Brook Benton

One of a handful of black singers who wrote their own material in the early '60s, Brook Benton had four gold records and 16 Top 20 hits over a lengthy and resilient career. Benton's hits feature his smooth baritone (in a style he learned from Nat "King" Cole and Billy Eckstine) and lush string backing. In the early '50s he sang with Bill Landford and the Golden Gate gospel quartets. By the middle ...