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] 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".<ref>{{cite web|author=Lindsay Planer |url=http://www.allmusic.com/album/ben-mw0000197848 |title=Ben - Michael Jackson | Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards |publisher=AllMusic |access-date=2013-12-26}}</ref> '']'' editor ] 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".<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/artists/michaeljackson/albums/album/187701/review/5946973/ben |title=Michael Jackson: Ben: Music Reviews: Rolling Stone |magazine=] |date=1972-12-07 |access
] 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".<ref>{{cite web|author=Lindsay Planer |url=http://www.allmusic.com/album/ben-mw0000197848 |title=Ben - Michael Jackson | Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards |publisher=AllMusic |access-date=2013-12-26}}</ref> '']'' editor ] 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".<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/artists/michaeljackson/albums/album/187701/review/5946973/ben |title=Michael Jackson: Ben: Music Reviews: Rolling Stone |magazine=] |date=1972-12-07 |access-date=2013-12-26 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080618104812/http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/michaeljackson/albums/album/187701/review/5946973/ben |archive-date=June 18, 2008}}</ref>
==Charts==
==Charts==
Revision as of 18:04, 27 December 2023
Song written by Don Black and composed by Walter Scharf
For the Adair Lion song, see BEN (song).
"Ben" is a song written by Don Black and Walter Scharf for the 1972 film of the same name (a spin-off to the 1971 killer rat film Willard). It was performed by Lee Montgomery in the film and by Michael Jackson over the closing credits. Jackson's single, recorded for the Motown label in 1972, spent one week at the top of the Billboard Hot 100, making it Jackson's first number one single in the US as a solo artist. Billboard ranked it as the number 20 song for 1972. It also reached number 1 on the ARIA Charts, 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" was originally written for Donny Osmond, 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 U.S., the song also later reached a peak of number 7 on the British pop chart. "Ben" won a Golden Globe for Best Song. It was also nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Song in 1973; Jackson performed the song in front of a live audience at the ceremony. Billboard called it a "beauty".
Live recorded versions were released on the 1981 album The Jacksons Live! and Live at the Forum, and remixed versions have appeared on The Remix Suite, The Stripped Mixes and some versions of Immortal. After Jackson's death, singer Akon released a remix of the song with his own background vocals and Jackson's original vocal solo.
AllMusic 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 editor Vince Aletti 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".
In 1985, the song became a top 10 hit again in the U.K. when covered by Marti Webb as a tribute to Ben Hardwick, a young liver transplant patient. This version reached No. 5 in the U.K. Singles Chart and was one of the singer's biggest hits.
