Difference between revisions of "Brook Benton"
(New page: Born as Benjamin Franklin Peay in Camden, South Carolina on September 19, 1931, Brook Benton as a teenager was writing songs and singing gospel music. With a voice described as “the ve...) |
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| − | Born as Benjamin Franklin Peay in Camden, South Carolina on | + | '''Brook Benton''' Born as Benjamin Franklin Peay in Camden, South Carolina on |
September 19, 1931, Brook Benton as a teenager was writing | September 19, 1931, Brook Benton as a teenager was writing | ||
| − | songs and singing gospel music. | + | songs and singing [[gospel music]]. |
With a voice described as “the velvet touch, early in his career | With a voice described as “the velvet touch, early in his career | ||
Brook Benton made a living as a “demo” singer, recording songs | Brook Benton made a living as a “demo” singer, recording songs | ||
that would be passed on to such stars as Roy Hamilton, | that would be passed on to such stars as Roy Hamilton, | ||
| − | Nat | + | Nat “King” Cole and Clyde McPhatter. |
Signed by Vik Records as a solo artist, Brook Benton would have his | Signed by Vik Records as a solo artist, Brook Benton would have his | ||
| Line 14: | Line 14: | ||
peaking at #3 nationally in January, 1959. | peaking at #3 nationally in January, 1959. | ||
| − | In 1959 he would have five songs on the Hit Parade | + | In 1959 he would have five songs on the Hit Parade: |
| − | + | * “Endlessly” (April) | |
| − | + | * “Thank You Pretty Baby” (July) | |
| − | “This Time of the Year” for | + | * “So Many Ways” (October) |
| + | * “This Time of the Year” (In time for Christmas) | ||
| + | |||
| + | Teaming up with label | ||
mate Dinah Washington in 1960 with “A Rockin’ Good Way”, | mate Dinah Washington in 1960 with “A Rockin’ Good Way”, | ||
Brook continued with another top ten hit, “Kiddio” and | Brook continued with another top ten hit, “Kiddio” and | ||
| Line 23: | Line 26: | ||
With more than 50 chart appearances for singles and | With more than 50 chart appearances for singles and | ||
| − | albums in his career, “Think Twice” | + | albums in his career, Brook had other famous hits as well: |
| − | + | ||
| − | “Frankie And Johnny” | + | * “Think Twice” (1961) |
| − | + | * “The Boll Weevil Song” (1961 - peaked at #2) | |
| + | * “Frankie And Johnny” (1961) | ||
| + | * “Hotel Happiness” (1962 - peaked at #3) | ||
| + | * “Rainy Night in Georgia” (1970 - peaked in the top 5) | ||
| − | Equally as popular in England as he was in the United States, | + | Equally as popular in [[England]] as he was in the United States, |
Brook Benton was a very talented song writer for other artists too. | Brook Benton was a very talented song writer for other artists too. | ||
| − | Among them | + | Among them: |
| − | for Clyde McPhatter | + | * “The Stroll” for the Diamonds |
| + | * “A Lover’s Question” for Clyde McPhatter | ||
| + | * “Looking Back” for Nat “King” Cole | ||
| + | |||
| + | Brook Benton died on April 9, 1988 in New York of [[pneumonia]] | ||
| + | and [[spinal meningitis]]. He was 56. | ||
| + | |||
| + | {{DEFAULTSORT:Benton, Brook}} | ||
| − | + | [[Category:Singers]] | |
| − | |||
Revision as of 08:00, December 28, 2007
Brook Benton Born as Benjamin Franklin Peay in Camden, South Carolina on September 19, 1931, Brook Benton as a teenager was writing songs and singing gospel music.
With a voice described as “the velvet touch, early in his career Brook Benton made a living as a “demo” singer, recording songs that would be passed on to such stars as Roy Hamilton, Nat “King” Cole and Clyde McPhatter.
Signed by Vik Records as a solo artist, Brook Benton would have his own chart hit in early 1958 with “A Million Miles from Nowhere”, but it was a year later as a Mercury recording artist a song written by him “It’s Just a Matter of Time” would really start his career, peaking at #3 nationally in January, 1959.
In 1959 he would have five songs on the Hit Parade:
- “Endlessly” (April)
- “Thank You Pretty Baby” (July)
- “So Many Ways” (October)
- “This Time of the Year” (In time for Christmas)
Teaming up with label mate Dinah Washington in 1960 with “A Rockin’ Good Way”, Brook continued with another top ten hit, “Kiddio” and “Fools Rush In” that same year.
With more than 50 chart appearances for singles and albums in his career, Brook had other famous hits as well:
- “Think Twice” (1961)
- “The Boll Weevil Song” (1961 - peaked at #2)
- “Frankie And Johnny” (1961)
- “Hotel Happiness” (1962 - peaked at #3)
- “Rainy Night in Georgia” (1970 - peaked in the top 5)
Equally as popular in England as he was in the United States, Brook Benton was a very talented song writer for other artists too. Among them:
- “The Stroll” for the Diamonds
- “A Lover’s Question” for Clyde McPhatter
- “Looking Back” for Nat “King” Cole
Brook Benton died on April 9, 1988 in New York of pneumonia and spinal meningitis. He was 56.