View source for Brenda Bennett

{{Short description|American singer (born 1962)}}
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{{EngvarB|date=August 2014}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=December 2022}}
{{BLP sources|date=May 2010}}
{{Infobox musical artist
| name            = Brenda Bennett
| image           =
| alt             =
| caption         =
| image_size      =
| birth_name      = Brenda Mosher
| alias           =
| birth_date      = {{birth date and age|1962|1|24}}<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=uLYDAAAAMBAJ Vanity 6 Lives Out Daring Fantasies On Stage (Jet Magazine, 24 January 1983)]</ref>
| birth_place     =[[Warwick, Rhode Island]]
| death_date      =
| death_place     =
| origin          = [[Boston]], Massachusetts, U.S.
| instrument      =
| genre           = [[Soul music|Soul]], [[funk]], [[New wave music|new wave]], [[Pop music|pop]], [[Rock music|rock]]
| occupation      = Singer, actress
| years_active    = 1980–present
| label           = [[Warner Bros. Records|Warner Bros.]]
| associated_acts = [[Apollonia 6]], [[Vanity 6]], [[Prince (musician)|Prince]]
}}
'''Brenda Bennett''' (born January 24, 1962) is a recording artist from [[Warwick, Rhode Island]] and is best known as a member of the American musical groups [[Vanity 6]] and [[Apollonia 6]].<ref>{{cite web|url={{AllMusic|class=artist|id=p173019/biography|pure_url=yes}}|title=Biography: Vanity 6|last=Henderson|first=Alex|publisher=[[AllMusic]]|accessdate=May 1, 2010}}</ref> Bennett was married to Prince's lighting and set-designer/director Roy Bennett, and she had worked as Prince's "wardrobe mistress." Bennett started off as a member of a Columbia Records band called Ken Lyon and Tombstone, which toured with [[Mott the Hoople]] and [[Queen (band)|Queen]].
==Career==
Vanity 6 was formed by recording artist [[Prince (musician)|Prince]] in 1982. Lead vocalist [[Vanity (singer)|Vanity]] left Vanity 6 in 1983 after continuous disagreements with Prince. Group members Bennett and [[Susan Moonsie]] were joined by Vanity's replacement, vocalist [[Apollonia Kotero|Apollonia]], and Prince renamed the group [[Apollonia 6]]. In both groups, Prince wanted to give Bennett the image of a bad girl—she smoked and had an attitude. Bennett and group member Susan Moonsie had small parts in the 1984 film ''[[Purple Rain (film)|Purple Rain]]'', which starred Prince. Apollonia co-starred in the film.

Bennett can be heard on lead vocals on the songs "Bite the Beat" on the [[Vanity 6 (album)|Vanity 6 album]], and on "Some Kind of Lover", "A Million Miles (I Love You)," and "Blue Limousine" on the [[Apollonia 6 (album)|Apollonia 6 album]]. She can also be heard on the background vocals of the song "[[17 Days (song)|17 Days]]" that Prince withdrew from their album. The song became a [[B-side]] of his single "[[When Doves Cry]]".

In April 2007, YouTube displayed the Apollonia film ''Happy B.Day Mr. Christian''.  In this film, Brenda features her solo song "Blue Limousine" from the Apollonia 6 LP.  She runs through cars and sings outside a gas station about her missed lover who treats her unkindly, and features Susan and Apollonia in black leather working on cars. Brenda released several music videos on YouTube in 2011. It took her a long time to recover from the death of her brother and mother before she was able to make any music again. In 2013, Bennett released "Guiltier" (written by Charlie Mason, Rob Curti, and Måns Ek) and Jemmima, "Guiltier" is a song about how it feels like to know your loved one is doing the wrong things behind your back.

Bennett appeared on [[Ken Reid (comedian)|Ken Reid]]'s ''TV Guidance Counselor'' podcast on February 24, 2016.

Bennett lives in [[Jamestown, Rhode Island]] and is an inductee of the Rhode Island Music Hall of Fame.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Shane|first1=Ken|title=Former Vanity 6 singer inducted into RI Music Hall of Fame|url=http://www.jamestownpress.com/news/2015-02-19/Front_Page/Former_Vanity_6_singer_inducted_into_RI_Music_Hall.html|website=The Jamestown Press|accessdate=April 23, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180627005316/http://www.jamestownpress.com/news/2015-02-19/Front_Page/Former_Vanity_6_singer_inducted_into_RI_Music_Hall.html|archive-date=June 27, 2018|url-status=dead}}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{Vanity 6}}

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Bennett, Brenda}}
[[Category:1962 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:American women singers]]
[[Category:Singers from Boston]]
[[Category:Apollonia 6 members]]
[[Category:Vanity 6 members]]
[[Category:American feminist musicians]]
[[Category:American women new wave singers]]


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