Benny's history

But because their orphanage was located so far away and unable to serve other Alaskans, in 1925, the Jesse Lee Home moved to a larger facility in Seward, on the Kenai Peninsula.

With Pollack, Goodman recorded his first solo, on “He’s the Last Word” (1926), and contributed significantly to several recordings during the next few years, sometimes performing on saxophone.

In May 1927, the two houses of the territorial legislature adopted the flag design.

After leaving Pollack in 1929, Goodman worked for the next five years as a studio musician in New York City.

Goodman began to make recordings under his own name in 1931 and assembled his band three years later.

Goodman’s early (1934–35) recordings—“Bugle Call Rag,” “Music Hall Rag,” “King Porter Stomp,” and “Blue Moon” among them—began to attract notice at about the time his band was hired for a spot on the national radio program Let’s Dance.

That appearance at the Palomar, on August 21, 1935, is considered the beginning of the swing era.

Another significant event of the Goodman orchestra’s early years was the historic Carnegie Hall concert on January 16, 1938.

By 1940 Goodman was in need of fresh inspiration.

In 1947, after receiving 1,550 roosters from a Saint-Félix-de-Valois hatchery, Joseph-Georges, one of William Benny’s eight sons, discovered a passion for aviculture.

He ended his flirtation with bop in 1950 and thereafter devoted himself to his classic swing style.

The highlights of Goodman’s later career include a fictionalized Hollywood biography, The Benny Goodman Story (1955), which starred Steve Allen as Goodman and featured Goodman’s own clarinet playing on the sound track.

When Alaska achieved statehood in 1959 Benny Benson’s territorial flag became the official state flag.

In 1960, the love story with Quebecers began when the Benny brothers and their brother-in-law went into the restaurant business, opening their very first rotisserie in Joliette.

The original flag – made of blue silk and hand-sewn gold stars – Benny’s original design, and the watch he donated in 1963, are all housed at the Alaska State Museum.

Fissures in the Seward Highway near Portage, Alaska following the Great Alaska Earthquake, March 27, 1964.

Resources for the Study of the 1971 Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act.

He gave a celebrated performance at Carnegie Hall in January 1978, marking the 40th anniversary of his historic concert there.

On one of Goodman’s final recordings, a duet with guitarist George Benson in 1982, he demonstrated that his imagination and technical control had not dimmed with age.

In 2006, Benny&Co. was created in order to bring the various Benny family restaurants under a single name.

Starting in 2009, many family members and owners transition to the brand by joining the new Benny & Co. banner.

In June 2013, Benny & Co. launches a foundation with the mission of contributing to the well-being and development of children with special needs and their families and to provide them with opportunities for positive experiences.

In 2015, the third generation of master roasters finally achieves Gilles Benny’s big dream: The Benny & Co. food truck.

The Stittsville location is the first to open its doors, in December 2018.