Ben (album)

Ben was the second full-length solo album by teenage pop-soul music phenomenon Michael Jackson. Released in August 1972, seven months after his auspicious debut as a soloist, Got to Be There, the album showcased a Jackson in vocal and artistic growth. A number of the songs on the album are ballads, a genre which was rare in the main Jackson 5 repertoire, but would become a staple of Michael Jackson's over the course of his four-decade solo career.

Related Topics:
Teenage - Pop - Soul - Michael Jackson - August - 1972 - Got to Be There - Jackson 5

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The album's title track helped separate Jackson from his family and his pop music contemporaries convincing an audience he could belt out a ballad, even though the song was dedicated to a killer rat, that was eulogized in the 1972 film that gives the album its name. However, no one noticed, as the song became the first of Jackson's thirteen #1 solo hit singles, and garnered both a Golden Globe award win and an Academy Award nomination. The album peaked at #5 Pop and #4 R&B upon its release.

Related Topics:
Album's title track - Golden Globe - Academy Award

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