Bucket Man Kicks the Bucket

 I am sorry to hear that one of downtown Northampton's most colorful street musicians, "Motown Bennie the Bucket Man" has died after a long illness. In 2011, Bucket Man, whose real name was Bennie Johnson, was featured on the cover of the Valley Advocate. 

 In his prime, Bennie was the best known busker (musical panhandler) in the upper Valley. Unlike some in his profession, Bennie actually had talent, and his soulful singing and sunny demeanor made him one of the few Hamp panhandlers the business community actually approved of. 

Although he played for coins from passerby, Bennie was really more about giving than taking. He was a real angel of the street scene, always keeping an eye on people and seeing if he could help them. Bennie was a very astute observer of people, and could tell things about them from a quick observation. The first time I spoke to Bennie was when I was straight off the bus from the institution and just wandering down Main Street. "Whatta you outta," he yelled to me as I passed him, "the jail or the nuthouse?" He laughed when I answered, "Both!"

You could also find Bennie at political events, if the cause was in some way related to the needs of the street folk. Here he is addressing the Northampton City Council decked out in his gold spangled Elvis in Vegas cape. 

If Northampton ever recovers from it's overly restrictive Covid policies, and downtown is no longer a ghost town, no doubt the buskers with their guitars, drums and gazoos will return to play on the streets of Hamp. But none of them will ever be quite what Bennie Johnson the Bucket Man was, and I'm not talking about music.

 

Finally, here is hands down the winner of The Most Awkward Political Picture of 2020.