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Brook Benton | |
|---|---|
 Promotional photo of Benton (1959) | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Benjamin Franklin Peay |
| Born | September 19, 1931 Lugoff, South Carolina, U.S. |
| Died | April 9, 1988 (aged 56) Queens, New York, U.S. |
| Genres | |
| Occupations | Singer, songwriter, actor |
| Instruments | Vocals |
| Years active | 1948–1988 |
| Labels | Okeh, Mercury, Cotillion, RCA |
| Formerly of | Dinah Washington |
Benjamin Franklin Peay (September 19, 1931 – April 9, 1988), better known as 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, with 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.[1]
Early life and career
When Benton was young, he enjoyed gospel music, wrote songs and sang in a Methodist church choir in Lugoff, South Carolina, where his father, Willie Peay, was choir master.[2] In 1948, he went to New York to pursue his music career, going 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 an 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.[3]
Brook earned a good living by writing songs and co-producing albums. He wrote songs for artists such as Nat King Cole, Clyde McPhatter (for whom he co-wrote the hit "A Lover's Question") and Roy Hamilton. He eventually released his first minor hit, "A Million Miles from Nowhere", before switching to the Mercury label, which would eventually bring him major success. He also appeared in the 1957 film Mister Rock and Roll, with Alan Freed.
One of Benton's sisters was the original artist to record "Baby (You've Got What It Takes)", in 1958, under the title "You've Got What It Takes", using the stage name Dorothy Pay,[4] as the B-side of her single "Strollin' with My Baby".[5][6] In August 1959 Benton partnered with Dinah Washington to record the song and their version, released in January 1960, was hugely successful on both the pop and R&B charts, reaching #5 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #1 on the Hot R&B sides chart for ten weeks,[7] becoming one of the most successful R&B singles of the 1960s.
Success
In 1959, he finally made his breakthrough with hits like "It's Just a Matter of Time" and "Endlessly". "It's Just a Matter of Time" peaked at No. 3 on the United States Billboard Hot 100 chart, sold over one million copies and was awarded a gold disc by the RIAA.[8] "Endlessly" made it to No. 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 manager and producer at Mercury, he convinced Benton to sign with the label and record them himself, while asking Cole not to record the songs as planned.[9] Benton followed this success with a series of hits, including "So Many Ways" (No. 6), "Hotel Happiness" (No. 3), "Think Twice" (No. 11), "Kiddio" (No. 7), and "The Boll Weevil Song" (No. 2). In 1960, he had two top 10 hit duets with Dinah Washington: "Baby (You've Got What It Takes)" (No. 5) and "A Rockin' Good Way (to Mess Around and Fall in Love)" (No. 7).[10]
In the mid 1960s, Benton recorded for RCA Records and Reprise Records with minimal commercial success. Then, in 1968, he signed with Cotillion Records, a subsidiary of Atlantic Records, where, the following year, he enjoyed his last major hit with "Rainy Night in Georgia", written by Tony Joe White and produced and arranged by Arif Mardin, a million-seller which topped the Billboard R&B chart.[10] Cornell Dupree played guitar on the song.[11] Benton recorded a total of five albums with Mardin, including a gospel album, during his stay at Cotillion.[citation needed]
Benton eventually charted a total of 49 singles on the Billboard Hot 100, with other songs charting on Billboard's rhythm and blues, easy listening, and Christmas music charts.[12] The last album made by Benton was Fools Rush In, which was released posthumously in 2005. He also had records released on various other labels, including All-Platinum, Brut, Olde Worlde, Stax and Groove Records.[13]
Death
Weakened from spinal meningitis, Benton died of pneumonia in Queens, New York City, at the age of 56 on April 9, 1988.[14] He was survived by his wife, Mary Benton, and six children: Brook Jr., Vanessa, Roy, Is'real, Gerald, and Benjamin, all of Queens.[2]
Discography
Albums
| Year | Album | Peak chart positions | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US 200 [15] |
US R&B [15] | ||||
| 1959 | It's Just a Matter of Time | — | — | ||
| Endlessly | — | — | |||
| 1960 | I Love You in So Many Ways | — | — | ||
| The Two of Us (with Dinah Washington) | — | — | |||
| Songs I Love to Sing (Verve) | — | — | |||
| 1961 | Golden Hits | 82 | — | ||
| The Boll Weevil Song and 11 Other Great Hits | 70 | — | |||
| 1962 | If You Believe | 77 | — | ||
| Singing the Blues – Lie to Me | 40 | — | |||
| 1963 | Golden Hits, Volume 2 | 82 | — | ||
| Best Ballads of Broadway | — | — | |||
| 1964 | Born to Sing the Blues | — | — | ||
| Laura (What's He Got That I Ain't Got) | 156 | — | |||
| 1969 | Do Your Own Thing | 189 | — | ||
| 1970 | Brook Benton Today | 27 | 4 | ||
| Brook Benton I Wanna Be With You | — | — | |||
| Homestyle | 199 | — | |||
| 1971 | The Gospel Truth | — | — | ||
| 1972 | Story Teller | — | — | ||
| 1973 | Something for Everyone | — | — | ||
| 1976 | This is Brook Benton (released in the UK as "Mister Bartender") |
— | — | ||
| 1977 | Makin' Love Is Good for You | — | — | ||
| The Incomparable Brook Benton – 20 Greatest Hits (Warwick) | — | — | |||
| 1979 | Ain't No Good | — | — | ||
| So Close | — | — | |||
| 1981 | Brook Benton Sings the Standards | — | — | ||
| 1983 | 20 Golden Pieces of Brook Benton | — | — | ||
| Beautiful memories of Christmas | — | — | |||
| 1984 | Soft | — | — | ||
| 1989 | Forty Greatest Hits (compilation) | — | — | ||
| 2002 | Rainy Night in Georgia (compilation, remastered) | — | — | ||
| 2021 | Just A Matter of Time (compilation) | — | — | ||
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that territory. | |||||
Singles
| Year | Title | Peak chart positions | Album | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Pop [15] |
CB Pop |
US R&B [15] |
US AC [15] |
UK [16] | |||
| 1955 | "The Kentuckian Song" b/w "Ooh" (Non-album track) |
– | – | – | – | – | Brook Benton at His Best!!! |
| "Some of My Best Friends" b/w "Bring Me Love" |
– | – | – | – | – | ||
| 1956 | "Love Made Me Your Fool" b/w "Give Me a Sign" |
– | – | – | – | – | |
| 1957 | "The Wall" b/w "All My Love Belongs to You" (from The Soul of Brook Benton) |
– | – | – | – | – | |
| "Come On, Be Nice" b/w "I Wanna Do Everything for You" (from Brook Benton) |
– | – | – | – | – | Non-album track | |
| 1958 | "A Million Miles from Nowhere" b/w "Devoted" |
82 | – | – | – | – | Brook Benton |
| 1959 | "It's Just a Matter of Time" | 3 | 2 | 1 | – | – | It's Just a Matter of Time |
| "Hurtin' Inside" | 78 | – | 23 | – | – | Golden Hits | |
| "Endlessly" | 12 | 11 | 3 | – | 28 | Endlessly | |
| "So Close" | 38 | 60 | 5 | – | – | I Love You In So Many Ways | |
| "Thank You Pretty Baby" | 16 | 10 | 1 | – | – | Golden Hits | |
| "With All of My Heart" | 82 | 66 | – | – | – | ||
| "So Many Ways" | 6 | 3 | 1 | – | – | I Love You In So Many Ways | |
| "I Want You Forever" | – | 103 | – | – | – | Non-album track | |
| "This Time of the Year" b/w "Nothing In The World (Could Make Me Love You More Than I Do)" (first pressings) "How Many Times" (later pressings) |
66 | 65 | 12 | – | – | Non-album tracks | |
| 1960 | "Baby (You've Got What It Takes)" b/w "I Do" (Both sides with Dinah Washington) |
5 | 2 | 1 | – | – | The Two of Us |
| "The Ties That Bind" | 37 | 23 | 15 | – | – | Golden Hits | |
| "Hither and Thither and Yon" | 58 | 49 | – | – | – | ||
| "A Rockin' Good Way (To Mess Around and Fall In Love)" b/w "I Believe" (Both sides with Dinah Washington) |
7 | 5 | 1 | – | – | The Two of Us | |
| "Kiddio" | 7 | 3 | 1 | – | 41 | Golden Hits | |
| "The Same One" | 16 | 16 | 21 | – | – | ||
| "Fools Rush In (Where Angels Fear to Tread)" | 24 | 15 | 5 | – | 50 | Songs I Love to Sing | |
| "Someday You'll Want Me to Want You" | 93 | – | – | – | – | Non-album track | |
| "This Time of the Year" b/w "Merry Christmas, Happy New Year" |
– | – | – | – | – | Non-album tracks | |
| 1961 | "Think Twice" | 11 | 6 | – | – | – | Golden Hits Volume 2 |
| "For My Baby" | 28 | 24 | 2 | – | – | Non-album track | |
| "The Boll Weevil Song" | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 30 | The Boll Weevil Song | |
| "Your Eyes" | – | 115 | – | – | – | Non-album track | |