Jay Walter Bennett (November 15, 1963 – May 24, 2009) was an American guitarist, multi-instrumentalist, engineer, producer, and singer-songwriter.
From 1994 through 2001 Bennett was a member of Wilco. Wilco won 2 Grammy Awards so far.
Bennett was a much sought after studio session player as well, having played on albums by Sheryl Crow, Allison Moorer, and Billy Joe Shaver, among many others.
Death of Jay Bennett
In May 2009, Bennett sued Wilco front man Jeff Tweedy for breach of contract stemming from his work for Wilco. The suit came less than two weeks after Bennett publicly revealed that he needed hip replacement surgery which he could not afford due to lack of health insurance. On May 24, 2009 Bennett died unexpectedly in his sleep.
