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 Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock 'n' roll, or rock 'n roll) is a Genre (music), genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It Origins of rock and roll, originated from Africa ...

rhythm and blues Rhythm and blues, frequently abbreviated as R&B or R'n'B, is a genre of popular music that originated in African-American communities in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predominantly ...

, 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 A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads derive from the medieval French ''chanson balladée'' or ''ballade'', which were originally "dance songs". Ballads were particularly characteristic of the popular poetry and ...

Rainy Night in Georgia "Rainy Night in Georgia" is a song written by Tony Joe White in 1967 and popularized by R&B vocalist Brook Benton in 1970. It was originally released by White on his 1969 album, '' Continued'', on Monument Records, shortly before Benton's hit si ...

." Benton scored over 50 ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

'' chart hits as an artist, and also wrote hits for other performers.

Early life and career

When Benton was young, he enjoyed

gospel music Gospel music is a traditional genre of Christian music, and a cornerstone of Christian media. The creation, performance, significance, and even the definition of gospel music varies according to culture and social context. Gospel music is com ...

, wrote songs and sang in a Methodist church choir in

Lugoff, South Carolina Lugoff ( ) is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Kershaw County, South Carolina, United States. The population was 7,434 at the 2010 census, up from 6,278 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Columbia, South Carolina ...

, where his father, Willie Peay, was choir master. 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 Okeh Records () is an American record label founded by the Otto Heinemann Phonograph Corporation, a phonograph supplier established in 1916, which branched out into phonograph records in 1918. The name was spelled "OkeH" from the initials of Ott ...

, 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 by writing songs and co-producing albums. He wrote songs for artists such as

Nat King Cole Nathaniel Adams Coles (March 17, 1919 – February 15, 1965), known professionally as Nat King Cole, was an American singer, jazz pianist, and actor. Cole's music career began after he dropped out of school at the age of 15, and continued f ...

Clyde McPhatter Clyde Lensley McPhatter (November 15, 1932 – June 13, 1972) was an American rhythm and blues, soul, and rock and roll singer. He was one of the most widely imitated R&B singers of the 1950s and early 1960sPalmer, Robert (1981)"Roy Brown, a Pi ...

(for whom he co-wrote the hit " A Lover's Question") and

Roy Hamilton Roy Hamilton (April 16, 1929 – July 20, 1969) was an American singer. By combining semi-classical technique with traditional black gospel feeling, he brought soul to Great American Songbook singing. Hamilton's greatest commercial success ca ...

. He eventually released his first minor

hit Hit means to strike someone or something. Hit or HIT may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Fictional entities * Hit, a fictional character from '' Dragon Ball Super'' * Homicide International Trust, or HIT, a fictional organization ...

, "A Million Miles from Nowhere", before switching to the

Mercury Mercury commonly refers to: * Mercury (planet), the nearest planet to the Sun * Mercury (element), a metallic chemical element with the symbol Hg * Mercury (mythology), a Roman god Mercury or The Mercury may also refer to: Companies * Merc ...

label, which would eventually bring him major success. He also appeared in the 1957 film '' Mister Rock And Roll'', with

Alan Freed Albert James "Alan" Freed (December 15, 1921 – January 20, 1965) was an American disc jockey. He also produced and promoted large traveling concerts with various acts, helping to spread the importance of rock and roll music throughout Nor ...

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 Music recording certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped, sold, or streamed a certain number of units. The threshold quantity varies by type (such as album, single, music video) and by nation or territory (see ...

by the

RIAA The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...

. "Endlessly" made it to No. 12. Both of the first two hits were written by Benton with

Clyde Otis Clyde Lovern Otis (September 11, 1924 – January 8, 2008), was an American songwriter and record producer, best known for his collaboration with singer Brook Benton, and for being one of the first African-American A&R executives at a major label ...

. They were originally offered to

, 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. Benton followed this success with a series of hits, including "

So Many Ways ''So Many Ways'' is the debut album by American R&B vocal group The Braxtons. Released on August 6, 1996, the album produced four singles; " So Many Ways", " Only Love", " The Boss" – which peaked at number-one in the ''Billboard'' Dance Cha ...

" (No. 6), " Hotel Happiness" (No. 3), " Think Twice" (No. 11), "

Kiddio "Kiddio" is a 1960 R&B/pop song written by Brook Benton & Clyde Otis. The song was first recorded and released in 1957 by Teddy Randazzo. Brook Benton recording "Kiddio" was later released as a single by Brook Benton in 1960. Randazzo and Benton b ...

" (No. 7), and "

The Boll Weevil Song ''The'' () is a grammatical Article (grammar), article in English language, English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite ...

" (No. 2). In 1960, he had two top 10 hit duets with

Dinah Washington Dinah Washington (born Ruth Lee Jones; August 29, 1924 – December 14, 1963) was an American singer and pianist, who has been cited as "the most popular black female recording artist of the 1950s songs". Primarily a jazz vocalist, she performe ...

: "

Baby (You've Got What It Takes) "Baby (You've Got What It Takes)" is a 1950s song written by Clyde Otis and Murray Stein. Originally titled "You've Got What It Takes", the song was first recorded by Brook Benton's sister, Dorothy Pay, in 1958, as the B-side of her single "St ...

" (No. 5) and "

A Rockin' Good Way (To Mess Around and Fall in Love) "A Rockin' Good Way (to Mess Around and Fall in Love)" is a song first recorded in 1958 by Priscilla Bowman, on the Abner Records label (ABNER DJ 1018). Bowman was given vocal backing by The Spaniels. Dinah Washington and Brook Benton In 1960 ...

" (No. 7). In the mid 1960s, Benton recorded for

RCA Records RCA Records is an American record label currently owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside RCA's former long-time rival Columbia Records; also A ...

and

Reprise Records Reprise Records is an American record label founded in 1960 by Frank Sinatra. It is owned by Warner Music Group, and operates through Warner Records, one of its flagship labels. Artists currently signed to Reprise Records include Enya, Michael ...

with minimal commercial success. Then, in 1968, he signed with

Cotillion Records Cotillion Records was a subsidiary of Atlantic Records (from 1971 part of WEA) and was active from 1968 through 1985. The label was formed as an outlet for pop, R&B, and jazz. Its first single, Otis Clay's version of "She's About a Mover", rea ...

, a subsidiary of

Atlantic Records Atlantic Recording Corporation (simply known as Atlantic Records) is an American record label founded in October 1947 by Ahmet Ertegun and Herb Abramson. Over its first 20 years of operation, Atlantic earned a reputation as one of the most i ...

, where, the following year, he enjoyed his last major hit with "

", written by

Tony Joe White Tony Joe White (July 23, 1943 – October 24, 2018), nicknamed the Swamp Fox, was an American singer-songwriter and guitarist, best known for his 1969 hit "Polk Salad Annie" and for "Rainy Night in Georgia", which he wrote but which was first ma ...

and produced and arranged by

Arif Mardin Arif Mardin (March 15, 1932 – June 25, 2006) was a Turkish-American music producer, who worked with hundreds of artists across many different styles of music, including jazz, rock, soul, disco and country. He worked at Atlantic Records for ov ...

, a million-seller which topped the Billboard R&B chart. Benton recorded a total of five albums with Mardin, including a gospel album, during his stay at Cotillion. Benton eventually charted a total of 49 singles on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, with other songs charting on ''

''s

easy listening Easy listening (including mood music) is a popular music genre and radio format that was most popular during the 1950s to 1970s. It is related to middle-of-the-road (MOR) music and encompasses instrumental recordings of standards, hit songs, n ...

, and

Christmas music Christmas music comprises a variety of genres of music regularly performed or heard around the Christmas season. Music associated with Christmas may be purely instrumental, or, in the case of carols or songs, may employ lyrics whose subject ma ...

charts.Joel Whitburn, Top Pop Singles 1955–1999 (Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin: Record Research, 2000), 48–49. 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 Groove Records was a subsidiary of RCA Victor records, founded by '' Billboard'' writer Bob Rolontz in 1953 as a rhythm and blues label. The label tried hard to break into the R&B market. Piano Red had its first hit but Mickey & Sylvia was its ...

Death

Weakened from spinal

meningitis Meningitis is acute or chronic inflammation of the protective membranes covering the brain and spinal cord, collectively called the meninges. The most common symptoms are fever, headache, and neck stiffness. Other symptoms include confusion or ...

, Benton died of pneumonia in

Queens, New York City Queens is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located on Long Island, it is the largest New York City borough by area. It is bordered by the borough of Brooklyn at the western tip of Long I ...

, at the age of 56 on April 9, 1988. He was survived by his wife, Mary Benton, and six children: Brook Jr., Vanessa, Roy, Isreal, Gerald and Benjamin, all of Queens.

Discography

Albums

Singles

References

External links

Soulwalking.co.uk – Brook Benton Fan Page

VH1.com – Artist Listing

Brook Benton at Discogs
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Benton, Brook 1931 births 1988 deaths 20th-century African-American male singers African-American songwriters All Platinum artists American crooners American male songwriters Atlantic Records artists Deaths from meningitis Infectious disease deaths in New York (state) Mercury Records artists Neurological disease deaths in New York (state) People from Lugoff, South Carolina RCA Victor artists Songwriters from South Carolina