureau, Year: 1920; Census Place: Paducah, McCracken, Kentucky; Roll: T625_588; Page: 5B; Enumeration District: 149 §. Accessed March 4, 2025. https://www.ancestrylibrary.com/search/collections/6061/records/109811158.
U.S. Census Bureau, and U.S. Census Bureau, Year: 1930; Census Place: Paducah, Mccracken, Kentucky; Page: 30B; Enumeration District: 0014; FHL microfilm: 2340503 §. Accessed March 4, 2025. https://www.ancestrylibrary.com/search/collections/6224/records/80930579.
8U.S. Census Bureau, and U.S. Census Bureau, Year: 1930; Census Place: Paducah, Mccracken, Kentucky; Page: 30B; Enumeration District: 0014; FHL microfilm: 2340503 §. Accessed March 4, 2025. https://www.ancestrylibrary.com/search/collections/6224/records/80930579.