Last updated: 3 hours ago
Hailing from Phenix City, AL, Jo Jo Benson (real name: Joseph Hewell) began singing in church as a child and, by the age of 14, was sneaking into clubs to sing on-stage with local bands. Although he toured with <a href="spotify:artist:21uawITknPcgjwdJuvpcGE">Chuck Willis</a> and met such acclaimed artists as <a href="spotify:artist:5xLSa7l4IV1gsQfhAMvl0U">B.B. King</a> and <a href="spotify:artist:0h9smro0z3HqUbD94jotU8">Smokey Robinson</a>, it was a recording from 1968, "Lover's Holiday" (a duet with <a href="spotify:artist:7cPHFG8We7A3dWUw0ajXgP">Peggy Scott</a>), that resulted in Benson's first hit single, eventually going gold. The duo would release two more hit singles over the next few years: "Pickin' Wild Mountain Berries" and "Soulshake." The pair went their separate ways in 1971, but would eventually briefly reunite in the mid-'80s for a now-forgotten reunion album. Little was heard from Benson until 1999, when he laid down a few traditional soul tracks in a Birmingham studio, resulting in the release Reminiscing in the Jam Zone the same year. The album (which was praised as "among the finest soul albums of the year -- indeed, of the decade" by the Living Blues publication) combined a cappella songs with full-band arrangements with horns to a stark piano/vocal setting, and even included a duet with <a href="spotify:artist:7cPHFG8We7A3dWUw0ajXgP">Scott</a>, "Dark End of the Street." 2001 saw the release of Benson's follow-up, Everybody Loves to Cha Cha Cha. ~ Greg Prato, Rovi
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