Benny Hester

Benny Hester
Background information
Born	Waco, Texas, United States
Genres	CCM, rock, pop, progressive
Years active	1972–present
Labels	VMI, Sparrow, Myrrh, Myrrh LA, Frontline
Website	www.bennyhester.com

Benny Hester is a music artist and songwriter. He is best known for his songs "When God Ran" and "Nobody Knows Me Like You". Hester has written and recorded more than twenty-five No. 1 and top ten songs.

"When God Ran" is the longest-running number one song in Christian Contemporary Music history.

Hester's first single, "Jesus Came Into My Life", was a breakthrough recording, becoming the first contemporary rock song to be universally accepted and widely played across all Christian Radio formats. The title track from his third album, “Nobody Knows Me Like You”, reached number one on the Christian Music Charts and became the first CCM song to break the Billboard Top 40 AC Charts.

Biography

Born in Waco, Texas, Hester began studying classical music at age four and continued his studies through high school with European teachers and musical innovators John and Martha Reuther. He was among the first to master John Reuther’s futuristic chromatic “checkerboard” designed keyboard and one of a handful of musicians to become expert on the instrument, playing public performances to demonstrate its attributes over the standard keyboard.

Hester auditioned and was chosen to sing with “The Texas Boys Choir”.

He became the youngest member of the Texas Swing Band “Sam Weaver and The Texas Playboys”, and appeared on the band’s weekly television show playing alongside guest music legends including Johnny Gimble and Ernest Tubb.

While in high school, Hester was one of the founding members of the popular pop-rock band “The Morticians”. He wrote songs for the group and included them in sets for the band’s sizable revved up audiences. Headed now by original band member Joe Hall, “The Morticians” continue to play concerts regularly - http://themorticians.com

Hester was hired to play in the live stage band and orchestra for the long running musical “Texas” and continued with the show for two years. While performing in “Texas” he founded the singing duo “Hester & Hilton” with partner Steve Hilton. “Hester & Hilton” performed their own songs along with stylized takes on songs by their favorite artists. While playing El Paso, Hester was asked to write two songs for a recording session by the group “The Sojourners”. It turned out to be his first professional recording session as a songwriter. The two songs were produced and engineered by Norman Petty and recorded at Norman Petty Studios in Clovis, New Mexico, where Hester had the opportunity to work with the legendary Petty and record in his hit studio. Hester and his older brother, a music fan with a ten-year head start on him, grew up singing and listening to Buddy Holly songs. Norman Petty produced and recorded those songs. Hester coincidentally attended Texas Tech in Lubbock, TX, home to Petty and birthplace of Holly.

Las Vegas

Hester moved to Las Vegas, Nevada where he met music producer and recording engineer Brent Maher. He taught music at a private music school, recorded “Hester & Hilton” demos at Bill Porter's United Recording Studios, and later formed a successful jingle advertising company, MusAd, which dominated the Las Vegas radio and television market for ten years. He penned the song for Hickory Farms Of Ohio and Nevada’s largest newspaper, The Las Vegas Review Journal, with the slogan “The RJ is Las Vegas” appearing on billboards and ads still. Together Hester and Maher wrote and produced commercial songs for many Las Vegas hotels and banks, Nevada's largest home builders, trendy clothing manufacturers and outlets and notably, at the request of coach Jerry Tarkanian, the original University Of Nevada Las Vegas fight song and school song for the UNLV “Runnin’ Rebels” basketball team. Maher went on to produce Hester's first two albums, the self titled, Benny..., and his first CCM album for Billy Ray Hearn's Sparrow Records. Hester first became a Christian while attending an evangelical rally at a traveling tent crusade called Christ is the Answer. He later attended a local church called The Neighborhood Church.

Maher and Bill Porter, Elvis Presley’s recording and sound engineer, brought Elvis’s band to record with Hester for his first album. The band included Ronnie Tutt, James Burton, Glenn Hardin and Jerry Scheff, as well as Larry Muhoberac and Joe Osborn.

The finished masters and packaged albums, ready for record company distribution, were lost in the studio-warehouse fire that destroyed United Recording. Hester's first album was never released. Only a few albums survived the fire, ending up in the hands of collectors.

Albums & Concerts

Hester has since released a string of hit albums and chart topping songs, and has performed thousands of concerts. His recording of “When God Ran” is the longest-running number one song in Contemporary Christian Music history, number one for thirteen weeks, at which time the song held the number one spot on the AC and CHR Charts. Simultaneously Hester's recording of "Secret Thoughts" made its way to the number one slot on the ROCK Charts, causing him to sweep the top spot on all three. "When God Ran" continues to be rerecorded by many groups and in many musical genres, making it to the top of the charts repeatedly. The latest version by The Kingsmen took the No. 1 spot on the Southern Gospel Charts in February 2009. Also, for the 2009 Fan Awards Nominations... Favorite Song - "When God Ran"... Favorite Album - "When God Ran".

"Roundhouse" Television Series on Nickelodeon

From 1991 to 1996 Hester was the Music Producer/Musical Director, Songwriter and Co-Executive producer of the award winning MTV/Nickelodeon television series Roundhouse. He was nominated for seven songwriting and music producer awards, winning for “I Can Dream” and “Can’t Let Go” in the best “Original Song” for television category, and three times as Co-Executive Producer for best “Variety Special Or Series”.

Hester was the recipient of the prestigious “Ollie Award” for “Excellence In Television Programming For America’s Children”.

Discography

• Benny, 1972 (VMI Records) Produced by Brent Maher

1. "Give Your Love Forever"
2. "No, the End is Not Near"
3. "Love Never Dies"
4. "The Bridge"
5. "We All Know He's Coming"
6. "The Painter"
7. "Malcombe"
8. "What's Happened to My Friends"
9. "Please Let This Be So"
10. "Genevieve"

• Benny Hester, 1978 (Sparrow/Spirit Records), Be a Receiver (1982 re-release by Myrrh) Produced by Brent Maher

1. "Be a Receiver"
2. "Squeeze You"
3. "Sure of Your Call"
4. "Jesus Came Into My Life"
5. "The Door"
6. "Gonna Happen Here"
7. "Only You"
8. "Such a Relief"
9. "All You Can Do"
10. "We All Know He's Comin'"

• Nobody Knows Me Like You, 1981 (Myrrh Records) Produced by Michael Omartian

1. "Come Back"
2. "No Man's Land"
3. "Rubber Canoe"
4. "Nobody Knows Me Like You"
5. "Step By Step"
6. "One More Time"
7. "Goodbye, Salty"
8. "Real Change"
9. "You Loved Me"
10. "Christ the Solid Rock"

• Legacy, 1983 (Myrrh Records) Produced by Benny Hester & John Guess

1. "Legacy"
2. "Closer"
3. "It Took So Long"
4. "Melody Man"
5. "Sensitive Heart"
6. "Caught Away"
7. "Out of the Natural"
8. "Nobody's Listening"
9. "Footprints"
10. "These Things Were Done By You"

• Benny From Here, 1985 (Myrrh Records) Produced by Dan Posthuma & Jeremy Smith

1. "Secret Thoughts"
2. "Streets of Las Vegas"
3. "When God Ran"
4. "Susie Said, Yeah!"
5. "To Fill our Empty Hearts"
6. "Back to Basics"
7. "Can I Get to You From Here"
8. "Whoever Touches You"
9. "Marching On"
10. "Hold Me"

• Through The Window, 1987 (Myrrh Records) Produced by Dan Posthuma

1. "Underground River"
2. "Cat"
3. "It's Only Love"
4. "Remember Me"
5. "The More I Enter In"
6. "Wonderful Invention of Love"
7. "Nothing Will Ever Be the Same Again"
8. "In Visible Silence"
9. "Long Lost Heaven"
10. "This is Me"

• Personal Best, 1988 (Myrrh Records) Compilation album

1. "Nobody Knows Me Like You"
2. "Be a Receiver"
3. "Legacy"
4. "Secret Thoughts"
5. "Remember Me"
6. "Jesus Came Into My Life"
7. "Melody Man"
8. "Out of the Natural"
9. "Underground River"
10. "Rubber Canoe"
11. "Hold Me"
12. "Whoever Touches You"
13. "To Fill Our Empty Hearts"
14. "Christ the Solid Rock"
15. "When God Ran"

• Perfect, 1989 (Frontline Records) Produced by Benny Hester & Bill Baumgart

1. "Headlights on the Highway"
2. "Before You Know It"
3. "If You Die Before You Die"
4. "Perfect"
5. "Hungry World"
6. "You Weren't Meant to Live Your Life Alone"
7. "Two Good Reasons"
8. "This One's for Keeping"
9. "Passion, Possession, Position"
10. "Shall We Gather at the River"

• United We Stand/Divided We Fall, 1991 (Frontline Records) Produced by Benny Hester & Bill Baumgart

1. "Close to Me"
2. "Love is Made of This"
3. "These Old Dreams"
4. "Restless Nights"
5. "Noonday Night"
6. "You Can Have Mine"
7. "Rain, Rain, Rain"
8. "Too Bad She Didn't Want Me"
9. "Too Blue"
10. "Break Out"
11. "Climbing Jacob's Ladder"

• Reason To Be, 2008 (Independent)

1. "Hey, Everybody"
2. "Storm on the Sun"
3. "Out of the Wreck"
4. "Shine"
5. "Take Me Out of Here"

Awards

• CableACE Award (Original Song) - "I Can Dream"
• Nominated for nine television CableAce awards (for Roundhouse) - Six Best Original Song, three Best Variety Special or Series
• Ollie Award - Prestigious recognition for Excellence in Television Programming for America's Children
• Youth in Film Award (Best Original Song) - "Can't Let Go"
• Youth in Film Award (Outstanding Ensemble Cast in a Youth Series or Variety Show, 1992)
• Grammy nomination - Nobody Knows Me Like You
• Dove Award nomination (1986)- "When God Ran"

External links

• Official website