Benack was born to Italian immigrant parents in 1921 and grew up in Clairton, Pennsylvania, a suburb of Pittsburgh. His father, Charlie, was a self-taught photographer who started out walking from one mill town to another in the Monongahela River valley, his equipment on a donkey, making family portraits and class photographs.
Carnegie Mellon University.
A talented trumpet player, Benack was made famous by his song "Beat"em Bucs" and was a staple at Pittsburgh Pirates and Pittsburgh Steelers games. The Benny Benack Orchestra played the styles of traditional jazz, dixieland, and swing. He was known as the "King of Dixieland" in Pittsburgh for many years.
Uninterested in following in the photography business, young Benny began playing trumpet at age five, and practiced for six or seven hours a day throughout his childhood.
He also attended the University of Pittsburgh. He played at army bases in Florida and India during World World War II, was director of a group of young musicians known as the Dodge Kids, and toured the country with the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra and the Raymond Scott Orchestra.
During the late 50"s and 1960s, he was an innovative bandleader at Clairton High School, introducing jazz, swing, and high-stepping routines to the marching band"s pregame and halftime performances. Benack died in 1986 of lung cancer.
Peek and Flip both live near Pittsburgh with their families, while Suzie moved to upstate New New York
Peek continues the family musical tradition as Benny Benack Junior., playing trumpet, clarinet and saxophone. Flip currently owns and operates Benack Sound Productions, an audio/visual production company in Pleasant Hills, a suburb of Pittsburgh (about ten miles (16 km) south, along United States. Rte. 51, within three miles (5 km) of Clairton).
