Vocalist Eric Benét epitomizes the strategies being used, more or less successfully, by a generation of contemporary R&B vocalists who can no longer call themselves youthful phenoms. Benét finds himself facing the exact issue that in previous eras challenged singers like Jerry Butler or Lou Rawls: how to remain relevant and continue getting marketplace attention without having either a string of radio hits or frequent full-length LP releases.
Benét managed that trick partly because of the immense popularity of his past releases, and also partly by working in film and television. His acting roles include playing a recurring character on the late-’90s sitcom For Your Love and starring alongside Mariah Carey in 2001’s Glitter. The film was panned — and suffered from incredibly bad timing, as it was released right after 9/11 — but the soundtrack album, which Benét also worked on, has recently enjoyed a reappraisal. More recently, he was profiled in A Closer Look, a music documentary series produced by streaming service AllBlk. Benét has also dabbled in TV production, and AllBlk is set to release Snap, an anthology series co-executive-produced by Benét and showrunner Devin Hampton.
But with the easing of the pandemic, Benét has returned to his primary focus: live performances. His current tour includes a pair of shows on Tuesday at City Winery. Over three decades, his velvet tenor has retained its impressive range and silky sound, and he’s always been a masterful storyteller and a powerfully charismatic and romantic singer.
Born in Alabama and raised in Wisconsin, Benét began his career with the synth-pop band Gerard in the mid-1980s. Then he teamed with his sister Lisa and their cousin George Nash Jr. for an early-’90s group project called Benét. Their lone self-titled LP mixed funk, soul and pop, and had some regional success, though it was far from a huge commercial hit. However, it earned enough attention for Benét to make his solo debut a couple of years later, launching a career that’s carried on through major peaks — including four Grammy nominations — and difficult low periods, such as when his label declined to release Better & Better. On that album, recorded in 2001, he colored outside the lines of then-contemporary mainstream R&B. He changed labels for his follow-up, 2005’s Hurricane, re-recording some of the songs from the shelved project; the album went to No. 27 on the R&B chart.
The song of Benét’s that still gets lots of airplay on Quiet Storm and Heart & Soul radio formats — as well as frequent use at weddings — is “Spend My Life With You,” a memorable duet pairing with Tamia. The song was released as a single from his second solo LP, 1999’s A Day in the Life, and it went to No. 1 on Billboard’s R&B chart, earning a gold certification from the RIAA in the process; it also earned Benét his first Grammy nomination. Along with Benét’s 1996 debut True to Myself — which featured a trio of charting singles in “Spiritual Thang,” “Femininity” and “Let’s Stay Together” — A Day in the Life established the pattern that Benét has maintained throughout his career. He excels on earnest love ballads; he’ll also mix in an occasional funk or dance number, while carefully selecting material that spotlights his dynamic, energetic approach.
Benét has historically played well with others too, with collaborative projects running the gamut from other successful singles — his version of rock band Toto’s funky “Georgy Porgy,” a groovy duet with Faith Evans, was an international hit in 1999 — to work with Earth Wind & Fire and Somethin’ for the People. Benét has also played yet another key role as a guest vocalist on smooth-jazz LPs by such artists as George Duke, Boney James and Chris Botti. Benét’s most recent studio album, 2016’s Eric Benét, was a chart success, debuting at No. 7 on Billboard’s Top R&B Albums. And it’s an artistic triumph too, with rich, updated production, a stirring reunion with Tamia and other guest appearances from MC Lyte and jazz trumpet legend Arturo Sandoval.
Benét has been often quoted in interviews as disliking the attention paid to his life outside music and acting. But he opened up in the A Closer Look profile about some of the personal tragedies and difficulties that have also shaped his life, including the death of his father from cancer, the death of his partner in a 1993 car accident that made him a single father, and his brief marriage to Halle Berry in the early 2000s. In spite of it all, the soulful voice that’s been his primary instrument for so long remains confident, elegant and eloquent, ready to inspire new audiences and longtime fans alike.
