Brook Benton

Genres:	Easy Listening • Jazz • Music Videos & Concerts • Pop / Rock • R&B / Soul • Vocals
Descriptive "tags":	soul • rhythm and blues • 50s • blues • rnb
Decades Active:	1950s • 1960s • 1970s • 1980s • 1990s • 2000s
Links online:	Wikipedia

Biography

Benjamin Franklin Peay, 19 September 1931, Camden, South Carolina, USA, d. 9 April 1988, New York City, New York, USA. A stylish, mellifluent singer, Benton’s most ascendant period was the late 50s/early 60s. Although he began recording in 1953, Benton’s first major hit came in 1959 on forging a songwriting partnership with Clyde Otis and Belford Hendricks. ‘It’s Just A Matter Of Time’ reached the US Top 3 and introduced a remarkable string of successes, including ‘So Many Ways’ (1959), ‘The Boll Weevil Song’ (1961) and ‘Hotel Happiness’ (1962). Duets with Dinah Washington, ‘Baby (You’ve Got What It Takes)’, a million-seller, and ‘A Rockin’ Good Way (To Mess Around And Fall In Love)’, topped the R&B listings in 1960. Benton’s warm, resonant delivery continued to prove popular into the early 60s. A versatile vocalist, his releases encompassed standards, blues and...

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