Benét, Eric 1970–

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Eric Benét 1970–

Contemporary soul vocalist

Quite a number of African American vocal performers in the last years of the twentieth century avoided the dominant urban genre of hip-hop, turning instead to the “old school” sounds of classic R&B and soul music of the 1970s and early 1980s. Eric Benét is one of this group, but perhaps to a greater extent than the others he has captured the spirit of originality and innovation that defined the old school in its heyday. With a broad creative streak intact after personal trials, and with successful sophomore release propelling him into a high-profile celebrity romance in the year 2000, Benét seemed poised to become one of the new century’s most durable stars.

Eric Benét Jordan was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, in 1970; his middle name comes from that of the American poet Stephen Vincent Benét. He grew up on the city’s north side and attended Boys Technical High School. “Eric was always trying out for the school play, singing in the choir, or leading the way during our family sing-alongs in the den…” Benét’s sister, Lisa, told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. “I could see the beginnings of what brought him to where he is today, the way he moved and put on a show.”

Benét’s environment was musical: his father, a police officer, was a classical music fan, and his mother often sang around the house. “Everybody had perfect pitch and everybody played an instrument,” he told Ebony. Growing up in the 1970s and early 1980s, Benét absorbed the classics of “old-school R&B—especially the music of Stevie Wonder, a prime influence in his openness to various influences and his constant spirit of experimentation. He sang with a Top 40-style group called Gerard in the late 1980s, and then Benét, his sister, Lisa, and his cousin, George Nash Jr., formed a band called Benét.

That band was signed to the EMI label in 1990, with Eric Benét as lead vocalist and creative sparkplug. Their debut album, Benét, was released in 1992, in the midst of corporate upheaval at the label. Promotion was scant. Still, with sales of 70, 000 copies, it attracted some notice within the industry, and Benét made a valuable ally in EMI executive Allison Ball-Gabriel, who moved to the Warner Brothers label in 1993 and kept in contact with her youthful discovery.

Benét’s career-building, however, was interrupted by a series of personal tragedies. His father died of cancer, and his girlfriend, Tami, the mother of Benét’s daughter, India, born in 1992, died of injuries suffered in an

At a Glance…

Born Eric Benét Jordan in 1970, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin; son of a police officer; married actress Halle Berry, 2001; children: India (from previous relationship).

Career: Urban contemporary vocalist. Sang with Milwaukee top 40 band Gerard, late 1960s; formed group Benét with sister, Lisa, and George Nash Jr., 1990; group signed to EMI label, released album Benét, 1992; signed to Warner Bros, label as solo artist, 1996; released Warner Brothers debut, True to Myself, 1996; released album Day in the Life, 1999.

Awards: Gold record for Day in the Life, 1999.

Addresses: Home —Milwaukee, Wl. Record label —Warner Brothers Records, 3300 Warner Blvd., Bur-bank, CA91506.

automobile crash after languishing in a coma for five days. Benét endured a long period of personal and creative depression, often feeling that only his responsibilities as a father kept him going. He took a job with United Parcel Service in Milwaukee and eased back into music by producing demo recordings for local artists.

Finally Benét began writing songs again, many of them rooted in the tragedies he had experienced. These coalesced into Benét’s debut solo release, True to Myself, released in 1996. Individual songs from the album were successful, including the top-ten R&B hit “Spiritual Thang” and “Let’s Stay Together,” which appeared on the soundtrack of the film A Thin Line Between Love and Hate. The album as a whole, however, failed to live up to sales expectations. With a mixture of Benét’s beloved old-school soul and a variety of rock influences, True to Myself confounded audiences at the height of hip-hop’s domination of urban radio. Nor did the singer, who favored laid-back vintage clothing rather than the intensely fashion-conscious attire of most other urban entertainers, fit audience image expectations for a new artist.

Ball-Gabriel once again demonstrated her belief in the viability of Benét’s career. “Professionally and artistically speaking, Eric was ready [with True to Myself], but radio wasn’t; it was a bit deep for pop radio,” she told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. The album garnered critical praise, and Benét toured in 1998 as the opening act for the wildly original Erykah Badu. When it came time to record Benét’s second solo release, however, he was well aware that critical praise was of little interest to the corporate masters of the popular music scene. “This could be considered a make-or-break album for me,” he told the Journal Sentinel. “I know that. And I know that I have to focus on commercial concerns this time out.”

That sophomore release, 1999’s A Day in the Life, was supported by a strong marketing effort. Warner Brothers packaged Benét as a romantic balladeer and energetically attempted to place the singer’s music and image before female African American listeners, even purchasing a mailing list from a black hair care industry publication and sending copies of the CD to beauty salons around the country. Benét lived up to the part, taking the stage in pajamas on tour to support the album. By the third number of the show, a Milwaukee Journal Sentinel critic reported, Benét had “ripped off the pajama top to reveal a flexing torso barely contained by a flexing tank top.” Dreadlocks added an exotic note to his appeal. His penchant for performing barefoot, however, predated this period; he told Jet that it dated back to his habit of taking his shoes off to calm himself down during the tornado warnings of his Milwaukee childhood.

Musically, the album fit in with the trend toward a return to romance visible in the hip-hop-saturated urban music scene. Yet for all its commercial considerations, A Day in the Life reflected much of Benét’s musical personality and in no way represented a sellout. His long interest in rock music was demonstrated by the inclusion of two remakes of classic rock songs, Kansas’s “Dust in the Wind” and Toto’s “Georgy Porgy.” The latter, performed in a duet with high-flying hip-hop star Faith Evans, was the album’s leadoff single. Benét also enlisted the help of various innovative hip-hop-oriented producers, including Wyclef Jean and AH Shaheed Muhammad of the group Lucy Pearl. The mixture worked: A Day in the Life earned Benét a gold record (for sales of over 500, 000 copies), and remained on the charts for over a year.

His profile sharply raised, Benét enjoyed another round of favorable publicity in the year 2000 as a result of his romance with actress Halle Berry. The two became engaged, and Benét enhanced his romantic image by dedicating a performance of his hit “Spend My Life with You” to her at the NAACP Image Awards program that year. They were married at a secret location in January of 2001.

With vocal talent, a deep reservoir of creativity, and the wisdom that comes from having overcome adversity, Benét seems a likely candidate for durable stardom. “Everybody’s life is an experience, but not everybody stops to learn some valuable lessons that may be hidden in some cracks,” he told Jet. “Once it passes, and it too will pass, you will have learned and grown so much in life that you’ll have a deeper capacity to love.”