(Musician Sees with Music and Faith)
As a reporter for the Mayefield Messenger, Thomas Carroll captured the soul of his hometown by writing about “real people,” not just those considered newsworthy. His feature stories were well regarded and occasionally came to the attention of the metropolitan daily, the Beacon Light, which published Thomas’ stories under the heading “Dispatch from Mayefield.” The following is one of these Dispatches, published in 1977.
Musician Sees with Music and Faith
By Thomas Carroll
Mayefield Messenger
Many entertainers have sung the National Anthem at sporting events, but when Bennie Dean does it next month at the state university, it will mean much more than just another performance.
For Dean, the road to Crane Field House has been paved with disappointments and frustration. His appearance there represents a triumph over the adversities of extended hospitalization, near death, and permanent blindness.
Dean, a Mayefield resident, is a singer and musician, and leader of a country music band known as the Shades of Blue. The group performs in night clubs throughout the area.
Dean began playing guitar at the age of 13 when he performed with his family in a gospel singing group on radio station WYVE in Wytheville, Virginia. He joined the Army at 17 and continued his musical efforts, entertaining in service clubs.
After the Army, he landed a job at a country music station in Louisiana, but lost his job to a misunderstanding with the station management. It was at this point in his life that an almost unbelievable string of unfortunate circumstances began.
An accident temporarily paralyzed Dean and he remained only semi-conscious for 11 days. When he finally came around, the doctor informed him that the optic nerve and retina in his eyes were totally destroyed. He would never see again.
Many men would give up hope or wallow in remorse after such a painful series of events, but not Bennie Dean. He turned to God and the faith of his boyhood for guidance.
As Dean tells it: “I just lost my wife and daughter in divorce and it seemed the whole world had closed in on me. I felt alone in my world of darkness. But then, I turned to God and asked Him to give me the strength, courage, and guidance to go on living and to continue my musical career. It’s a great comfort to believe in the Lord and to know the next face I see is His.”
Dean now lives to express himself in his music. He has an album coming out early in 1975 that he hopes will spread his songs nationwide.
Singing the National Anthem before Saturday’s basketball game is a very important event in the life of Bennie Dean. All of his extra time lately has been spent rehearsing it. The few moments he spends for the thousands of fans at Crain Field House will be Dean’s triumph over an unkind fate and a victory for strength, the will to survive, and faith.
(Robert J. Marton)