Ben is the second studio album by the American singer Michael Jackson, released by Motown on August 4, 1972, while Jackson was still a member of the Jackson 5. It received mixed reviews from contemporary music critics. Ben, however, was more successful on the music charts than Jackson's previous studio album, peaking within the top 10 on the Billboard 200 in the United States. Internationally, the album was less successful, peaking at number 12 in Canada, while charting within the top 200 positions in Australia and France.
The album released one single, the title track "Ben", which was a commercial success on the music charts, topping both the US Billboard Hot 100 and the Australian ARIA charts, giving Jackson his first number-one single domestically and internationally. "Ben" also charted within the top 10 in other territories worldwide. "Everybody's Somebody's Fool" was planned to be released as the second single from the album, but was cancelled for unspecified reasons. Two of the album's songs were "stripped" in 2009 as part of the three-disc compilation Hello World: The Motown Solo Collection.
Background
In January 1972, while still a member of the Jackson 5, Jackson released his first studio album, Got to Be There, under Motown Records. The album received generally mixed reviews from contemporary music critics, but was commercially successful worldwide. The album's three singles had a good chart performance on the Billboard Hot 100, with all charting within the top 20 positions on the chart, two peaking within the top 5. Got to Be There was more successful in the U.S. than internationally, peaking at number 14 on the Billboard 200 while peaking at number 37 in the U.K. and number 121 in France.
Music
Recording sessions for Ben ran from November 1971 to February 1972. It was produced by six people, and executive-produced by Berry Gordy.
The album's title track, the theme song for the 1972 film of the same name (itself the sequel to the 1971 killer rat film Willard), won a Golden Globe and was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Song, losing to "The Morning After" by Maureen McGovern from another 1972 film, The Poseidon Adventure. "What Goes Around Comes Around" has similarities to Jackson's older brother Jackie's single "Didn't I (Blow Your Mind This Time)", For Ben, Jackson recorded covers of The Temptations' 1964 single "My Girl", The Stylistics' 1971 hit "People Make The World Go Round", Lionel Hampton's "Everybody's Somebody's Fool", Brenda Holloway's 1965 single "You Can Cry on My Shoulder" and Stevie Wonder's 1968 single "Shoo-Be-Doo-Be-Doo-Da-Day". "My Girl" has a funk rhythm and the song's score includes some call-and-response interaction, which is similar to what Jackson and his brothers displayed in their Jackson 5 material. "You Can Cry on My Shoulder" is a mid-tempo song.
The album generally received mixed to positive reviews from contemporary music critics. Lindsay Planer of Allmusic rated Ben four out of five stars. Planer noted that one "interesting shift was the lack of participation from the Motown hitmaking machine known collectively as 'The Corporation. Greenblatt commented that Bens title track was a "testament to his talent" and added that the album would "always be defined" by that one song. and number 7 on the U.K. Singles Chart, as well as charting at number 14 in Australia. After Jackson's death in June 2009, his music surged in popularity. The album charted on the French music charts on July 25, 2009, at its peak position of number 162.
Track listing
Personnel
Adapted from AllMusic.
- Michael Jackson – vocals
- The Corporation – producer
- Hal Davis – producer
- Berry Gordy – executive producer
- Mel Larson – producer
- Jerry Marcellino – producer
- Bobby Taylor – producer
Charts
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! scope="col"| Chart (1972–1973)
! scope="col"| Peak<br />position
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Certifications and sales
References
Further reading
- George, Nelson (2004). Michael Jackson: The Ultimate Collection liner notes. Sony BMG.