Brook Benton
Encyclopedia
Brook Benton was an American singer and songwriter who was popular with rock and roll
, rhythm and blues
, and pop music
audiences during the late 1950s and early 1960s, when he scored hits such as "It's Just A Matter Of Time
" and "Endlessly", many of which he co-wrote.
He made a comeback in 1970 with the ballad
"Rainy Night in Georgia
." Benton scored over 50 Billboard
chart hits as an artist, and also wrote hits for other performers.
. When Peay was young he enjoyed gospel music
and wrote songs. So in 1948 he went to New York
to pursue his music career. He went in and out of gospel groups such as The Langfordaires, The Jerusalem Stars, and The Golden Gate Quartet. Returning to his home state, he joined a R&B
singing group, The Sandmen, and went back to New York to get a big break with his group. The Sandmen had limited success, and their label, Okeh Records
, decided to push Peay as a solo artist, changing his name to Brook Benton, apparently at the suggestion of label executive Marv Halsman.
Brook earned a good living writing
songs and co-producing
album
s. He wrote songs for artists
such as Nat King Cole
, Clyde McPhatter
(for whom he wrote the hit "A Lover's Question"), and Roy Hamilton
. Soon he released his first minor hit, "A Million Miles from Nowhere". Later he went on to the Mercury
label
, which would eventually bring him larger success. Also he appeared in the 1957 film Mr Rock And Roll with Alan Freed
" and "Endlessly". "It's Just a Matter of Time" peaked at #3 on the United States Billboard Hot 100
chart
, while "Endlessly" made it to #12. Both of the first two hits were written by Benton with Clyde Otis
. They were originally offered to Nat King Cole
, but when Otis became an A&R
official at Mercury, he convinced Benton to sign with the label and record them himself, while asking Cole not to record the songs as planned. He followed this success with a series of hits, including "So Many Ways" (#6), "Hotel Happiness" (#3), "Think Twice" (#11), "Kiddio" (#7), and "The Boll Weevil Song
" (#2). In 1960, he had two top 10 hit duets
with Dinah Washington
: "Baby (You've Got What It Takes)" (#5) and "A Rockin' Good Way (To Mess Around and Fall in Love)" (#7).
He also recorded his own version of "Take Good Care of Her" in 1962. In the mid- and late 1960s, Benton recorded for RCA Records
and Reprise Records
with minimal commercial success. In 1969 he signed with Cotillion Records
, a subsidiary of Atlantic Records
, where the next year he had his last major hit with "Rainy Night in Georgia
".
Benton eventually charted 49 singles
on the Billboard Hot 100
, with other songs charting on Billboard
's rhythm and blues
, easy listening
, and Christmas music
charts
. The last album made by Benton was Fools Rush In, which was released posthumously in 2005. At one point he was recording on Groove Records
.
, Brook died of pneumonia in Queens, New York City, at the age of 56 on April 9, 1988.
Rock and roll
Rock and roll is a genre of popular music that originated and evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s, primarily from a combination of African American blues, country, jazz, and gospel music...
, rhythm and blues
Rhythm and blues
Rhythm and blues, often abbreviated to R&B, is a genre of popular African American music that originated in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predominantly to urban African Americans, at a time when "urbane, rocking, jazz based music with a...
, and pop music
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
audiences during the late 1950s and early 1960s, when he scored hits such as "It's Just A Matter Of Time
It's Just a Matter of Time (Brook Benton song)
"It's Just a Matter of Time" is a popular song written by Brook Benton and Clyde Otis. The original recording by Benton topped the Billboard rhythm & blues chart in 1959 and peaked at No...
" and "Endlessly", many of which he co-wrote.
He made a comeback in 1970 with the ballad
Ballad
A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads were particularly characteristic of British and Irish popular poetry and song from the later medieval period until the 19th century and used extensively across Europe and later the Americas, Australia and North Africa. Many...
"Rainy Night in Georgia
Rainy Night in Georgia
"Rainy Night in Georgia" is a song written by Tony Joe White in 1962 and popularized by R&B vocalist Brook Benton in 1970.In 1969, after several years without a major hit, Benton had signed to a new record label, Cotillion Records...
." Benton scored over 50 Billboard
Billboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
chart hits as an artist, and also wrote hits for other performers.
Rise to fame
Benjamin Franklin Peay was born on September 19, 1931 in Lugoff, South CarolinaLugoff, South Carolina
Lugoff is a small census-designated place in Kershaw County, South Carolina, United States. The population was 6,278 at the 2000 census. The population was nearly 85% rural in 2000...
. When Peay was young he enjoyed gospel music
Gospel music
Gospel music is music that is written to express either personal, spiritual or a communal belief regarding Christian life, as well as to give a Christian alternative to mainstream secular music....
and wrote songs. So in 1948 he went to New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
to pursue his music career. He went in and out of gospel groups such as The Langfordaires, The Jerusalem Stars, and The Golden Gate Quartet. Returning to his home state, he joined a R&B
Rhythm and blues
Rhythm and blues, often abbreviated to R&B, is a genre of popular African American music that originated in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predominantly to urban African Americans, at a time when "urbane, rocking, jazz based music with a...
singing group, The Sandmen, and went back to New York to get a big break with his group. The Sandmen had limited success, and their label, Okeh Records
Okeh Records
Okeh Records began as an independent record label based in the United States of America in 1918. From 1926 on, it was a subsidiary of Columbia Records.-History:...
, decided to push Peay as a solo artist, changing his name to Brook Benton, apparently at the suggestion of label executive Marv Halsman.
Brook earned a good living writing
Songwriter
A songwriter is an individual who writes both the lyrics and music to a song. Someone who solely writes lyrics may be called a lyricist, and someone who only writes music may be called a composer...
songs and co-producing
Record producer
A record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
album
Album
An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...
s. He wrote songs for artists
Musician
A musician is an artist who plays a musical instrument. It may or may not be the person's profession. Musicians can be classified by their roles in performing music and writing music.Also....* A person who makes music a profession....
such as Nat King Cole
Nat King Cole
Nathaniel Adams Coles , known professionally as Nat King Cole, was an American musician who first came to prominence as a leading jazz pianist. Although an accomplished pianist, he owes most of his popular musical fame to his soft baritone voice, which he used to perform in big band and jazz genres...
, Clyde McPhatter
Clyde McPhatter
Clyde McPhatter was an American R&B singer, perhaps the most widely imitated R&B singer of the 1950s and 1960s, making him a key figure in the shaping of doo-wop and R&B. He is best known for his solo hit "A Lover's Question"...
(for whom he wrote the hit "A Lover's Question"), and Roy Hamilton
Roy Hamilton
Roy Hamilton was an American singer, who achieved major success in the US R&B and pop charts in the 1950s...
. Soon he released his first minor hit, "A Million Miles from Nowhere". Later he went on to the Mercury
Mercury Records
Mercury Records is a record label operating as a standalone company in the UK and as part of the Island Def Jam Motown Music Group in the US; both are subsidiaries of Universal Music Group. There is also a Mercury Records in Australia, which is a local artist and repertoire division of Universal...
label
Record label
In the music industry, a record label is a brand and a trademark associated with the marketing of music recordings and music videos. Most commonly, a record label is the company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the production, manufacture, distribution, marketing and promotion,...
, which would eventually bring him larger success. Also he appeared in the 1957 film Mr Rock And Roll with Alan Freed
Alan Freed
Albert James "Alan" Freed , also known as Moondog, was an American disc-jockey. He became internationally known for promoting the mix of blues, country and rhythm and blues music on the radio in the United States and Europe under the name of rock and roll...
Big break
Finally in 1959 he made his breakthrough with his hits "It's Just a Matter of TimeIt's Just a Matter of Time (Brook Benton song)
"It's Just a Matter of Time" is a popular song written by Brook Benton and Clyde Otis. The original recording by Benton topped the Billboard rhythm & blues chart in 1959 and peaked at No...
" and "Endlessly". "It's Just a Matter of Time" peaked at #3 on the United States Billboard Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
chart
Record chart
A record chart is a ranking of recorded music according to popularity during a given period of time. Examples of music charts are the Hit parade, Hot 100 or Top 40....
, while "Endlessly" made it to #12. Both of the first two hits were written by Benton with Clyde Otis
Clyde Otis
Clyde Otis, born in Prentiss, Mississippi, , was an American songwriter and producer best known for his collaboration with singer Brook Benton, and for being one of the first African American A&R executive for a major label.According to the music licensing organization Broadcast Music Inc., Otis is...
. They were originally offered to Nat King Cole
Nat King Cole
Nathaniel Adams Coles , known professionally as Nat King Cole, was an American musician who first came to prominence as a leading jazz pianist. Although an accomplished pianist, he owes most of his popular musical fame to his soft baritone voice, which he used to perform in big band and jazz genres...
, but when Otis became an A&R
A&R
Artists and repertoire is the division of a record label that is responsible for talent scouting and overseeing the artistic development of recording artists. It also acts as a liaison between artists and the record label.- Finding talent :...
official at Mercury, he convinced Benton to sign with the label and record them himself, while asking Cole not to record the songs as planned. He followed this success with a series of hits, including "So Many Ways" (#6), "Hotel Happiness" (#3), "Think Twice" (#11), "Kiddio" (#7), and "The Boll Weevil Song
Boll Weevil (song)
"Boll Weevil" is a traditional blues song, also known by similar titles such as "Boweavil" or "Boll Weevil Blues." Although many songs about the boll weevil were recorded by blues musicians during the 1920s, '30s and '40s, this one has become well known, thanks perhaps to Lead Belly's rendition of...
" (#2). In 1960, he had two top 10 hit duets
Duet (music)
A duet is a musical composition for two performers. In classical music, the term is most often used for a composition for two singers or pianists; with other instruments, the word duo is also often used. A piece performed by two pianists performing together on the same piano is referred to as...
with Dinah Washington
Dinah Washington
Dinah Washington, born Ruth Lee Jones , was an American blues, R&B and jazz singer. She has been cited as "the most popular black female recording artist of the '50s", and called "The Queen of the Blues"...
: "Baby (You've Got What It Takes)" (#5) and "A Rockin' Good Way (To Mess Around and Fall in Love)" (#7).
He also recorded his own version of "Take Good Care of Her" in 1962. In the mid- and late 1960s, Benton recorded for RCA Records
RCA Records
RCA Records is one of the flagship labels of Sony Music Entertainment. The RCA initials stand for Radio Corporation of America , which was the parent corporation from 1929 to 1985 and a partner from 1985 to 1986.RCA's Canadian unit is Sony's oldest label...
and Reprise Records
Reprise Records
Reprise Records is an American record label, founded in 1960 by Frank Sinatra. It is owned by Warner Music Group, and operated through Warner Bros. Records.-Beginnings:...
with minimal commercial success. In 1969 he signed with Cotillion Records
Cotillion Records
Cotillion Records was a subsidiary of Atlantic Records and was active from 1968 through 1985. The label was originally formed as an outlet for blues and deep Southern soul; its first single, Otis Clay's version of "She's About A Mover", reached the R&B charts. Cotillion's catalog quickly expanded...
, a subsidiary of Atlantic Records
Atlantic Records
Atlantic Records is an American record label best known for its many recordings of rhythm and blues, rock and roll, and jazz...
, where the next year he had his last major hit with "Rainy Night in Georgia
Rainy Night in Georgia
"Rainy Night in Georgia" is a song written by Tony Joe White in 1962 and popularized by R&B vocalist Brook Benton in 1970.In 1969, after several years without a major hit, Benton had signed to a new record label, Cotillion Records...
".
Benton eventually charted 49 singles
Single (music)
In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...
on the Billboard Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
, with other songs charting on Billboard
Billboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
's rhythm and blues
Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs
Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, is a chart released weekly by Billboard in the United States.The chart, initiated in 1942, is used to track the success of popular music songs in urban, or primarily African American, venues. Dominated over the years at various times by jazz, rhythm and blues, doo-wop, soul,...
, easy listening
Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks
The Adult Contemporary chart is a weekly chart published in Billboard magazine that lists the most popular songs on adult contemporary and "lite-pop" radio stations in the United States...
, and Christmas music
Christmas music
Christmas music comprises a variety of genres of music normally performed or heard around the Christmas season, which tends to begin in the months leading up the actual holiday and end in the weeks shortly thereafter.-Early:...
charts
Billboard charts
The Billboard charts tabulate the relative weekly popularity of songs or albums in the United States. The results are published in Billboard magazine...
. The last album made by Benton was Fools Rush In, which was released posthumously in 2005. At one point he was recording on Groove Records
Groove Records
Groove Records was founded by Billboard reporter Bob Rolontz in 1953 as a rhythm and blues label. The label tried hard to break into the R&B market. Piano Red was its first hit but Mickey and Sylvia was its first big seller. The label also recorded King Curtis, Arthur Crudup, Brook Benton and...
.
Death
Weakened from spinal meningitisMeningitis
Meningitis is inflammation of the protective membranes covering the brain and spinal cord, known collectively as the meninges. The inflammation may be caused by infection with viruses, bacteria, or other microorganisms, and less commonly by certain drugs...
, Brook died of pneumonia in Queens, New York City, at the age of 56 on April 9, 1988.
Albums
| Year | Album Album An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album... |
United States Pop Pop music Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop... |
|---|---|---|
| 1959 | This Time of Year | 12 |
| 1961 | Golden Hits | 82 |
| 1961 | The Boll Weevil Song And 11 Other Great Hits | 70 |
| 1962 | If You Believe | 77 |
| 1962 | Singing the Blues - Lie to Me | 40 |
| 1963 | Golden Hits, Volume 2 | 82 |
| 1967 | Laura (What's He Got That I Ain't Got) | 156 |
| 1969 | Do Your Own Thing | 189 |
| 1970 | Brook Benton Today | 27 |
| 1970 | Homestyle | 199 |
| 1972 | Story Teller | - |
| 1977 | The Incomparable Brook Benton - 20 Greatest Hits (Warwick) | - |
Singles
| Year | Single Single (music) In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear... |
US Pop Billboard Hot 100 The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday... |
US R&B Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, is a chart released weekly by Billboard in the United States.The chart, initiated in 1942, is used to track the success of popular music songs in urban, or primarily African American, venues. Dominated over the years at various times by jazz, rhythm and blues, doo-wop, soul,... |
US AC Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks The Adult Contemporary chart is a weekly chart published in Billboard magazine that lists the most popular songs on adult contemporary and "lite-pop" radio stations in the United States... |
UK Singles Chart UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ... |
Album Album An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album... |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1958 | "A Million Miles from Nowhere" | 82 | - | - | - | - |
| 1959 | "Endlessly" | 12 | 3 | - | 28 | - |
| 1959 | "Hurtin' Inside" | 78 | 23 | - | - | - |
| 1959 | "This Time of the Year" | - | - | - | - | This Time of the Year |
| 1959 | "It's Just a Matter of Time It's Just a Matter of Time (Brook Benton song) "It's Just a Matter of Time" is a popular song written by Brook Benton and Clyde Otis. The original recording by Benton topped the Billboard rhythm & blues chart in 1959 and peaked at No... " |
3 | 1 | - | - | It's Just a Matter of Time |
| 1959 | "So Close" | 38 | 5 | - | - | - |
| 1959 | "So Many Ways So Many Ways (song) "So Many Ways" is 1959 single by Brook Benton. The single was Brook Benton's third release to hit number one on the R&B singles chart in 1959. "So Many Ways" hit the number one spot for three non consecutive weeks and was also Benton's second top ten pop hit..... " |
6 | 1 | - | - | - |
| 1959 | "Thank You Pretty Baby" | 16 | 1 | - | - | - |
| 1959 | "With All My Heart" | 82 | - | - | - | - |
| 1960 | "Baby (You've Got What It Takes)" (with Dinah Washington Dinah Washington Dinah Washington, born Ruth Lee Jones , was an American blues, R&B and jazz singer. She has been cited as "the most popular black female recording artist of the '50s", and called "The Queen of the Blues"... ) |
5 | 1 | - | - | - |
| 1960 | "Fools Rush In (Where Angels Fear to Tread) Fools Rush In (Where Angels Fear to Tread) "Fools Rush In" is a popular song. The lyrics were written by Johnny Mercer with music by Rube Bloom. The major hits at the time of introduction were Glenn Miller with Ray Eberle and Tommy Dorsey with Frank Sinatra. It was also recorded by Billy Eckstine... " |
24 | 5 | - | 50 | Songs I Love to Sing |
| 1960 | "Someday You'll Want Me to Want You" | 93 | - | - | - | - |
| 1960 | "Kiddio" | 7 | 1 | - | 41 | - |
| 1960 | "A Rockin' Good Way" (with Dinah Washington Dinah Washington Dinah Washington, born Ruth Lee Jones , was an American blues, R&B and jazz singer. She has been cited as "the most popular black female recording artist of the '50s", and called "The Queen of the Blues"... ) |
7 | 1 | - | - | - |
| 1960 | "The Same One" | 16 | 21 | - | - | - |
| 1960 | "The Ties That Bind" | 37 | 15 | - | - | - |
| 1961 | "For My Baby" | 28 | 2 | - | - | - |
| 1961 | "Frankie and Johnny" | 20 | 14 | 6 | - | The Boll Weevil Song |
| 1961 | "It's Just a House Without You" | 45 | - | 8 | - | - |
| 1961 | "Think Twice" | 11 | 6 | - | - | - |
| 1961 | "The Boll Weevil Song Boll Weevil (song) "Boll Weevil" is a traditional blues song, also known by similar titles such as "Boweavil" or "Boll Weevil Blues." Although many songs about the boll weevil were recorded by blues musicians during the 1920s, '30s and '40s, this one has become well known, thanks perhaps to Lead Belly's rendition of... " |
2 | 2 | 1 | 30 | The Boll Weevil Song |
| 1962 | "Hit Record" | 45 | 19 | - | - | - |
| 1962 | "Lie to Me" | 13 | 3 | - | - | Singing The Blues |
| 1962 | "Revenge" | 15 | 12 | - | - | - |
| 1962 | "Shadrack Shadrack (Robert MacGimsey song) "Shadrack" is a popular song written by Robert MacGimsey in the 1930s and performed by Louis Armstrong and others... " |
19 | - | - | - | - |
| 1962 | "The Lost Penny" | 77 | - | - | - | - |
| 1962 | "Still Waters Run Deep" | 89 | - | - | - | - |
| 1962 | "Walk on the Wild Side" | 43 | - | - | - | - |
| 1963 | "Hotel Happiness" | 3 | 2 | - | - | - |
| 1963 | "I Got What I Wanted" | 28 | 4 | 14 | - | Singing The Blues |
| 1963 | "Dearer Than Life" | 59 | - | - | - | - |
| 1963 | "My True Confession" | 22 | 7 | 8 | - | Singing The Blues |
| 1963 | "Two Tickets to Paradise" | 32 | 15 | 8 | - | - |
| 1964 | "Another Cup of Coffee" | 47 | 47 | 13 | - | - |
| 1964 | "Going Going Gone" | 35 | 35 | - | - | - |
| 1964 | "A House is Not a Home" | 75 | 75 | 13 | - | - |
| 1964 | "Too Late to Turn Back Now" | 43 | 43 | 14 | - | - |
| 1964 | "Lumberjack" | 53 | 53 | 15 | - | - |
| 1964 | "Do It Right" | 67 | 67 | - | - | - |
| 1965 | "Love Me Now" | 100 | - | 37 | - | - |
| 1965 | "Mother Nature, Father Time" | 53 | 26 | 9 | - | Mother Nature, Father Time |
| 1967 | "Laura (What's He Got That I Ain't Got) Laura (What's He Got That I Ain't Got) "Laura " is a song co-written and recorded by American country music singer Leon Ashley. Recorded in 1967 and released on his own Ashley Records label, the song became his only No. 1 single that September... " |
78 | - | 37 | - | - |
| 1968 | "Weakness in a Man" | - | - | 36 | - | - |
| 1968 | "Do Your Own Thing" | 99 | - | 26 | - | - |
| 1969 | "Nothing Can Take the Place of You" | 74 | 11 | - | - | - |
| 1970 | "Don't It Make You Want to Go Home" | 45 | 31 | 4 | - | Home Style |
| 1970 | "My Way My Way (song) "My Way" is a song popularized by Frank Sinatra. Its lyrics were written by Paul Anka and set to music based on the French song "Comme d'habitude" composed in 1967 by Claude François and Jacques Revaux, with lyrics by Claude François and Gilles Thibault. Anka's English lyrics are unrelated to the... " |
72 | 25 | 35 | - | Today |
| 1970 | "Rainy Night in Georgia Rainy Night in Georgia "Rainy Night in Georgia" is a song written by Tony Joe White in 1962 and popularized by R&B vocalist Brook Benton in 1970.In 1969, after several years without a major hit, Benton had signed to a new record label, Cotillion Records... " |
4 | 1 | 2 | - | Today |
| 1971 | "Shoes" | 67 | 18 | 18 | - | - |
| 1978 | "Making Love is Good for You" | - | 49 | - | - | - |