Cas Haley
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Benjamin Cas Haley (born 1980; Paris, Texas) is an American singer-songwriter, who specialises in reggae-inflected music when singing. He rose to national prominence by appearing on ''
America's Got Talent ''America's Got Talent'' (often abbreviated as ''AGT'') is an American talent show competition, and is part of the global ''Got Talent'' franchise created by Simon Cowell. The program is produced by Fremantle (as well as distributed by) and ...
'' in 2007, finishing as runner-up on that season's competition, whereupon he has conducted several tours and produced several albums during his career with a number of different recording labels.


Career

Benjamin began his career developing pieces inspired by reggae music. In 2007, he auditioned for the second season of ''America's Got Talent'', conducting several songs with his reggae-inflected music; his first for his audition earned praise from
Piers Morgan Piers Stefan Pughe-Morgan (; O'Meara, born 30 March 1965) is an English journalist and media personality. He began his career in 1988 at the tabloid ''The Sun (United Kingdom), The Sun''. In 1994, at the age of 29, he was appointed editor of ...
, a judge for the program at the time, who praised his version of "
Walking on the Moon "Walking on the Moon" is a reggae song by British rock band the Police, released as the second single from their second studio album, '' Reggatta de Blanc'' (1979). The song was written by the band's lead vocalist and bassist Sting. It went o ...
" as being far better than when it had been sung by the musician
Sting Stimulator of interferon genes (STING), also known as transmembrane protein 173 (TMEM173) and MPYS/MITA/ERIS is a regulator protein that in humans is encoded by the STING1 gene. STING plays an important role in innate immunity. STING induces typ ...
. His performances earned him national recognition, leading to him finishing the competition as runner-up. After his involvement on the program, he released a self-titled debut album later in the year, reaching No. 8 on ''Billboards Reggae Albums chart. In June 2010, Benjamin toured Hawaii with Josh Heinrichs playing shows in
Hawaii Hawaii ( ; ) is an island U.S. state, state of the United States, in the Pacific Ocean about southwest of the U.S. mainland. One of the two Non-contiguous United States, non-contiguous U.S. states (along with Alaska), it is the only sta ...
, in which he made appearances on several local radio programs and the television morning news portion of ''
Hawaii News Now ''Hawaii News Now'' (also abbreviated as ''HNN'') is a news department shared by three television stations in Honolulu, Hawaii: CBS affiliate KGMB (channel 5), NBC affiliate KHNL (channel 13), and Telemundo affiliate KFVE (channel 6). The ...
''. Three months later, he signed a deal with Easy Star Records, who released his follow-up album, ''Connection'', on September 14. It reached No. 2 on ''Billboards Reggae Albums chart in 2010. In October, he toured the U.S. west coast and Europe in support of ''Connection'' with the
Easy Star All-Stars Easy Star All-Stars is a reggae collective founded in 1997 by Michael Goldwasser, Eric Smith, Lem Oppenheimer and Remy Gerstein of New York City-based Easy Star Records. The band is known for its reinterpretations of classic albums in reggae st ...
. Benjamin released his third album, ''La Si Dah'', on May 28, 2013, which consisted of thirteen songs, funded by his fans, and produced by both Benjamin and Grammy-winning producer-engineer
Rob Fraboni Robert Alan Fraboni (born 23 April 1951) is an American, California-born record producer and audio engineer, well known for his work with Bob Dylan, The Band, Eric Clapton, The Rolling Stones, Tim Hardin, The Beach Boys, Joe Cocker, and Bonnie Rai ...
. The release was followed by a European tour. Later that same year, Cas was nominated as best reggae rock entertainer for the 32nd annual International Reggae and World Music Awards. In 2014, Haley suffered a skiing accident that left serious muscle and nerve damage in his neck. He endured eight months of acupuncture and vocal and physical therapy to get his voice back. The following year, on November 6, he released the album ''More Music More Family'' on
Jimmy Buffett James William Buffett (December 25, 1946 – September 1, 2023) was an American singer-songwriter, author, and businessman. He was known for his tropical rock sound and persona, which often portrayed a lifestyle described as "island escapis ...
's
Mailboat Records Mailboat Records is an independent record label established in 1999 by American singer-songwriter Jimmy Buffett after his vanity label Margaritaville Records was absorbed by Island Records when they were sold to Universal Music Group, owner of Bu ...
. Nine of its 12 songs were recorded in Hawaii, and three were recorded in Haley's home in Texas and filmed as part of a video series for the ''
Dallas News ''The Dallas Morning News'' is a daily newspaper serving the Dallas–Fort Worth area of Texas, with an average print circulation in 2022 of 65,369. It was founded on October 1, 1885, by Alfred Horatio Belo as a satellite publication of the ' ...
''. On June 21, 2019, Haley released ''Lessons and Blessings'', which was written during the time of his wife's illness. It was recorded at the Haley family farm, and his wife contributed to the songwriting. In 2020, Cas Haley was the grand prize winner of the
Lincoln Motor Company Lincoln Motor Company, or simply Lincoln, is the luxury vehicle division of American automobile manufacturer Ford Motor Company. Marketed among the top luxury vehicle brands in the United States, Lincoln is positioned closely against its Gene ...
's "Chart Your Course" contest. His winning song, "Every Road I'm On," beat out over 1,600 entrants. Haley won a talent contract and a recording session at
Capitol Studios Capitol Studios is a recording studio located at the landmark Capitol Records Building in Hollywood, California, United States. The studios, which opened in 1956, were initially the primary recording studios for the American record label Capi ...
, a
Lincoln Corsair The Lincoln Corsair is a compact luxury crossover marketed and sold by the Lincoln brand of Ford Motor Company since the 2020 model year. It replaced the MKC. Since 2020, the Corsair has been the best-selling vehicle for the Lincoln brand. ...
, and appeared in a national Lincoln marketing campaign. As part of the promotion, Haley met and worked with actor
Matthew McConaughey Matthew David McConaughey ( ; born November 4, 1969) is an American actor. He achieved his breakthrough with a supporting performance in the coming-of-age comedy '' Dazed and Confused'' (1993). After a number of supporting roles, his first su ...
, and musicians
Jon Cleary Jon Stephen Cleary (22 November 191719 July 2010) was an Australian writer and novelist. He wrote numerous books, including '' The Sundowners'' (1951), a portrait of a rural family in the 1920s as they move from one job to the next, and '' The ...
, Tank of
Tank and the Bangas Tank and the Bangas is an American musical group based in New Orleans, Louisiana. The band won the 2017 NPR Tiny Desk Concerts, Tiny Desk Contest and in November 2019, they were nominated in the Grammy Award for Best New Artist, Best New Artist c ...
,
Ruthie Foster Ruthie Cecelia Foster (born February 10, 1964) is an American singer-songwriter of blues and Folk music, folk music. She mixes a wide palette of American song forms, from gospel and blues to jazz, folk and soul. She has often been compared to Bo ...
, and more. Lincoln filmed his cross-country journey, which ended at Capitol Studios in Hollywood, where he recorded the song. The campaign includes a national broadcast and online spot and a 24-minute documentary. "Every Road I'm On" was included on Cas Haley's album, ''All the Right People'', released in early 2021 on Jimmy Buffet's label, Mailboat Records.


Personal life

Benjamin was born in Paris, Texas on December 27, 1980, and is currently married to his wife, Cas Haley. The couple have two children - a son, Eben, and a daughter, Nolah. In 2018, Cas's wife, Cassy, was diagnosed with an aggressive form of breast cancer. Subsequently, Haley cancelled his tour dates and set up a
GoFundMe GoFundMe is an American for-profit crowdfunding platform that allows people to raise money for events ranging from life events such as celebrations and graduations to challenging circumstances like accidents and illnesses. From 2010 to the ...
campaign to help cover the family's medical expenses.


Discography


Albums


Singles


References


External links

*
Woodbelly's Official SiteOfficial America's Got Talent bio, including links to several of his performances
{{DEFAULTSORT:Haley, Cas 1980 births 21st-century American singers Living people America's Got Talent contestants American rock guitarists American male guitarists People from Arlington, Texas Singers from Texas American reggae musicians People from Paris, Texas Easy Star Records artists 21st-century American guitarists Guitarists from Texas 21st-century American male singers Songwriters from Texas American male songwriters