Brook Benton
Silky smooth: that was Brook Benton's byword from his first record to his very last, as the singer parlayed his rich baritone pipes into seven number one R&B hits and eight Top Ten items. Stints on the gospel circuit preceded Benton's first secular session for Okeh in 1953, but his career didn't begin to take off until he teamed with writer/producer Clyde Otis. Benton co-wrote and sang hundreds of demos for other artists before frequent collaborator Otis signed his friend to Mercury; together they pioneered a lush, violin-studded variation on the standard R&B sound, which beautifully showcased Benton's intimate vocals.
Benton crashed the top spot on the R&B charts in early 1959 with his moving "It's Just a Matter of Time," then rapidly encored with three more R&B chart-toppers: "Thank You Pretty Baby," "So Many Ways," and "Kiddio." Pairing with Mercury labelmate Dinah Washington, their delightful repartee on "Baby (You've Got What It Takes)" and "A Rockin' Good Way" paced the R&B lists in 1960.
The early '60s were a prolific period for Benton, but he left Mercury a few years later and bounced between labels before reemerging with the atmospheric Tony Joe White ballad "Rainy Night in Georgia" on Cotillion in 1970. Benton later made a halfhearted attempt to cash in on the disco craze, but his hitmaking reign was at an end long before his death in 1988.
© Bill Dahl /TiVo
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Brook Benton Today
Rock - Released by Rhino Atlantic on 8 Feb 1970
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Endlessly: Hits
Soul - Released by Prime - Delta - Brook Benton on 15 Oct 2023
24-Bit 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
20th Century Masters: The Millennium Collection: Best Of Brook Benton (Reissue)
R&B - Released by Mercury Records on 29 Aug 2000
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
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You're All I Want For Christmas
Jazz - Released by Dramatico Entertainment Ltd on 18 Nov 2011
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
That Old Feeling
R&B - Released by RCA Records Label on 24 Oct 2014
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
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I Believe - Brook & Dinah
Brook Benton, Dinah Washington
Jazz - Released by Vintage Jukebox on 28 Apr 2022
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Ninety-Nine Percent (Remastered)
Soul - Released by Prime - Delta - Brook Benton on 17 Aug 2023
24-Bit 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Come Let's Go (Remastered)
Soul - Released by Prime - Delta - Brook Benton on 19 May 2023
24-Bit 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Rainy Night in Georgia: The Complete Reprise & Cotillion Singles A's & B's
Soul - Released by Rhino Atlantic on 1 Jun 2016
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Two Of Us
Dinah Washington, Brook Benton
Jazz - Released by Verve Reissues on 1 Jan 1960
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
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Endlessly: Rarities
Soul - Released by Prime - Delta - Brook Benton on 15 Sep 2023
24-Bit 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Greatest Hits: The Mercury Years
R&B - Released by Mercury Records on 1 Jan 1989
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
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Brook Benton (Rerecorded)
Soul - Released by Suite 102 on 1 Jan 2009
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Rainy Night in Georgia (Atlanta Version)
Pop - Released by Blue Lagoon on 25 Jun 2019
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Anthology: The Deluxe Collection (Remastered)
Pop - Released by Master Tape Records on 22 May 2020
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70+ Classic Songs
Jazz - Released by Classic Music International on 25 Jan 2011
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo