Ben (song)
Encyclopedia
"Ben" is a song written by Don Black and composed by Walter Scharf
Walter Scharf
Walter Scharf was an American film composer.Born in New York, he was the son of Yiddish theatre comic Bessie Zwerling...

 for the 1972 film of the same name (the sequel to the 1971 killer rat
Rat
Rats are various medium-sized, long-tailed rodents of the superfamily Muroidea. "True rats" are members of the genus Rattus, the most important of which to humans are the black rat, Rattus rattus, and the brown rat, Rattus norvegicus...

 film Willard
Willard (1971 film)
Willard is a 1971 horror film starring Bruce Davison and Ernest Borgnine, directed by Daniel Mann. The movie is based on the novel Ratman's Notebooks by Stephen Gilbert, and was nominated for an Edgar Award for best picture...

). It was performed in the film by Lee Montgomery
Lee Montgomery
Lee Montgomery was a child actor in the 1970s, best known for his role as a lonely little boy who befriends a pack of killer rats in the film, Ben .-Hollywood:...

 and by Michael Jackson
Michael Jackson
Michael Joseph Jackson was an American recording artist, entertainer, and businessman. Referred to as the King of Pop, or by his initials MJ, Jackson is recognized as the most successful entertainer of all time by Guinness World Records...

 over the closing credits. Jackson's single, recorded for the Motown label in 1972, spent one week at the top of the U.S. pop chart
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...

. It also reached number-one on the Australian pop chart
ARIA Charts
The ARIA charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling singles and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA commenced compiling its own charts in-house from the week ending 26 June...

, spending eight weeks at the top spot. The song also later reached a peak of number seven on the British pop 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 ...

. "Ben" won a Golden Globe
Golden Globe Award
The Golden Globe Award is an accolade bestowed by the 93 members of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association recognizing excellence in film and television, both domestic and foreign...

 for Best Song
Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song
Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song was awarded for the first time in 1962 and has been awarded annually since 1965 by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association.-1960s:...

. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Song
Academy Award for Best Original Song
The Academy Award for Best Original Song is one of the awards given annually to people working in the motion picture industry by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences . It is presented to the songwriters who have composed the best original song written specifically for a film...

 in 1973, losing to "The Morning After
The Morning After (Maureen McGovern song)
"The Morning After" is a song first released in May 1973. It was the first success for singer Maureen McGovern and used as the love theme for the film The Poseidon Adventure, which was released late the year before.-Beginnings:The song was written in March 1972 by 20th Century Fox songwriters Al...

" from The Poseidon Adventure; Jackson performed the song in front of a live audience at the ceremony. The song was Jackson's first #1 solo hit.

Background

Originally written for Donny Osmond
Donny Osmond
Donald Clark "Donny" Osmond is an American singer, musician, actor, dancer, radio personality, and former teen idol. Osmond has also been a talk and game show host, record producer and author. In the mid 1960s, he and four of his elder brothers gained fame as the Osmond Brothers on the long...

, "Ben" was offered to Jackson as Osmond was on tour at the time and unavailable for recording. In addition to its one week at #1 in the U.S., the song also later reached a peak of number seven on the British pop 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 ...

. "Ben" won a Golden Globe
Golden Globe Award
The Golden Globe Award is an accolade bestowed by the 93 members of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association recognizing excellence in film and television, both domestic and foreign...

 for Best Song
Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song
Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song was awarded for the first time in 1962 and has been awarded annually since 1965 by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association.-1960s:...

. It was also nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Song
Academy Award for Best Original Song
The Academy Award for Best Original Song is one of the awards given annually to people working in the motion picture industry by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences . It is presented to the songwriters who have composed the best original song written specifically for a film...

 in 1973; Jackson performed the song in front of a live audience at the ceremony.

Although Jackson had already become the youngest artist to ever record a number-one ("I Want You Back
I Want You Back
"I Want You Back" was released in 1969 and in early 1970s became a number-one hit single recorded by The Jackson 5 for the Motown label. The song, along with a b-side cover of Smokey Robinson & the Miracles' "Who's Lovin' You", was the only single from the first Jackson 5 album, Diana Ross Presents...

" with The Jackson 5
The Jackson 5
The Jackson 5 , later known as The Jacksons, were an American popular music family group from Gary, Indiana...

, in 1970
1970 in music
- Events :*January 3**Davy Jones announces he is leaving the Monkees**Former Pink Floyd frontman Syd Barrett releases his first solo album The Madcap Laughs....

), "Ben" made him the third-youngest solo artist, at fourteen, to score a number-one hit single. Only Stevie Wonder
Stevie Wonder
Stevland Hardaway Morris , better known by his stage name Stevie Wonder, is an American singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, record producer and activist...

, who was thirteen when "Fingertips, Pt. 2" went to number one, and Donny Osmond, who was months shy of his fourteenth birthday when "Go Away Little Girl
Go Away Little Girl
"Go Away Little Girl" is a popular song written by Gerry Goffin and Carole King. The lyrics consist of a young man asking an attractive young woman to stay away from him, so he won't be tempted to betray his steady girlfriend by kissing her...

" hit number one in 1971
1971 in music
-Events:*February 1 – after months of feuding in the press, Ginger Baker and Elvin Jones hold a "drum battle" at The Lyceum.*February 8 – Bob Dylan's hour-long documentary film, Eat the Document, is premièred at New York's Academy of Music...

 were younger. The song is one of Jackson's most re-released, having appeared on The Jackson 5 Anthology
Anthology (The Jackson 5 album)
Anthology was originally released as a triple-album set by legendary Motown family unit, The Jackson 5, in 1976. It was at this point that most of the Jacksons had left the label to join CBS Records...

, The Best of Michael Jackson
The Best of Michael Jackson
The Best of Michael Jackson is a compilation of Michael Jackson's greatest hits and was released in 1975 by his former record company Motown. It sold 2.4 million copies worldwide and peaked at number forty-four on the U.S. R&B albums chart. A Collection of Michael Jackson's Oldies is a first...

, Michael Jackson Anthology, Jackson 5: The Ultimate Collection
Jackson 5: The Ultimate Collection
Jackson 5: The Ultimate Collection is a compilation album released in 1995 featuring the music of The Jackson 5. The collection features selections from the group's Motown discography , and is meant to serve as a condensed single disc version of the boxed set Soulsation! In the UK, a different...

, The Essential Michael Jackson
The Essential Michael Jackson
-U.S. version:-Limited Edition 3.0 bonus disc:-Charts:-Year-end charts:-Certifications:-See also:* List of number-one albums of 2009 * List of number-one albums of 2009 * List of number-one albums from the 2000s...

, Michael Jackson: The Ultimate Collection
Michael Jackson: The Ultimate Collection
Disc 2Disc 3Disc 4*The Jackson 5 perform tracks 1-3 and 7 . The Jacksons perform tracks 8, 11-12, 18-19 and track 8 .DVD - Live in Bucharest: The Dangerous Tour # "Intro"# "Jam"...

, Hello World: The Motown Solo Collection
Hello World: The Motown Solo Collection
Hello World: The Motown Solo Collection is a 71-track triple disc compilation album commemorating Michael Jackson's early years with Motown Records...

, The Definitive Collection
The Definitive Collection (Michael Jackson album)
The Definitive Collection is a compilation album by Michael Jackson, and the third album to be released since his death.- Charts :The Definitive Collection charted on number 30 on Billboard 200 and number 17 on R&B/Hip Hop Albums.- Track listing :...

, Number Ones and King Of Pop
King of Pop (album)
-Austria:On July 20, the Austrian version of the double disc compilation was announced; it was released on Jackson's birthday. The pool list fans got to choose from contained 100 tracks...

. A live recorded version was released on the 1981 album The Jacksons Live!
The Jacksons Live!
The Jacksons Live! is a live album by The Jacksons, recorded during their North American tour in fall 1981, known as the Triumph Tour, and released in November 1981. The live double album was culled from recordings made in August 1981 on the tour's stops in Buffalo, NY; Providence, RI; Atlanta, GA;...

 and remixed versions have appeared on The Remix Suite
The Remix Suite
The Remix Suite is a compilation of remixed hits by Michael Jackson. Although labeled as a Michael Jackson release, the majority of remixes are of hits during his tenure with The Jackson 5. Starting from August 25, five remixes each were released digitally as "suites" via iTunes, AmazonMP3 and...

 and Michael Jackson: The Stripped Mixes
Michael Jackson: The Stripped Mixes
The Stripped Mixes , is a collection of American recording artist and former Jackson 5 member Michael Jackson's classic songs...

. After Jackson's death, singer Akon
Akon
Aliaune Damala Badara Thiam, better known as simply Akon , is a Senegalese American R&B recording artist and songwriter.According to Forbes, Akon grossed $21 million in 2010, $20 million in 2009 and $12 million in 2008. He rose to prominence in 2004 following the release of "Locked Up", the first...

 released a remix of the song with his own background vocals and Jackson's original voice. In 1985, the song became a top ten hit again in the UK when covered by Marti Webb
Marti Webb
Marti Webb is a musical actress from England, who appeared on stage in Evita, before starring in Andrew Lloyd Webber's one woman show Tell Me on a Sunday in 1980...

 as a tribute to Ben Hardwick
Ben Hardwick
Benjamin Hardwick was Britain's youngest liver transplant patient. He became a celebrity through appearing on the BBC television programme That's Life! after his parents appealed for more awareness of organ donation when their son, who suffered from liver disease, urgently needed a transplant...

, a young liver transplant
Liver transplantation
Liver transplantation or hepatic transplantation is the replacement of a diseased liver with a healthy liver allograft. The most commonly used technique is orthotopic transplantation, in which the native liver is removed and replaced by the donor organ in the same anatomic location as the original...

 patient. This version reached number five in the UK charts and was one of the singer's biggest hits. The co-writer of the song Don Black was at that time Webb's manager. In 1997, the Irish boy band Boyzone
Boyzone
Boyzone are an Irish boy band comprising Keith Duffy, Mikey Graham, Ronan Keating,Shane Lynch, and formerly Stephen Gately. Boyzone have 19 singles in the top 40 UK charts and 21 singles in the Ire charts. The group currently have 6 UK number one singles and 9 number one singles in Ireland with 12...

 did a cover version for their album A Different Beat
A Different Beat (Boyzone album)
A Different Beat is the second album released by Irish boy band Boyzone. Four singles were released from the album: "Words", "A Different Beat", "Isn't It a Wonder" and "Mystical Experience", which was only included on the US version of the album. The album also includes a cover of the Michael...

. The song is played in the key of F Major at a tempo of 88bpm. The vocal range is B3-D5. Michael Jackson performed the song on The Sonny and Cher Comedy Hour and American Bandstand
American Bandstand
American Bandstand is an American music-performance show that aired in various versions from 1952 to 1989 and was hosted from 1956 until its final season by Dick Clark, who also served as producer...

 in the early 1970s, and again in 1976 on The Jacksons in tribute to Gentle Ben
Gentle Ben
Gentle Ben is a children's novel by author Walt Morey, first published in 1965. The book concerns the friendship between the title character, a bear, and a young boy named Mark...

 the bear.

Charts

Chart (1972) Peak
position
Australian Kent Music Report
Kent Music Report
The Kent Music Report was a weekly record chart of Australian music singles and albums which was compiled by music enthusiast David Kent from May 1974 through to 1998...

1
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 ...

7
US 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...

1
Chart (2009) Peak
position
Australian ARIA Singles Chart
ARIA Charts
The ARIA charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling singles and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA commenced compiling its own charts in-house from the week ending 26 June...

14
Irish Singles Chart
Irish Singles Chart
The Irish Singles Chart is Ireland's music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by the Irish Recorded Music Association and compiled on behalf of the IRMA by Chart-Track. Chart rankings are based on sales, which are compiled through over-the-counter retail data captured...

24
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 ...

46
US Billboard Hot Digital Songs
Hot Digital Songs
The Hot Digital Songs chart ranks the best-selling digital singles in the United States, according to Billboard.Beginning in February 2005, digital sales have been incorporated into many of Billboards music single charts. It was decided to do so mainly because of the dramatic rise in popularity of...

75

Cultural references

  • Kipp Lennon
    Kipp Lennon
    Christopher "Kipp" Lennon is an American musician, and a founding member of the folk rock band Venice. His role in the band includes performing as a lead vocalist and guitarist.-Family:...

    , who performed the singing part of Michael Jackson's character on The Simpsons
    The Simpsons
    The Simpsons is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical parody of a middle class American lifestyle epitomized by its family of the same name, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie...

    sang "Ben" to Homer Simpson
    Homer Simpson
    Homer Jay Simpson is a fictional character in the animated television series The Simpsons and the patriarch of the eponymous family. He is voiced by Dan Castellaneta and first appeared on television, along with the rest of his family, in The Tracey Ullman Show short "Good Night" on April 19, 1987...

     in the episode "Stark Raving Dad
    Stark Raving Dad
    "Stark Raving Dad" is the first episode of the third season of American animated television series The Simpsons. It first aired on the Fox network in the United States on September 19, 1991...

    " replacing the name "Ben" with "Homer".
  • American singer Amanda Seyfried
    Amanda Seyfried
    Amanda Michelle Seyfried is an American actress, singer-songwriter and former child model. She began her career as a child model when she was 11, and at 15 began her career as an actress, starting off with uncredited roles and moving on to recurring roles on As the World Turns and All My...

     sang the song to President Bill Clinton
    Bill Clinton
    William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Inaugurated at age 46, he was the third-youngest president. He took office at the end of the Cold War, and was the first president of the baby boomer generation...

     as a birthday present.
  • Boyzone
    Boyzone
    Boyzone are an Irish boy band comprising Keith Duffy, Mikey Graham, Ronan Keating,Shane Lynch, and formerly Stephen Gately. Boyzone have 19 singles in the top 40 UK charts and 21 singles in the Ire charts. The group currently have 6 UK number one singles and 9 number one singles in Ireland with 12...

     covered the song on their album A Different Beat
    A Different Beat (Boyzone album)
    A Different Beat is the second album released by Irish boy band Boyzone. Four singles were released from the album: "Words", "A Different Beat", "Isn't It a Wonder" and "Mystical Experience", which was only included on the US version of the album. The album also includes a cover of the Michael...

    .
  • Faith No More
    Faith No More
    Faith No More is an American rock band from San Francisco, California, formed originally as Faith No Man in 1981 by bassist Billy Gould, keyboardist Wade Worthington, vocalist Michael Morris and drummer Mike Bordin. A year later when Worthington was replaced by keyboardist Roddy Bottum, and Mike...

     played the song during their The Second Coming Tour
    The Second Coming Tour
    The Second Coming Tour, also known as the Reunion Tour, was a concert tour by American rock band Faith No More. It was the group's first tour in more than a decade.-Overview:...

    .
  • The song was featured in the TV movie Wedding Wars
    Wedding Wars
    Wedding Wars is a 2006 LGBT romantic comedy film about gay marriage, but also family and politics. It handles a very sensitive emotional issue both lightly and seriously...

    , sung by John Stamos
    John Stamos
    John Phillip Stamos is an American actor, singer and musician best known for his work in television, especially in his starring role as Jesse Katsopolis on the ABC sitcom Full House. Since the cancellation of that show in 1995, Stamos has appeared in numerous television films and series. From 2006...

    ' character at the wedding of his brother, Ben.
  • The song was covered in 2003 by Crispin Glover
    Crispin Glover
    Crispin Hellion Glover is an American film actor, director and screenwriter, recording artist, publisher, and author. Glover is known for portraying eccentric people on screen such as George McFly in Back to the Future, Layne in River's Edge, unfriendly recluse Rubin Farr in Rubin and Ed, the...

     for the remake of Willard
    Willard (2003 film)
    Willard is a 2003 horror film loosely based on the novel Ratman's Notebooks by Stephen Gilbert and a remake of the 1971 film of the same name...

    .
  • The song was spoofed in the television show The Wayans Bros.
    The Wayans Bros.
    The Wayans Bros. is a situation comedy that aired from 1995 to 1999 on The WB. The series starred real-life brothers Shawn Wayans and Marlon Wayans. Both brothers were already well-known from the sketch comedy show In Living Color...

    when it was sung by Marlon Wayans
    Marlon Wayans
    Marlon L. Wayans is an American actor, model producer, comedian, writer, and director of movies, beginning with his role as a pedestrian in I'm Gonna Git You Sucka in 1988...

     about his rat named "Rufus".
  • Billy Gilman
    Billy Gilman
    William Wendell "Billy" Gilman III is an American country music artist. In 2000, at the age of 12, he debuted with the single "One Voice," a Top 20 hit on the Billboard country music charts and became the youngest singer to a Top 40 hit on the country music charts...

     performed the song at the Michael Jackson: 30th Anniversary Special
    Michael Jackson: 30th Anniversary Special
    The Michael Jackson: 30th Anniversary Special was a 2001 New York City revue show by American megasuperstar Michael Jackson. It took place on September 7, 2001 and September 10, 2001...

     in 2001
  • In 2007, Connie Talbot
    Connie Talbot
    Connie Talbot is an English child singer from Streetly, Aldridge, in the Metropolitan Borough of Walsall, West Midlands. She rose to fame in 2007 when she reached the final of the television talent show Britain's Got Talent, where she was runner-up to Paul Potts...

     released a version on her debut album, Over the Rainbow
    Over the Rainbow (Connie Talbot album)
    Over the Rainbow is Connie Talbot's debut album, released 26 November 2007 by Rainbow Recording Company. It received poor reviews from critics and peaked at #35 on the British charts. Despite this, additional copies of the album had to be pressed after sales were higher than expected...

    .
  • During Dawn and Pete's wedding renewal vows in the Christmas episode of Gavin and Stacey, Dawn uses lines from "Ben", substituting 'Pete' for 'Ben'.
  • In the Mexican project Mariachi Rock-O the song was covered in order to pay a homage to Michael Jackson's death. In the presentation of the project's album, the song was the last to be performed by all the mariachis present in the event.

See also

  • List of number-one singles in Australia during the 1970s
  • List of Hot 100 number-one singles of 1972 (U.S.)

External links

  • Ben at the 45th Annual Academy Awards
    45th Academy Awards
    The 45th Academy Awards were presented March 27, 1973 at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, Los Angeles. The ceremonies were presided over by Carol Burnett, Michael Caine, Charlton Heston, and Rock Hudson....

     on YouTube
    YouTube
    YouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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