Becky Jo Benson, and Randy Sparks doing a radio interview
with Roger Dee in Robinson, Illinois, March 19, 2010.
Becky Jo Benson
Without Becky Jo Benson there surely would be no revived New Christy Minstrels.
"She has been the workhorse through all of the good times and bad," Randy
acknowledges, "and she's the only person who could be counted on to run the group in
my absence." Randy promised his dying friend Gene Benson that his widow would never
be without employment, and that's a promise kept. She not only serves admirably as
Mother Hen of the group, getting performers to the right places at the right times
in the appropriate attire, but also wins more than her fair share of nightly
applause as a gifted competitor for the audience's respect and affection.
She also admits not being above fetching the trail boss his cowboy coffee.