Benjamin "Benny" Latimore (born 7 September 1939, Charleston

Charleston, Tennessee

Charleston is a city in Bradley County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 651 at the 2010 census. It is included in the Cleveland, Tennessee Metropolitan Statistical Area.-Geography:...

, Tennessee

Tennessee

Tennessee is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States. It has a population of 6,346,105, making it the nation's 17th-largest state by population, and covers , making it the 36th-largest by total land area...

), usually known professionally simply as Latimore, is an American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 R&B

Rhythm and blues

Rhythm and blues, often abbreviated to R&B, is a genre of popular African American music that originated in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predominantly to urban African Americans, at a time when "urbane, rocking, jazz based music with a...

 singer, songwriter

Songwriter

A songwriter is an individual who writes both the lyrics and music to a song. Someone who solely writes lyrics may be called a lyricist, and someone who only writes music may be called a composer...

 and pianist

Pianist

A pianist is a musician who plays the piano. A professional pianist can perform solo pieces, play with an ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers, solo instrumentalists, or other performers.-Choice of genres:...

.

He was born in Charleston, Tennessee, and was influenced by country music

Country music

Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...

, his Baptist church choir

Choir

A choir, chorale or chorus is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform.A body of singers who perform together as a group is called a choir or chorus...

, and the blues. His first professional experience came as a pianist for various Florida-based groups including Joe Henderson

Joe Henderson

Joe Henderson was an American jazz tenor saxophonist. In a career spanning more than forty years Henderson played with many of the leading American players of his day and recorded for several prominent labels, including Blue Note.-Early life:From a very large family with five sisters and nine...

 and Steve Alaimo

Steve Alaimo

Steve Alaimo was an American teen idol pop singer in the early 1960s who later became record producer and label owner, but he is perhaps best known for hosting and co-producing Dick Clark's Where the Action Is in the late 1960s...

. He first recorded

Sound recording and reproduction

Sound recording and reproduction is an electrical or mechanical inscription and re-creation of sound waves, such as spoken voice, singing, instrumental music, or sound effects. The two main classes of sound recording technology are analog recording and digital recording...

  around 1965 for Henry Stone

Henry Stone

Henry Stone is an American record company executive and producer whose career spans the era from R&B in the early 1950s through the disco boom of the 1970s to the present day. He is best known as co-owner and president of TK Records....

's Dade record label

Record label

In the music industry, a record label is a brand and a trademark associated with the marketing of music recordings and music videos. Most commonly, a record label is the company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the production, manufacture, distribution, marketing and promotion,...

 in Miami

Miami, Florida

Miami is a city located on the Atlantic coast in southeastern Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, the most populous county in Florida and the eighth-most populous county in the United States with a population of 2,500,625...

, Florida

Florida

Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...

.
In the early 1970s he moved to the Glades label, and had his first major hit

Hit single

A hit single is a recorded song or instrumental released as a single that has become very popular. Although it is sometimes used to describe any widely-played or big-selling song, the term "hit" is usually reserved for a single that has appeared in an official music chart through repeated radio...

 in 1973 with a jazz

Jazz

Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...

y reworking of T-Bone Walker

T-Bone Walker

Aaron Thibeaux "T-Bone" Walker was a critically acclaimed American blues guitarist, singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, who was one of the most influential pioneers and innovators of the jump blues and electric blues sound. He is the first musician recorded playing blues with the...

's "Stormy Monday

Call It Stormy Monday (But Tuesday Is Just as Bad)

"Call It Stormy Monday " is a blues song written by T-Bone Walker and first recorded in 1947. Confusingly, it is also sometimes referred to as "Stormy Monday Blues", although that is the title of a 1942 song by Earl Hines and Billy Eckstine...

", which reached #27 on the R&B chart

Record chart

A record chart is a ranking of recorded music according to popularity during a given period of time. Examples of music charts are the Hit parade, Hot 100 or Top 40....

.

His first national hit was a cover of Gladys Knight

Gladys Knight

Gladys Maria Knight , known as the "Empress of Soul", is an American singer-songwriter, actress, businesswoman, humanitarian, and author...

's "If You Were My Woman" (#70 R&B). His biggest success came in 1974, with "Let's Straighten It Out

Let's Straighten It Out

"Let's Straighten It Out" is the name of a hit soul song by R&B/blues singer Latimore. From his debut album More, More, More, the single spent two weeks at number one on the R&B singles chart in November, 1974. It also peaked at number 31 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart.The single was...

", an R&B chart #1 which also reached #31 on the U.S

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 Billboard Hot 100

Billboard Hot 100

The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...

 charts. He followed it up with more hits including "Keep The Home Fire Burnin'" (#5 R & B, 1975) and "Somethin' 'Bout 'Cha" (#7 R &B, 1976). However, the hits dried up in the late 1970s.

Latimore moved to Malaco Records

Malaco Records

Malaco Records is an independent record label based in Jackson, Mississippi. Malaco is and has been the home of various major soul, blues and gospel acts, such as Johnnie Taylor, Bobby Bland, ZZ Hill, Denise LaSalle, Benny Latimore, Dorothy Moore, Little Milton, Shirley Brown, Marvin Sease, and the...

 in 1982, resulting in seven albums worth of modern soul music. He briefly left the label in 1994 and released a song for the J-Town label ("Turning Up The Mood") before returning to Malaco in 2000 with "You're Welcome To Ride". Next he recorded one album with Mel Waiters' label Brittney Records called "Latt is Back".

After several years he collaborated on a new record label with Henry Stone called LatStone, which issued his first new album in six years called "Back 'Atcha".

He has also continued to work as a session

Session musician

Session musicians are instrumental and vocal performers, musicians, who are available to work with others at live performances or recording sessions. Usually such musicians are not permanent members of a musical ensemble and often do not achieve fame in their own right as soloists or bandleaders...

 pianist. He appeared most recently on Joss Stone

Joss Stone

Jocelyn Eve Stoker , better known by her stage name Joss Stone, is an English soul singer-songwriter and actress. Stone rose to fame in late 2003 with her multi-platinum debut album, The Soul Sessions, which made the 2004 Mercury Prize shortlist...

's album

Album

An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...

s, The Soul Sessions

The Soul Sessions

The Soul Sessions is the debut album by English recording artist Joss Stone. It was released in the United Kingdom on 24 November 2003 by Relentless Records...

 (2003) and Mind, Body & Soul

Mind, Body & Soul

Mind Body & Soul is the second studio album by English recording artist Joss Stone. Released in the United Kingdom on 27 September 2004 by Relentless Records, it is Stone's most successful album to date in the United Kingdom, where it debuted at number one and stayed atop for one week...

 (2004), along with fellow Miami music veterans Betty Wright

Betty Wright

Bessie Regina Norris, better known by her stage name, Betty Wright , is a Grammy winning Miami-based soul and R&B singer-songwriter, who won fame in the 1970s with hits such as "Clean Up Woman" and "Tonight Is the Night"...

, Timmy Thomas

Timmy Thomas

Timmy Thomas is an American R&B singer, keyboardist, songwriter and record producer, best known for the hit song, "Why Can't We Live Together".-Career:...

 and Willie Hale

Willie Hale

Willie Hale , often known by the name Little Beaver, is an American R&B guitarist, singer and songwriter featured on many hit records since the 1960s....

.

Albums

1973 Latimore

1974 More, More, More, Black Albums 13

1975 Latimore III, Black Albums 49

1977 It Ain't Where You Been..., Pop Albums 181, Black Albums 47

1979 Dig A Little Deeper, Black Albums 51

1980 Getting Down to Brass Tacks

1982 Singing In The Key Of Love, Black Albums 61

1983 I'll Do Anything For You, Black Albums 66, Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums 67

1985 Good Time Man

1986 Every Way But Wrong

1988 Slow Down

1991 The Only Way Is Up Top, R&B/Hip-Hop Albums 34

1993 Catchin' Up

1995 Best of Latimore: Sweet Vibrations

1995 Straighten It Out: The Best of Latimore

1996 Turnin' up the Mood

1998 All You'll Ever Need

2000 You're Welcome to Ride

2004 Sweet Vibrations: The Best of Latimore

2007 Latimore Back Atcha

2009 All About the Rhythm and the Blues

2011 "Ladies Choice"

Chart singles

1974 If You Were My Woman, Black Singles 70

1974 Let's Straighten It Out, Black Singles 1, Pop Singles 31

1975 Keep The Home Fire Burnin, Black Singles 5

1975 There's A Red-Neck In The Soul Band, Black Singles 36

1976 Qualified Man, Black Singles 43

1977 I Get Lifted, Black Singles 30

1977 Let Me Live The Life I Love, Black Singles 49

1977 Somethin' 'Bout 'Cha, Black Singles 7, Pop Singles 37

1979 Dig A Little Deeper, Black Singles 42

1979 Goodbye Heartache, Black Singles 82

1979 Long Distance Love, Black Singles 75

1980 Discoed to Death, Black Singles 68

1986 Sunshine Lady, Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks 76

1995 " The Mister Great Thomas Latimore was born "