Benmont Tench | |
|---|---|
 Tench performing in 2017 | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Benjamin Montmorency Tench III |
| Born | September 7, 1953 Gainesville, Florida, U.S. |
| Genres | Rock, country |
| Instruments | |
| Years active | 1974–present |
Benjamin Montmorency "Benmont" Tench III (born September 7, 1953) is an American musician and singer, and a founding member of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers.
Tench was born in Gainesville, Florida, the second child of Benjamin Montmorency Tench Jr. and Mary Catherine McInnis Tench. His father was born and raised in the city of Gainesville, and served as a circuit court judge. [1]
Tench played piano from an early age. His first recital was at age six. After discovering the music of the Beatles, he ended his classical piano lessons and focused on rock and roll. At age 11, he met Tom Petty for the first time at a Gainesville music store. Petty and Tench played together as members of The Sundowners in 1964. [2] The Tench family's garage was a frequent practice site for the band. [3]
Tench attended Phillips Exeter Academy, and subsequently Tulane University in New Orleans. [4] While on a college break, Tench went to a concert by Mudcrutch, Petty's band, with an opening act from nearby Jacksonville, Lynyrd Skynyrd. Afterwards, he sat in with the band on several different sessions, then went back to school. Soon after, Petty called Tench and asked him to quit school and join Mudcrutch full-time, which after long deliberation, Tench agreed to; but before he would leave school, Petty had to convince Tench's father that his son had a promising music career. [5]
Mudcrutch eventually evolved into Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. [6]
In addition to playing piano and Hammond organ with the Heartbreakers, Tench is also a session musician, having recorded with dozens of notable artists. [7]
Songs written by Tench and recorded by other artists include "You Little Thief", a top 5 UK and Australian hit for Feargal Sharkey in 1985, and "Never Be You" (co-written with Petty), which was featured on the Streets of Fire soundtrack album and became a #1 US Country hit for Rosanne Cash, also in 1985. [8] Tench has received two ASCAP songwriting awards: in 1995 for "Stay Forever" (performed by Hal Ketchum) and in 2001 for "Unbreakable Heart" (performed by Jessica Andrews). This was also recorded by Carlene Carter in the early 1990s. He also wrote songs for Kimmie Rhodes ("Play Me A Memory") and Lone Justice ("Sweet, Sweet Baby (I'm Falling)").
In 2008, Tench became part of a supergroup, initially named the Scrolls, now officially known as Works Progress Administration (W.P.A.). The band is composed of Tench, Sean Watkins (guitar), Sara Watkins (fiddle), Glen Phillips (guitar, vocals), Luke Bulla (fiddle), Greg Leisz (various), Pete Thomas (drums), and Davey Faragher (bass). The group released a self-titled album in September 2009. [9] Tench penned one of the songs on the album, named "The Price," sung by Sara Watkins and himself. A fan of the Replacements, he would join them on stage.
Tench has worked extensively with other musicians, playing keyboards on hundreds of songs on albums such as Stevie Nicks' Bella Donna , Bob Dylan's Shot of Love , along with Johnny Cash, Roy Orbison, Alanis Morissette, Eurythmics, Fiona Apple, U2, X, and he is featured on "Depending on You" on the Rolling Stones's album Hackney Diamonds , among many more. [10]
In 2009, Tench frequently appeared with the Watkins Family Hour at Largo at the Coronet in Los Angeles. He has also appeared at the Largo and at the Fillmore in San Francisco as a special guest with Gillian Welch and David Rawlings, and accompanied the Dave Rawlings Machine on part of their west coast tour in spring 2010. In 2015, the Watkins Family Hour released their debut album and went on a national tour. [11]
In 2014, Tench released his first solo album, titled You Should Be So Lucky . [12] Tench also added keyboard parts to Stevie Nicks' album 24 Karat Gold: Songs from the Vault .
In 2016, Tench played the Fleetwood Mac tribute at the Fonda Theater, in Los Angeles; he performed the song "Silver Springs" with Courtney Love. Tench also appears on the bill for a tribute to the band Big Star that took place in Los Angeles, California, in April 2016 (together with members of R.E.M, Wilco and Semisonic). [13] Tench also reunited with Mudcrutch to record the band's second album, Mudcrutch 2 . The band embarked on their American tour on May 26, 2016. [14] [15]
In March 2019, Tench played three shows with Phil Lesh & Friends at the Capitol Theatre in Port Chester, New York. [16] He also played on three songs from the Who's album WHO , released in December 2019. [17]
In 2024, Neil McCormick of The Daily Telegraph ranked Tench as the third greatest keyboard player of all time, calling him "the King of the Hammond in the contemporary rock era". [18]
In 1991, Tench married Canadian model Courtney Taylor. They divorced in late 1999. In 2015, Tench married his second wife, author Alice Carbone Tench. [19] Their daughter was born on December 16, 2017. [20]
Studio albums
Other studio appearance
Live single
Thomas Earl Petty was an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist. He was the leader and frontman of the rock bands Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers and Mudcrutch and a member of the late 1980s supergroup the Traveling Wilburys. He was also a successful solo artist.
Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers were an American rock band formed in Gainesville, Florida, in 1976. The band originally comprised lead singer and rhythm guitarist Tom Petty, lead guitarist Mike Campbell, keyboardist Benmont Tench, drummer Stan Lynch and bassist Ron Blair. In 1982, Blair, weary of the touring lifestyle, departed the band. His replacement, Howie Epstein, remained with the band for the next two decades. In 1991, Scott Thurston joined the band as a multi-instrumentalist, primarily on rhythm guitar and secondary keyboard. In 1994, Steve Ferrone replaced Lynch on drums. Blair returned to the Heartbreakers in 2002, the year before Epstein's death. The band had a long string of hit singles, including "Breakdown", "American Girl", "Refugee" (1979), "The Waiting" (1981), "Learning to Fly" (1991), and "Mary Jane's Last Dance" (1993), among many others, that stretched over several decades of work.
The Concert for George was held at the Royal Albert Hall in London on 29 November 2002 as a memorial to George Harrison on the first anniversary of his death. The event was organised by Harrison's widow, Olivia, and his son, Dhani, and arranged under the musical direction of Eric Clapton. The profits from the event went to the Material World Charitable Foundation, an organisation founded by Harrison.
Michael Wayne Campbell is an American guitarist and vocalist. He was a member of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers and co-wrote many of the band's hits with Petty, including "Refugee", "Here Comes My Girl", "You Got Lucky", and "Runnin' Down a Dream". Outside of The Heartbreakers, he has worked as a session guitarist and songwriter with a number of other acts, including composing and playing on the Don Henley hits "The Boys of Summer" & "The Heart of the Matter" as well as working on most of Stevie Nicks's solo albums. Campbell, along with Neil Finn, joined Fleetwood Mac to replace lead guitarist Lindsey Buckingham on their world tour in 2018–2019. After the end of that tour, he has been involved in his own band, the Dirty Knobs. As of 2024, the Dirty Knobs have released three albums.
Hard Promises is the fourth studio album by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers released on May 5, 1981, on Backstreet Records.
Southern Accents is the sixth studio album by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, released on March 26, 1985, through MCA Records. The album's lead single, "Don't Come Around Here No More", co-written by Dave Stewart of Eurythmics, peaked at number 13 on the Billboard Hot 100. The song "Southern Accents" was later covered by Johnny Cash for his Unchained album in 1996.
Playback is a box set compilation by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, released in 1995. It contains popular album tracks, B-sides, previously unreleased outtakes, and early songs by Petty's previous band Mudcrutch.
Let Me Up (I've Had Enough) (styled on the cover with quotation marks) is the seventh studio album by the American band Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, released on April 27, 1987. It features the most songwriting collaborations between Petty and lead guitarist Mike Campbell on any Petty album. It is the first album without then-former bassist Ron Blair on any tracks, as well as the first since Damn the Torpedoes not produced by Jimmy Iovine.
Ronald Edward Blair is an American musician notable for being the bassist for Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. He was originally the band's bassist from 1976 to 1981. In 2002, he returned to the group after a 20-year hiatus, replacing his own replacement, the late Howie Epstein.
Stanley Joseph "Stan" Lynch is an American musician, songwriter and record producer. He was the original drummer for Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers for 18 years until his departure in 1994.
Mudcrutch was an American rock band from Gainesville, Florida, whose sound touched on southern rock and country rock. They were first active in the 1970s and reformed in 2007, and are best known for being the band which launched Tom Petty to fame.
Runnin' Down a Dream is a 2007 documentary film about Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, directed by Peter Bogdanovich. The 4-hour documentary chronicles the history of the band, from its inception as Mudcrutch, right up to the 30th-anniversary concert in Petty's home town of Gainesville, Florida, on September 21, 2006, at the Stephen C. O'Connell Center, University of Florida. The film features interviews with George Harrison, Eddie Vedder, Stevie Nicks, Dave Grohl, Jeff Lynne, Rick Rubin, Johnny Depp, Jackson Browne and more. Petty's solo career is also touched on, as is his time with The Traveling Wilburys.
Mudcrutch is the first studio album by American rock band Mudcrutch, released on April 29, 2008. The album was recorded during a two-week period in August 2007. Mudcrutch was originally formed in 1970. The band recorded several demos and singles but never released a record. Mudcrutch was disbanded by the record company in 1975 and did not play together again until recording this album 32 years later. After the initial break-up, band members Tom Petty, Mike Campbell and Benmont Tench went on to form Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers.
"Band of the Hand" is a song written and recorded by Bob Dylan as the theme for the 1986 movie of the same name, which was directed by Paul Michael Glaser and produced by Michael Mann. Dylan recorded the song while on tour in Sydney, Australia on February 9 and 10, 1986. Dylan is backed on the recording by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, and a group of background singers including Stevie Nicks. The recording was produced by Tom Petty.
The Latebirds are a rock band from Helsinki, Finland. The band was formed in 2000 by drummer Janne Haavisto, bass player Mikko Mäkelä, singer/songwriter Markus Nordenstreng and guitarist Miikka Paatelainen. Guitarist Jussi Jaakonaho replaced Miikka Paatelainen in 2004. Organ player Matti Pitsinki from Finnish instrumental rock group Laika & The Cosmonauts was added to the line-up in 2005.
Bob Glaub is an American bass player and session musician. He has played with such artists and bands as Dave Mason, Journey, Steve Miller Band, John Fogerty, Bruce Springsteen, Bob Dylan, Neil Diamond, Jerry Lee Lewis, Ringo Starr, Dusty Springfield, Aaron Neville, Linda Ronstadt, Stevie Nicks, Jackson Browne, Warren Zevon, Donna Summer, John Lennon, Rod Stewart, Crosby, Stills & Nash Bee Gees and many others.
"Jammin' Me" is a song by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, co-written by Bob Dylan, Tom Petty, and Mike Campbell. The heartland rock tune first appeared on the band's 1987 album Let Me Up , and was later included on Petty's 'best of' albums Playback and Anthology: Through the Years.
An American Treasure is a 2018 compilation album and box set of Tom Petty, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers and Mudcrutch released by Reprise Records on September 28, 2018. The set includes several rare and unreleased songs alongside more obscure album tracks that showcase Petty's songwriting. The majority of the content is Heartbreakers material but there are also several solo songs and some recordings by Mudcrutch. Critical reception has been positive.
The Best of Everything is a 2019 greatest hits album with recordings made by Tom Petty, with his backing band The Heartbreakers, as a solo artist, and with Mudcrutch. It was released on March 1.
You Should Be So Lucky is the debut studio album by American rock musician Benmont Tench, released on Blue Note Records in 2014. The album has received positive reviews from critics.
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