"Ben" (often referred to as "Ben's Song") is a song written by Don Black and

Walter Scharf Walter Scharf (August 1, 1910 – February 24, 2003) was an American musician, best known as a film, television and concert composer and arranger/conductor. Biography Broadway theatre Born in Manhattan, he was the son of Yiddish theatre comic Be ...

for the 1972 film of the same name (a spin-off to the 1971 killer rat film '' Willard''). It was performed by

Lee Montgomery Elliott Harcourt Montgomery (born November 3, 1961), known as Lee Montgomery, is a United States–based Canadian former actor. He is best known for his role as a lonely little boy who befriends a pack of killer rats in the film ''Ben'' (1972), as ...

in the film and by

Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Michael Jackson, one of the most culturally significan ...

over the closing credits. Jackson's single, recorded for the

Motown Motown is an American record label owned by the Universal Music Group. Founded by Berry Gordy, Berry Gordy Jr. as Tamla Records on January 12, 1959, it was incorporated as Motown Record Corporation on April 14, 1960. Its name, a portmanteau ...

label in 1972, spent one week at the top of the

Billboard Hot 100 The ''Billboard'' Hot 100, also known as simply the Hot 100, is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), ...

, making it Jackson's first number one single in the US as a solo artist. ''

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 advertis ...

'' ranked it as the number 20 song for 1972. It also reached number 1 on the

ARIA Charts The ARIA Charts are the main Australian record chart, music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling songs and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA beca ...

, spending eight weeks at the top spot. The song also later reached a peak of number 7 on the UK Singles Chart. In 2004, the song appeared in '' The Ultimate Collection''. "Ben" won a

Golden Globe The Golden Globe Awards are awards presented for excellence in both international film and television. It is an annual award ceremony held since 1944 to honor artists and professionals and their work. The ceremony is normally held every Januar ...

for Best Song. It was nominated for an

Academy Award The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence ...

for Best Original Song in 1973, losing to " The Morning After" by

Maureen McGovern Maureen Therese McGovern (born July 27, 1949) is an American singer and Broadway actress, well known for her renditions of the songs " The Morning After" from the 1972 film '' The Poseidon Adventure''; " We May Never Love Like This Again" from ' ...

from '' The Poseidon Adventure''.

Background

"Ben" was written for

Donny Osmond Donald Clark Osmond (born December 9, 1957) is an American singer, dancer, actor, television host and former teen idol. He gained fame performing with four of his elder brothers as the Osmonds, earning several top ten hits and gold albums. In the ...

, but he was on tour at the time and unavailable for recording, so Black and Scharf offered the song to Jackson instead. In addition to its one week at number 1 in the US, the song later reached a peak of number 7 on the British pop chart. "Ben" won a

for Best Song. It was also nominated for an

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 Film industry, motion picture industry by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). It is presented to the ''songwriters'' who h ...

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

'' called it a "beauty". Although Jackson had already become the youngest artist to ever record a number 1 ("

I Want You Back "I Want You Back" is the first national single by the Jackson 5. It was released by Motown on October 7, 1969, and became the first number-one hit for the band on January 31, 1970. It was performed on the band's first television appearances, on ...

" with

The Jackson 5 The Jackson 5, later known as the Jacksons, are an American pop band composed of members of the Jackson family. The group was formed in Gary, Indiana in 1964, and originally consisted of brothers Jackie, Ti ...

, in

1970 Events January * January 1 – Unix time epoch reached at 00:00:00 UTC. * January 5 – The 7.1 1970 Tonghai earthquake, Tonghai earthquake shakes Tonghai County, Yunnan province, China, with a maximum Mercalli intensity scale, Mercalli ...

), "Ben" made him the third-youngest solo artist, at 14, to score a number 1 hit single. Only

Stevie Wonder Stevland Hardaway Morris (; Judkins; born May 13, 1950), known professionally as Stevie Wonder, is an American and Ghanaian singer-songwriter, musician, and record producer. He is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the 20th c ...

, who was 13 when "

Fingertips "Fingertips" is a 1963 hit single recorded live by "Little" Stevie Wonder for Motown's then Tamla label. Overview Written and composed by Wonder's mentors, Clarence Paul and Henry Cosby, "Fingertips" was originally a jazz instrumental record ...

" went to number 1, and Osmond, who was months shy of his 14th birthday when "

Go Away Little Girl "Go Away Little Girl" is a popular song written by Gerry Goffin and Carole King. It was first recorded by Bobby Vee for Liberty Records on March 28, 1962. The lyrics consist of a young man asking a young attractive woman to stay away from him, s ...

" hit number 1 in

1971 * The year 1971 had three partial solar eclipses (Solar eclipse of February 25, 1971, February 25, Solar eclipse of July 22, 1971, July 22 and Solar eclipse of August 20, 1971, August 20) and two total lunar eclipses (February 1971 lunar eclip ...

, were younger. The song is one of Jackson's most re-released, having appeared on '' The Jackson 5 Anthology'', '' The Best of Michael Jackson'', '' 18 Greatest Hits'', '' Michael Jackson Anthology'', '' Jackson 5: The Ultimate Collection'', ''

The Essential Michael Jackson ''The Essential Michael Jackson'' is a greatest hits compilation album by American singer Michael Jackson. It was released on July 19, 2005, by Sony Music's catalog division Legacy Recordings as part of ''The Essential'' series. The two-disc com ...

'', '' Michael Jackson: The Ultimate Collection'', '' Hello World: The Motown Solo Collection'', '' The Definitive Collection'', '' The Jacksons Story'', the North American version of ''

Number Ones A number is a mathematical object used to count, measure, and label. The most basic examples are the natural numbers 1, 2, 3, 4, and so forth. Numbers can be represented in language with number words. More universally, individual numbers can ...

'' (even though here it is the 1981 live version), some versions of '' King of Pop'' and ''

Icon An icon () is a religious work of art, most commonly a painting, in the cultures of the Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, Catholic Church, Catholic, and Lutheranism, Lutheran churches. The most common subjects include Jesus, Mary, mother of ...

''. Live recorded versions were released on the 1981 album ''

The Jacksons Live! ''The Jacksons Live!'' (also known as simply ''Live'') is a live album by the Jacksons. It was released on November 11, 1981, by Epic Records. The album was recorded during the band's North American concert tour in fall 1981, known as the Triumph ...

'' and '' Live at the Forum'', and remixed versions have appeared on '' The Remix Suite'', '' The Stripped Mixes'' and some versions of ''

Immortal Immortality is the ability to live forever, or eternal life. Immortal or Immortality may also refer to: Film * ''The Immortals'' (1995 film), an American crime film * ''Immortality'', an alternate title for the 1998 British film '' The Wisdom of ...

''. After Jackson's death, singer

Akon Aliaune Damala Bouga Time Puru Nacka Lu Lu Lu Badara Akon Thiam (born April 16, 1973), known mononymously as Akon (), is a Senegalese-United States, American singer, songwriter, rapper, record producer, businessman, and philanthropist. An influ ...

released a remix of the song with his own background vocals and Jackson's original vocal solo. Osmond did record it later in his career, including it in his 2014 album '' The Soundtrack of My Life''.

Critical reception

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

editor Lindsay Planer wrote about the success of the song: "Like much of the Motown empire at the time, the title track's multimedia exposure, coupled with strong crossover appeal, ensured that 'Ben' scored the artist his first Pop Singles' chart-topper". ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...

'' editor

Vince Aletti Vince Aletti (born 1945) is a curator, writer, and photography critic. Career Music industry Aletti was a contributing writer for ''Rolling Stone'' from 1970 to 1989. He was the first person to write about disco, on 13 September 1973, in ''Disc ...

was not satisfied: "The title song is lovely, no doubt, and Michael packs it with a surprising amount of feeling (his delivery of 'They don't see you as I do/I wish they would try to' still tears me up) but it's all a little too thick for my tastes".

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications and sales

Marti Webb version

In 1985, the song became a top 10 hit again in the U.K. when covered by

Marti Webb Marti Webb (born 1943) is an English actress and singer. She appeared on stage in '' Evita'' before starring in Andrew Lloyd Webber's one-woman show '' Tell Me on a Sunday'' in 1980. This included her biggest hit single, " Take That Look Off Yo ...

as a tribute to Ben Hardwick, a young

liver transplant Liver transplantation or hepatic transplantation is the replacement of a Liver disease, diseased liver with the healthy liver from another person (allograft). Liver transplantation is a treatment option for Cirrhosis, end-stage liver disease and ...

patient. This version reached No. 5 in the U.K. Singles Chart and was one of Webb's biggest hits.

Other cover versions

Crispin Glover Crispin Hellion Glover (born April 20, 1964) is an American actor, filmmaker and artist. He is known for portraying eccentricity (behavior), eccentric Character actor, character roles on screen. His breakout role was as George McFly in ''Back to ...

performed a cover of the song, as well starred and directed a music video, to the 2003 remake of ''Willard''. The video featured

R. Lee Ermey Ronald Lee Ermey (March 24, 1944 – April 15, 2018) was an American actor and United States Marine Corps, U.S. Marine drill instructor. He achieved fame for his role as Gunnery sergeant, Gunnery Sergeant Hartman in the 1987 film ''Full Met ...

(who also appears in the film) as a few male patrons, as well Lindsay Beamish and

Jane Jensen Jane Jensen (born January 28, 1963) is an American video game designer and author. She is the creator of the ''Gabriel Knight'' series of adventure games, and also co-founded Oberon Media and Pinkerton Road video game development companies. Je ...

among the female extras.

Kipp Lennon Christopher Joel "Kipp" Lennon (born March 12, 1960) is an American musician, songwriter, and actor. Lennon is a founding member of the folk rock band Venice (band), Venice. His role in the band includes performing as a lead vocalist and percus ...

of the band

Venice Venice ( ; ; , formerly ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 islands that are separated by expanses of open water and by canals; portions of the city are li ...

performed a cover of the song on a 1991 episode of ''

The Simpsons ''The Simpsons'' is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening and developed by Groening, James L. Brooks and Sam Simon for the Fox Broadcasting Company. It is a Satire (film and television), satirical depiction of American life ...

'' titled "

Stark Raving Dad "Stark Raving Dad" is the first episode of the third season of the American animated television series ''The Simpsons''. It first aired on Fox in the United States on September 19, 1991. In the episode, Homer is sent to a mental institution for ...

". Jackson himself appeared as a guest voice in this episode, but for contractual reasons, all of the singing lines his character had were given to Lennon. The song was also regularly performed live by rock band

Faith No More Faith No More is an American Rock music, rock band from San Francisco, California, formed in 1979. Before September 1983, the band performed under the names Sharp Young Men and later Faith No Man. Bassist Billy Gould, keyboardist/rhythm guitarist ...

during their reunion tour in 2010.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ben (Song) Film theme songs 1972 singles Michael Jackson songs Best Original Song Golden Globe–winning songs Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles Number-one singles in Australia Songs with lyrics by Don Black (lyricist) Pop ballads Songs about mice and rats Motown singles 1972 songs 1970s ballads Soul ballads Songs about friendship