Sometimes it’s just about the music. Those words are so true when you think about particular musicians who have been true to their sound and musical identity. To some extent, every artist possesses that kind of dedication to their work. However, some deliver music without any compromise despite pressure from others to change. If you’re familiar with R&B singer/songwriter Eric Benét, you probably understand he is utmost of uncompromising musicians. I have been a fan of his music for many years. His approach to songwriting is stellar. As I prepared for this post, I learned things about Benét that made me appreciate him even more.
Let me start with some things that I knew before getting started on this article. First, Eric Benét Jordan was born October 15, 1966 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Yes, he is a fellow mid-western native and the youngest of five siblings.
Second, Benét sang with a Top 100-style group called Gerard in the late 1980s. Benét, his sister Lisa, and his cousin George Nash Jr. formed a band called Benét and released a self-titled album in 1992, and it went on to sell over 100,000 copies. Two years later, Eric Benét broke onto the music scene with his solo career and signed with Warner Bros. Records, releasing his début solo album, True to Myself in 1996.
Benét also was married to Academy award-winning actress Halle Berry in January 2001. They later divorced in January, 2005.
There were some things about Eric Benét that I only learned recently. Before his solo career took off, Benét lost his father to cancer. In addition his girlfriend, Tami Marie Stauff, died on April 24, 1993, from injuries suffered in an automobile accident, leaving Eric a single father to their one-year-old daughter, India (born 1991).
Many times before I featured artists who have suffered similar tragedies of life. Of course, death is an important part of the human experience. A very painful part. Moreover, death affects all of us in many ways. When it comes to the death of very close family members, we can be hindered from reaching life goals. Eric not only had to endure the death of his father and girlfriend, but it left him the single parent of a one-year-old. How would the singer continue to make his way in the music industry? Parenthood is difficult for two, but single parenthood presents a different set of problems. Eric persevered and endured after the hardships. In an interview with People magazine several years back, Benét spoke about his daughter India. “She just brings me so much joy and inspiration,” ….“She’s been the best thing that’s ever happened to me.” Now an adult, India has enjoyed working with her dad as a backup singer.
That first solo studio album was appropriately titled True To Myself. In fact, you might even call it the theme to his entire career. “I’m not chasing any current whatevers,” says Benét, a four-time Grammy Award nominee. “It’s about music that gives me goose bumps and touches my soul. That’s always been a good barometer for me.”
As his first album brought about some hit songs on the R&B charts, the second album, A Day In The Life really was the breakthrough for Benét. Its first single, “Georgy Porgy (featuring Faith Evans)” received significant airplay, but the second single, “Spend My Life With You (featuring Tamia)”, became a smash hit. “Spend My Life With You” rose to number one on the American R&B charts, was certified gold, and nominated for a 2000 Grammy Award for Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group. The album, A Day in the Life also won a Soul Train Music Award for Best R&B/Soul Album, Male.
I remember speaking with another successful artist a few years back about the music industry in general. He told me that everything changes once you get a hit. The bigger the hit, the more the business end gets complicated. The problem that arises is if you have an artistic direction, and it helped you to one plateau, an industry executive will most likely believe you should take a different road. As an artist you are faced with a challenge. Most definitely after “Spend My Life With You” Eric Benét was presented with an opportunity to change. He kept on artistic course though. Since then the singer has released five more studio albums, scored more hits including “You’re the Only One” and “Sometimes I Cry” and added three more Grammy nods—including one in 2012 for Best Traditional R&B Performance for “Sometimes I Cry.”
“When you listen to my songs, they start off with nice intros and builds. Then they slowly bring you back down to earth. I want to take people on a journey, get their hearts jumping and feet moving before getting down to the intimate and lovely side of things.”
In 2011, Eric Benét got a fresh start in his family life. On July 31, 2011, he married Toronto native Manuela Testolini. Their first child, a girl named Lucia Bella, was born on December 21, 2011 and their second daughter together, Amoura Luna, was born in July 2014. Now he was blessed with a wife and three daughters. “I’m so thankful to be surrounded by such smart, fearless females like my beautiful wife and daughters,” Benet gushed to Us magazine. “Each day, they enlighten me, challenge me and make me a better person, husband, father, and friend.” A great foundation indeed.
Also beyond music, Benét is heavily involved in two charitable organizations. Mission Save Her (http://missionsaveher.org), co-founded by him and actor/singer Reggie Benjamin, fights against the human trafficking, slavery and sexual abuse of women and girls around the world. In a Perfect World (www.iapw.org.), established by Benét’s wife Manuela Testolini, pushes to break the cycle of poverty and illiteracy in economically poor countries like Haiti, Nicaragua and Senegal. Now in its 10th year, the organization has just built its 30th school and, in the process, benefited more than 30,000 children and teens around the world.
The more i read about Eric Benét, the more I liked about him. I always was a fan of the music, but the tabloids paint a picture of artists that may not tell the entire story. Eric proves to be an artist who cares not only about his fans, but also those less fortunate. He uses his platform to help. I do respect that.
Musically, Eric Benét is still singing with regular concert dates, in fact he just performed in Atlanta the night before this post went into publication. There is the hint of new music after his eponymous seventh studio album released in 2016. The good thing about Eric Benét music is that you know what to expect. His artistic dedication will ensure he delivers an outstanding group of songs.