Joseph M. Hewell (April 15, 1938 – December 23, 2014) was an American
R&B and
soul
In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being".
Etymology
The Modern English noun '' soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The earliest atte ...
singer better known under his stage name Jo Jo Benson. He was best known for his recordings in the late 1960s with
Peggy Scott.
Life and career
He was born in
Phenix City, Alabama, and began singing in
nightclub
A nightclub (music club, discothèque, disco club, or simply club) is an entertainment venue during nighttime comprising a dance floor, lightshow, and a stage for live music or a disc jockey (DJ) who plays recorded music.
Nightclubs gener ...
s when in his teens. He joined
Chuck Willis
Harold "Chuck" Willis (January 31, 1926 – April 10, 1958) was an American blues, rhythm and blues, and rock and roll singer and songwriter. His biggest hits, " C. C. Rider" (1957) and "What Am I Living For" (1958), both reached No.1 on the ''Bil ...
as a
backing singer
A backing vocalist is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists. A backing vocalist may also sing alone as a lead-in to the main vocalist's entry or to sing a counter-melody. Backing vocalists are use ...
in the 1950s, before joining forces with fellow singer
Peggy Scott, who previously backed
Ben E. King
Benjamin Earl King (né Nelson; September 28, 1938 – April 30, 2015) was an American soul and R&B singer and record producer. He is best known as the singer and co-composer of " Stand by Me"—a US Top 10 hit, both in 1961 and later ...
, in a duo. The pair were heard and encouraged by record producer
Huey Meaux
Huey Purvis Meaux (March 10, 1929 – April 23, 2011) was an American record producer and the owner of various record labels and recording studios including Crazy Cajun Records, Tribe Records, Tear Drop Records, Capri Records, and SugarHill R ...
, and were recruited by
Shelby Singleton
Shelby Sumpter Singleton, Jr. (December 16, 1931 – October 7, 2009) was an American record producer and record label owner.
Early life
He was born Shelby Sumpter Singleton, Jr. in Waskom, Texas. His parents were Shelby Sumpter Singleton, Sr. and ...
's SSS International label in
Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and ...
, in order to record duets. Their first recording for the label, "Lover's Holiday", reached #8 on the ''
Billboard''
R&B chart
The Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart ranks the most popular R&B and hip hop songs in the United States and is published weekly by ''Billboard''. Rankings are based on a measure of radio airplay, sales data, and streaming activity. The chart had 100 p ...
and #31 on the pop chart in 1968, eventually becoming a
gold record
Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile me ...
. They followed it up with "Pickin' Wild Mountain Berries", which was also a hit and for which they were nominated for a
Grammy.
[ Benson and Scott had two more hits in 1969, "Soulshake" and "I Want to Love You Baby", and released two albums together, ''Lover's Heaven'' and ''Soulshake''.][ Biography by Greg Prato, ''Allmusic.com'']
Retrieved December 23, 2014. Peggy Scott and Jo Jo Benson, ''Discogs.com''
Retrieved December 23, 2014.
The pairing of Benson and Scott split up in 1971. Benson later owned several nightclubs in the
Chattahoochee Valley, and was seriously wounded in a shooting incident in 1979.
[ He and Scott temporarily reunited in the mid-1980s for an album. In 1999, Benson recorded a solo album, ''Reminiscing in the Jam Zone'', which '']Living Blues
''Living Blues: The Magazine of the African American Blues Tradition'' is a bi-monthly magazine focused on blues music, and America's oldest blues periodical. The magazine was founded as a quarterly in Chicago in 1970 by Jim O'Neal and Amy van ...
'' magazine called "among the finest soul albums of the year - indeed, of the decade". In 2001, he followed it up with the album ''Everybody Loves to Cha Cha Cha''.[
On December 23, 2014, Jo Jo Benson was found dead at a motel in ]Columbus, Georgia
Columbus is a consolidated city-county located on the west-central border of the U.S. state of Georgia. Columbus lies on the Chattahoochee River directly across from Phenix City, Alabama. It is the county seat of Muscogee County, with which it ...
, at the age of 76. The coroner's office stated that he died of natural causes.[Alva James-Johnson]
"Jo Jo Benson dies at Victory Drive motel"
, ''Ledger-Enquirer'', December 23, 2014.
Discography
Chart singles with Peggy Scott
Albums
With Peggy Scott
* ''Lover's Heaven'' (1969)
* ''Soulshake'' (1969)
* ''Nothing Can Stand In Our Way'' (1984)
Solo
* ''Reminiscing in the Jam Zone'' (1999)
* ''Everybody Loves to Cha Cha Cha'' (2001)
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Benson, Jo Jo
1938 births
2014 deaths
20th-century American singers
20th-century African-American male singers
American rhythm and blues singers
American soul singers
People from Phenix City, Alabama
Singers from Alabama
20th-century American male singers
21st-century American male singers
21st-century American singers
21st-century African-American male singers