THE HIT HAMMER: Michael Jackson's "Ben"

(The Hit Hammer is where I'm reviewing each #1 song on the Billboard Hot 100. Starting from when the chart started in 1958 and eventually working my way to the present. To see my inspiration and more information about this blog, please CLICK HERE)

Michael Jackson - "Ben"

Hit Number 1: October 14, 1972

Stay at Number 1: 1 Week

On the surface, "Ben" probably seems like a sweet song about friendship. Well, it is, but it's in ways that are about as strange as they come. In 1971, the movie Willard was a strange hit at the box office. The movie was about a guy named Willard who constructs an army of killer rats that go around killing people. At the end, the rats turn against Willard in what I guess was supposed to be a happy ending. They apparently decided to make a sequel to that movie called Ben, where a boy becomes friends with one of the killer rats, and the rat's name is Ben. Ben turns evil and recruits other rats to attack humans, and also gets more massive in size from Willard. Michael Jackson's warm ballad is about this killer rat, and his song was played during the end credits of the movie. That's where people were first exposed to the song.

"Ben" came at the tail end of the Jackson 5's popularity, who were starting to see their chart presence dwindle. Because of that, Motown Records, the label that the Jackson 5 were signed to, were pushing hard for Michael to have a solo career. "Ben" was written after the popularity of Willard, and the songwriters, Don Black and Walter Scharf, had Donny Osmond in mind for the song. However, the song found its way to Jackson after Osmond couldn't record the song while he was going on tour. Osmond and Jackson, who maintained a friendship all the way until Jackson's death, would often joke about the song, and how a song about a killer rat found its way to Jackson.

Knowing that, it's hard to take the song too seriously. If someone didn't know any better, then the song is easily a memorable, warm ballad about true friendship. But then if you were to tell that same person that the song was about someone's devotion to a rat, and a killer rat at that, it takes a whole different meaning. "Ben" becomes a pretty ridiculous song all things considered. However, just like several other songs from this era, it's still easily enjoyable, and it shows that Michael was so much more than the fun-loving bubble gummy kid from the Jackson 5. Even while with the Jackson 5, Jackson proved that he could belt out a ballad at any time with songs like "I'll Be There". He showcases that golden voice again on "Ben".

I guess it's nice to imagine this song not being about a rat that kills and attacks people. If you can imagine this being a kid singing about his good old friend, Ben, then the song takes back its innocent meaning. What's good about "Ben" is that you can easily do that, because no where in the song does it specify that the song is about a rodent. It can still be about a real friend. In "Ben" the narrator describes how everyone's always looking down on his friend, Ben, and that no matter what, he will always be there for Ben. No matter how many people turn him away, Ben can take comfort in the fact that he always has one friend he can rely upon.

Jackson also plays that part beautifully. He wasn't the King of Pop just yet, but he really grew up as a singer with "Ben". He effortlessly reaches for big notes, and his voice smoothly glides over some sparse instrumentation. And I mean sparse. It seems like everyone involved in the making of "Ben" knew that Jackson had a strong enough voice to where they should push everything to the background and let Jackson run the show. The only accompaniment he has is some backing singers, but even they don't play that big of a role. This is all Jackson here, and if you are able to disregard the true meaning of the song, it's an absolutely beautiful number.

GRADE: 8/10

JUST MISSED:

Bill Withers, who just recently appeared in this blog, almost hit #1 again, but was kept out of the #1 spot by "Ben". His more funk-influenced "Use Me" peaked at #2 behind "Ben". It's a 9.