Ben Folds

Singer and pianist Ben Folds was born in North Carolina, September 12, 1966. He is particularly known for his activities as a member of the Ben Folds Five outfit. Still, his solo career is also rather memorable. Folds was quite young when he had already chose to be a musician and joined a number of groups during his school years. However, this period remained unremarkable in the artist’s life. Ben’s first significant step in his profession was becoming a part of the Majosha group in the late eighties. This formation managed to release only two albums, which was enough for Folds to prove himself as a talented multi-instrumentalist. Shortly after, he relocated to New York to test his skills in theatre and sign a contract with Sony Music.

In 1994, Ben Folds returned to North Carolina where he formed Ben Folds Five composed by him, bassist Robert Sledge and drummer Darren Jessie. This band presumed to play the stuff different from what the majority of youth rock groups were playing with the focus on the rough guitar sound. The just organized outfit built their music on the piano foundation. This would raise sweet associations with the early works of Billy Joel and Elton John. Nevertheless, just like any rock band, Ben Folds Five knew how to and liked to perform colorful and energetic gigs. A year after the formation, they released their debut self-titled album. The humorous composition Underground aired by some of the big stations, and a number of successful concerts granted Ben Folds Five a considerable fan base as early as before the issuance of the sophomore studio work.

Whatever and Ever Amen hit the stores in 1997 and instantly became a smash. The group had made a notable progress in terms of both writing and performing songs. Generally optimistic and light, this album featured a melancholic ballad, Brick, telling a story of a couple set to do an abortion. As time went by, the rumors surfaced about this song, written by Folds, being autobiographical. The release of this long player received a twelve-month massive tour promotion, which brought the album a platinum status in the long run.

In 1998, Ben Folds Five were too busy to work on the new material. Instead of a fresh album, they issued a collection of rare and previously unreleased compositions. At the same time, Folds attempted to start his side project recording the Volume 1 CD under the pseudonym Fear of Pop. This effort failed to attract the massive consumer and prompted Ben to come back to the affairs of his original group. Ben Folds Five prepared their subsequent album in 1999. Called The Unauthorized Biography of Reinhold Messner, it was much more mature than its predecessors on the one hand, but it retained their cheerful mood on the other hand. In 2001, Ben Folds breathed in his solo career a second life. First, he released the studio album Rockin' the Suburbs. Then, in a year, he extended his discography with his first live record, Ben Folds Live. This was followed by a long silence lasting for three years, which appeared calm before the storm. Starting in 2005, Ben has been delivering new studio albums almost annually. Loyal to this tradition, he has already prepared a 2009 long player, entitled Stems and Seeds. Witty lyrics and flawless piano parts have become the trademarks of this artist. Ben Folds is definitely on a roll now and does not seem to slow down at all. Ben released a very interesting work titled Ben Folds Presents: University A Cappella! in 2010. Lots of various musicians and singers took part in the creation of that album, and the result proved to be outstanding. All the A Cappella lovers definitely should get acquainted with that record: the positive emotions are guarantee!