Brook Benton
b. Benjamin Franklin Peay, 19 September 1931, Camden, South Carolina, USA, d. 9 April 1988. A stylish, mellifluent singer, Benton's most ascendant period was the late '50s/early '60s. Although he began recording in 1953, Brook's first major hit came in 1959 on forging a songwriting partnership with Clyde Otis and Belford Hendricks. It's Just A Matter Of Time reached the US Top 3 and introduced a remarkable string of success including So Many Ways (1959), The Boll Weevil Song (1961) and Hotel Happiness (1962). Duets with Dinah Washington, Baby (You've Got What It Takes), a million-seller, and A Rockin Good Way (To Mess Around And Fall In Love)’, topped the R&B listings in 1960. Benton's warm, resonant delivery continued to prove popular into the early '60s. A versatile vocalist, his releases encompassed standards, blues and spirituals, while his compositions were recorded by Nat King Cole, Clyde McPhatter and Roy Hamilton. Brook remained signed to the Mercury label until 1964 before moving to RCA, then Reprise Records. Releases on these outlets failed to recapture the artist's previous success, but by the end of the decade Benton rose to the challenge of younger acts with a series of excellent recordings for Atlantic's Cotillion subsidiary. His languid, atmospheric version of Rainy Night In Georgia (1970) was an international hit and the most memorable product of an artistically fruitful period. Benton continued to record for a myriad of outlets during the '70s, including Brut (owned by the perfume company), Stax and MGM. Although his later work was less incisive, the artist remained one of music's top live attractions. He died in April 1988, aged 56, succumbing to pneumonia while weakened by spinal meningitis.