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Ben Folds Five

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For this group's self-titled album, see Ben Folds Five (album).
Ben Folds Five
Ben Folds Five at their reunion concert on September 18, 2008 in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.
Ben Folds Five at their reunion concert on September 18, 2008 in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.
Background information
OriginChapel Hill, North Carolina, U.S.
Genres
Years active1993–2000, 2008, 2011–2013 (hiatus)
LabelsPassenger, Caroline, 550
Past members
Ben Folds performing, Knoxville, Tennessee, 2006

Ben Folds Five is an American alternative rock trio formed in 1993 in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. The group comprises Ben Folds (lead vocals, piano), Robert Sledge (bass guitar, backing vocals) and Darren Jessee (drums, backing vocals). The group achieved success in the alternative, indie and pop music scenes. Their single "Brick" from the second album, Whatever and Ever Amen (1997), gained airplay on many mainstream radio stations.

During their first seven years, the band released three studio records, a compilation of B-sides and outtakes, and eight singles. They also contributed to a number of soundtracks and compilations. Ben Folds Five disbanded in October 2000. They reunited in 2011, and released their fourth album, The Sound of the Life of the Mind, in 2012.

History

1993–2000

Ben Folds Five was formed in 1993 in Chapel Hill by Ben Folds. They were a trio in spite of their name, and the primary motivation behind the name, apart from the band's well-known use of humor, was simple preference, according to Ben: "I think it sounds better than Ben Folds Three."[1] Folds once described their music as "punk rock for sissies," a reaction to the angst prevalent in '90s rock.[2]

Their first radio single was "Underground" from their self-titled debut album, released in 1995 on Caroline Records. The band's biggest success was the single "Brick" from their second album, Whatever and Ever Amen, released in 1997. It was followed by the more somber and jazz-based 1999 album, The Unauthorized Biography of Reinhold Messner. The group contributed an outtake from the Reinhold Messner sessions, titled "Leather Jacket", to the 1999 benefit album, No Boundaries: A Benefit for the Kosovar Refugees.

The band's final released recording was a cover of Steely Dan's "Barrytown" for the Me, Myself & Irene soundtrack. The band had begun work on a fourth studio album, but following the worldwide tour in support of The Unauthorized Biography of Reinhold Messner, the band "amicably" broke up in October 2000. Tracks from the sessions later emerged in solo projects.[3]

After the break-up

Folds went on to pursue a successful solo career, releasing Rockin' the Suburbs in 2001, Songs for Silverman in 2005, Way to Normal in 2008, Lonely Avenue in collaboration with novelist Nick Hornby in 2010, and So There in collaboration with the chamber group yMusic in 2015. He produced and arranged actor William Shatner's second album, Has Been, as well as co-wrote the majority of the songs with Shatner. Folds also contributed songs to the soundtracks for the animated movies Hoodwinked! and Over the Hedge.

Darren Jessee formed the acclaimed indie band Hotel Lights, with his songs featured in television and film. Jessee released five studio albums for Bar/None Records including Hotel Lights in 2006, Firecracker People in 2008, Girl Graffiti in 2011, Get Your Hand in My Hand in 2016, and his first solo album, The Jane, Room 217 in 2018.

Robert Sledge played with International Orange until the group disbanded in 2005. He is currently the bass player in the three-piece Chapel Hill, NC band Surrender Human with Matt McMichaels from the Mayflies USA.

Reunion

Ben Folds Five made a one-off concert appearance in September 2008 at the UNC Memorial Hall in Chapel Hill as part of the MySpace "Front to Back" series, in which artists play an entire album live. The band played its then-final album, The Unauthorized Biography of Reinhold Messner, and were briefly joined on stage by Ben's father, Dean Folds, who read a transcript of his voice mail message that is used in the album song "Your Most Valuable Possession", encoring with some of the songs from their first two albums.[4]

In 2011, Ben Folds Five reunited to record three tracks for Ben Folds' The Best Imitation of Myself: A Retrospective. They made their first live appearance for four years as one of the headliners of the 2012 Mountain Jam festival.[5] They made further appearances at that year's 2012 Bonnaroo and Summerfest festivals.

The band's fourth studio album, The Sound of the Life of the Mind was released in September 2012, supported by the single Do It Anyway, with a video featuring Anna Kendrick, Rob Corddry, Chris Hardwick and the cast of Fraggle Rock.[6] and a tour of the US, UK, and Ireland.

In June 2013, the trio released their first live album, titled Live.[7] During that year Ben Folds Five toured with the Barenaked Ladies and Guster,[8] before entering a hiatus.

Discography

Ben Folds Five discography
Studio albums4
Live albums1
Compilation albums2
Singles9
Video albums1

Studio albums

Album details Peak chart positions Certifications
US
[9] 		AU
[10] 		CA
[11] 		JP
[12] 		SC
[13] 		UK
[14]
Ben Folds Five — 37 — 72 — —
Whatever and Ever Amen
  • Released: March 18, 1997
  • Label: 550
 42 8 48 6 38 30
The Unauthorized Biography of Reinhold Messner
  • Released: April 27, 1999
  • Label: 550
 35 5 35 17 32 22
The Sound of the Life of the Mind
  • Released: September 18, 2012
  • Label: ImaVeePee
 10 24 — 72 48 40

Live albums

Singles

Year Single Peak chart positions Album
US
Radio
[20] 		US Alt
[21] 		AUS
[10] 		CAN
[22] 		JPN
[23] 		UK
[14]
1996 "Where's Summer B.?" — — — — — 76 Ben Folds Five
"Underground" — — — — — 37
"Uncle Walter" — — — — — —
1997 "Battle of Who Could Care Less" — 22 149 — — 26 Whatever and Ever Amen
"One Angry Dwarf and 200 Solemn Faces" — — 134 — — —
"Kate" — — — — — 39
"Brick" 19 6 13 12 — 26
1998 "Song for the Dumped" — 23 73 — — —
1999 "Army" — 17 65 — — 28 The Unauthorized Biography of Reinhold Messner
"Don't Change Your Plans" — — — — — —
2012 "Do It Anyway" — — — — 88 — The Sound of the Life of the Mind
"—" denotes singles that did not chart.

DVDs

Soundtracks and compilations

References

  1. ^ Hofmann, Pieter (March 10, 1997). "Waist Deep in Pianos and Buses". Drop-D Magazine. Retrieved September 2, 2006.
  2. ^ Thomas, Sarah (2006-08-25). "Ben Folds with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra". Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 2006-09-23.
  3. ^ "Ben with the Breeze". Melbourne: The Breeze. April 1, 2005. Retrieved November 27, 2006.
  4. ^ "Ben Folds Five delights in reunion" Archived September 22, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
  5. ^ "Catch Ben Folds Five's First Reunion Performance Tomorrow! | The Official Ben Folds Site". Benfolds.com. June 1, 2012. Retrieved September 18, 2012.
  6. ^ Folds, Ben (September 17, 2012). "EXCLUSIVE!: Ben Folds Five and the Fraggles Sing "Do It Anyway"". Nerdist. Archived from the original on September 20, 2012. Retrieved September 17, 2012.
  7. ^ Ben Folds Five First Official Live Album To Be Released June 4 | The Official Ben Folds Site, 2013-04-18. Retrieved 2013-06-10.
  8. ^ "Ben Folds Tour". Benfolds.com. Retrieved June 29, 2014.
  9. ^ "Billboard > Ben Folds Chart History > Billboard 200". Billboard. Retrieved November 20, 2019.
  10. ^ a b Australian (ARIA) peaks:
  11. ^ Peak chart positions for albums in Canada:
  12. ^ Peak chart positions for albums in Japan:
  13. ^ Peak positions for singles in Scotland:
  14. ^ a b "Official Charts > Ben Folds Five". Official Charts Company. Retrieved November 20, 2019.
  15. ^ "RIAJ > The Record > May 1997 > Certified Awards (March 1997)" (PDF). Recording Industry Association of Japan (in Japanese). Archived from the original (PDF) on February 23, 2014. Retrieved February 2, 2014.
  16. ^ "American album certifications – Ben Folds Five – Whatever and Ever Amen". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved February 17, 2014.
  17. ^ "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 1998 Albums" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved February 17, 2014.
  18. ^ "RIAJ > The Record > June 1997 > Certified Awards (April 1997)" (PDF). Recording Industry Association of Japan (in Japanese). Retrieved February 17, 2014.
  19. ^ "MC > Album > June 1997 > Certified Awards (August 27, 1998)". Music Canada. Retrieved September 28, 2019.
  20. ^ "Billboard > Ben Folds Chart History > Radio Songs". Billboard. Retrieved November 20, 2019.
  21. ^ "Billboard > Ben Folds Chart History > Alternative Songs". Billboard. Retrieved November 20, 2019.
  22. ^ Peak chart positions for singles in Canada:
  23. ^ "Billboard > Ben Folds Chart History > Japan Hot 100". Billboard. Retrieved November 20, 2019.
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