Benny Latimore (born September 7, 1939) – Somethin' 'Bout 'Cha (1976)
The legendary singer/songwriter Latimore wrote this very funky love jam which went to #7 R&B.
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Benny Latimore is a multi-talented singer/songwriter and pianist who scored a #1 R&B hit in 1974 with “Let’s Straighten It Out.”
Benjamin William Lattimore was born in Charleston, Tennessee. When he was still a teenager in the late fifties, he joined the Nashville-based group Louis Brooks & The Hi-Toppers, replacing vocalist Earl Gaines. He also played piano in the band, and while with them met Nashville R&B songwriter and producer Ted Jarrett.
Next he played piano with Joe Henderson’s band, and served as his opening act while touring. One of the numbers he sang night after night was “Snap Your Fingers,” co-written by legendary Nashville guitarist Grady Martin. In 1962, Jarrett recorded Lattimore performing the song. “Snap Your Fingers” was his first single, which came out that same year on Hit Records.
By the time his next records were released in 1966, he had dropped the double “T” in his last name and begun to be billed as Benny Latimore. He released two singles on Dade Records, one of future TK Records owner Henry Stone’s numerous labels. The first and rarest was “Have A Little Faith,” with the stellar soul jam “I’m A Believer” on the flip. Both songs were written by Jackie Avery and co-produced by Brad Shapiro and Steve Alaimo. Original copies today sell for an average of $250 on Discogs.
His next release on Dade was “The Power And The Glory.” Its B-side was the phenomenal upbeat jam “Love Don’t Love Me.” Again co-produced by Shapiro and Alaimo, it was co-written by Alaimo and Clarence Reid, aka Blowfly.
In between these two Dade singles, he co-wrote the gospel-flavored “I Can’t Go On Anymore” with Shapiro, b/w the superb love song “Rain From The Sky.” It was the first release on Blade Records, a Miami soul label established earlier that year by Stone.
Latimore’s biggest hit came in 1974, with the single “Let’s Straighten It Out” off his second studio album More, More, More. It went to #1 R&B and reached #31 on the Billboard Hot 100.
Two years later, for his fourth album It Ain't Where You Been...It's Where You're Goin' (1976), he wrote, sang and played keyboards on the very funky love jam “Somethin’ ‘Bout ‘Cha.” Produced by Steve Alaimo, it peaked at #7 R&B.
#soul #funk #BennyLatimore