Farewell to simchas’ life and soul, Benny Michel

He was the man who brought joy, song, and music to almost every simcha in the Johannesburg Jewish community for many decades, but this week, Benny Michel’s light went out at the age of 101 years old. The legend remains, but the man is gone.

“Benny lived for music, the functions, the people, and the buzz,” says Estelle Ash, his only daughter, who lives in Australia, of a father whose musical career spanned more than 50 years.

Rabbi Jonathan Fox, speaking at Michel’s funeral on Sunday, 17 November, spoke of him being “truly a legend”.

“Anyone 60 and over knows the magic of Benny. They had him perform at their weddings, Barmitzvahs or both, and then perhaps at their parents’ wedding. He was an outstanding musician. He sang, played the clarinet, the saxophone, and the piano, and brought so much joy,” Fox said.

The Gemorah says that people who bring joy to others will merit being in the tent of Hashem in the world to come, the rabbi said. “There’s no-one who did that more than Benny for so many decades.”

Michel, the eldest of three children, was born in Lithuania on 1 October 1923, and at three months old, he contracted polio, which would cause him great suffering throughout his life. In fact, his daughter said she believed he had been the longest polio victim in the world and there was an article in a medical journal that was soon to be published in this regard.

Although, his physical and health issues became far more severe in his later years, he will always be remembered for entertaining the local Jewish community.

Around Michel’s 100th birthday, performer and studio owner Jonathan Birin described him as “the doyen of wedding bands, the inspiration for bands to give functions the special Jewish vibe that only Jewish weddings have. He was like the front runner, the leader of our industry. If you could get Benny Michel to perform at your wedding, you were guaranteed of having a great wedding.”

In his eulogy, Fox told how Michel and his family came out from Lithuania because his family believed they would get the best surgeons to help him here. For the next 14 years, young Michel had operation after operation, spending much of his youth in and out of hospital. It was said that during his lifetime, he endured more than 50 operations.

For a while, young Michel had a massive cast over much of his body so he wasn’t able to move. “Someone gave him a harmonica to play with, and that was when he realised he had a real talent,” said Fox. He taught himself to play and read music. “Even though he went on to qualify as a jeweller, he put all his passion into singing and playing music, which is what he loved most.”

Michel was a Transvaal swimming champion during his school days. He was educated at Observatory East, Yeoville Boys, and Observatory Junior High. He would tell people he wasn’t a particularly good student but excelled in English and carpentry.

He then trained as a manufacturing jeweller and served his five-year apprenticeship, although he never worked in the profession, finding it too quiet and conservative.

Said Ash, “Benny entered hundreds of talent contests, which were held at the various bioscopes on a Saturday. He won the lot.”

Michel earned 10 shillings a week as an apprentice jeweller. He saved from his meagre earnings and bought a small piano accordion from the very firm whose recording star he was later to become.

“Top dance band leaders took an interest in this youngster, and there was no good band at any time for whom Benny didn’t work at some time or other,” Ash said.

Michel’s dream was to form his own band. He did so at the age of 17, when he assembled a group of youngsters whose average age was 16.

When World War II began, Michel landed a broadcasting contract and won a national contest almost simultaneously.

During the war, Benny formed a civilian “concert party” under the auspices of the YMCA (Young Men’s Christian Association), which entertained troops and did 450 concerts for six years, efforts for which he was awarded a medal by General Jan Smuts for “meritorious service to the war” by a civilian.

After the war, Michel formed a dance band, with arrangements and compositions which captivated audiences.

By 1957, Benny recorded the first vinyl LP record in South Africa called Rozhinkes mit Mandlen, a collection of Jewish songs and lullabies. He recorded another seven LPs, two of which enjoyed international acclaim.

Les Markowitz joined Michel’s band in 1969, at a time when the latter would have about 16 bands performing on a Saturday night at different functions. “I played with Benny personally in his group, and then we formed a little breakaway group of guys who played under his name,” Markowitz told the SA Jewish Report around Michel’s 100th birthday. “We were a little bit more modern in the way we played.”

Fox spoke of Michel’s entertainment “being so popular, he had groups under him, almost like a Benny Michel franchise”.

Said Markowitz at the time, “Benny comes from the old school. A total mensch. He ran his business on strict lines, and it was difficult to be employing up to 50 or 60 different musicians on a Saturday night at different venues. You can imagine the control one needs. That was like a normal eight-to-five-day job for him.”

“Benny was a sensitive, compassionate man with an engaging sense of humour,” Ash said. “He landed a magnificent six-and-a-half-year broadcasting contract with the SABC to do a live big band show called the Sparletta Swing Shift, which aired on Saturday nights. He engaged a 17-piece orchestra and featured well-known vocalists of the time. Benny was his own carpenter, bricklayer, plumber, and electronics engineer. He was also the winner of the popular Today Hitachi Power Tool Did-it-myself Competition.”

Michel basically performed at all the major functions in his day, Birin said. “I heard him play once. I was a youngster at my cousin’s wedding at the Jewish Guild. They were brilliant.”

Birin told the SA Jewish Report that Michel influenced his choice of career. “Just watching the energy and the enjoyment of his bands, I could see that they enjoyed playing so much at weddings and even though I’ve studied at university, I just wanted to do what he did. It’s a wonderful way of making other people happy.

“From him, I learnt to do a good function first, the money comes second. For him, the most important thing was making the crowd happy and ensuring that the bride and groom had their best day ever.”

In addition to weddings and Barmitzvahs, Michel played at banquets, balls, cabarets, nightclubs, birthdays, anniversaries, conventions, rallies, jazz recitals, and fundraisers. He performed before royalty, including the Princesses Elizabeth and Margaret when they toured South Africa in 1947.

In 2002, Michel released his autobiography, Footnote to a Dream. “It’s a revealing, nostalgic story about a bittersweet life,” Ash said. Michel was married to Becky for more than 60 years, but she passed away more than a decade ago.

Fox read a message from Ash at Michel’s funeral. “As much as I’m going to hate not having you around, I’m happy you’re finally at rest. You struggled so much, and reaching 101 wasn’t easy for you. You were the guiding light of my life and instilled in me compassion and a love of music. It feels like I have lost a piece of my heart. Time and tears will take away my grief. When a great man dies, the light he leaves behind will shine forever.”

Michel leaves behind his daughter, three grandchildren, and a great-grandson.