Footnote to a Dream

This book chronicles the dramatic life and career of Benny Michel, from his birth in Lithuania and subsequent immigration to South Africa in search of medical care. It describes how Benny became one of the county’s leading musicians despite a history of physical and mental abuse at the hands of his fanatically religious, domineering father, his life long battle against a crippling Polio affliction and the emotional anguish of his wife’s chronic illness. This is a moving human story of personal triumph and the sometimes hilarious, sometimes disastrous inner workings of dance bands. A slice of musical history, it is a revealing nostalgic tapestry and sweeping panorama of South African show-business in the era of big dance bands.