Brook Benton

He was born Benjamin Franklin Peay on Sep. 19, 1931 in Camden, South Carolina. He would become unknown all over the world for his silky smooth and baritone voice, and is perhaps best remembered for his hit recording of the song, 'Rainy Night In Georgia,' which also became a hit for other recording artists.

Also a noted songwriter with writer and producer Clyde Otis he began his recording career in the early 1950s while touring the gospel circuit. In 1953, he began a recording session with the Okeh Record Label, and that lasted until he met Otis. He co-wrote several hundreds of demos for other artists, and was a great success as a songwriter, but his greatest success was as a soul singer throughout the 1950s and 1960s.

In 1959, Benton landed on the R&B charts with the single, 'It's Just A Matter Of Time,' and then followed that release up with several other highly succesful hits including, 'Kiddio,' 'So Many Ways,' ' 'This Time Of The Year,' 'Fools Rush In,' 'Thank You Pretty Baby,' and the 1960 duet, 'A Rockin Good Way,' with singer Dinah Washington.

Benton continued recording throughout the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s, with some more successes, and even took a crack at the Disco era. His biggest hit though was the 1970 hit, 'Rainy Night In Georgia,' on the Cotillion Record Label.

His albums include, "Brook Benton At His Best" in 1959, "Endlessy" in 1959, "There Goes That Song Again" in 1963, "Do Your Own Thing" in 1969, "The Gospel Truth" in 1970, "Sings A Love Song" in 1975, "Ebony" in 1978, "Brook Benton Sings The Standards" in 1984, and "Brook Benton R.I.P. in 1988. His other list of studio recordings include, 'Shadrack,' 'Revenge,' 'Frankie And Johnny,' 'So Close,' 'Hotel Happiness,' 'The Boll Weevil Song,' and 'It's Just A House Without You.'

Although he continued to record throughout the 1970s and 1980s his career was pretty much over by the late 1970s. On April 9, 1988, Brook Benton passed away from spinal meningitis complications at the age of 56, in New York City. Find out more about one of my favorite satin soul singers at: www.soulwalking.co.uk/Brook%20Benton.html

Research info gathered at: www.findagrave.com


Visit my ezine: http://www.concelebratory.blogspot.com/
and personal blog: http://www.copyat5.blogspot.com/