RIP: Jay Bennett (1963-2009)

Jay Bennett died in his sleep Saturday night at the age of 45.
Best known for his work with alt country legend Wilco, Bennett was an
incredible talent, an oft-described perfectionist and enthusiastic performer.
It has been argued that he was the driving force behind Wilco’s expanding
musical depth from the ashes of Uncle Tupelo, and would frequently work in
tandem with Jeff Tweedy for the songwriting of the band’s most important
albums, Summerteethand Yankee Hotel Foxtrot.
Immediately after Wilco finished recording Yankee Hotel Foxtrot,
of which Bennett engineered the majority, he was dismissed from the band
following rising tensions. Since then, Bennett has released five albums mostly
through Undertow Music and has been a force behind the studio glass as a
producer, mixer and engineer.


Bennett was a founding member of the power pop outfit Titanic Love Affair. They
released three albums in the 90s, the last of which overlapped with his
newfound duties with Wilco. Bennett was recruited to Wilco shortly after the
band released their debut LP, an album that seemed to be little more than a
retread of Uncle Tupelo. But with Bennett alongside Jeff Tweedy, Wilco soon
found themselves no longer pigeonholed as an alternative country act but began
ascribing rich pop textures, keyboards and electronics to the earthy melodies.
Fractures grew larger during the tumultuous recording of Yankee Hotel Foxtrot and
the turmoil inevitably forced one of them out. Bennett admitted that he was
saddened but not surprised in the least by the dismissal. The conflict can be
seen in I Am Trying to Break
Your Heart, a documentary film about Wilco directed by Sam Jones.


While the cause of Bennett’s death is unknown as of now, speculation points to
complications arising from Bennett’s hip problems. He first injured it during a
stage dive while performing with Titanic Love Affair. It had never healed right
and caused him tremendous pain off and on for years. Only about a month ago, he
publicly announced on his MySpace page that he needed hip replacement surgery
but could not afford it due to a lack of health care insurance. It is unclear
about the debilitating nature of the injury, but pain medication could have
attributed to an accidental overdose. It is all speculation now, though; I’ll
wait for facts to emerge in the near future.


One of the final public acts in Bennett’s life is, unfortunately, a lawsuit he
filed against Tweedy for breach of contract in regard to his work with Wilco,
notably royalties for songs he wrote and for his appearance in Jones’
documentary. But Tweedy apparently holds no ill will. He and Wilco are touring
in Europe right now, and in response to the
heartrending news, he said, “We are all deeply saddened by this tragedy. We
will miss Jay as we remember him—as a truly unique and gifted human being and
one who made welcome and significant contributions to the band’s songs and
evolution. Our thoughts go out to his family and friends in this very difficult
time.”


Rest in Peace, Jay.

– Matt Medlock