Biography
Formed in North Carolina, USA, Ben Folds Five took their name from leader Ben Folds (Benjamin Scott Folds, 12 September 1966, Winston-Salem, North Carolina, USA; piano/vocals). However, the band turned out to be a trio rather than the quintet that the name implied, the line-up completed by Robert Sledge (b. 9 March 1968; bass) and Darren Jessee (b. 8 April 1971; drums). A rock band without a lead guitarist is certainly something unique, but Ben Folds Five fitted the bill so well that most listeners failed to notice the absence of the guitar. Immediately it was apparent that Folds intended to create something a little different from the usual perception of the pianist/singer-songwriter: ‘The one thing I knew when I started out was that I didn’t want to be the singer-songwriter at the piano. Everybody wants you to be like Billy Joel or Elton John or somebody, and that just doesn’t interest me.’ Folds formed the trio after originally working as a...
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