Benny Benjamin
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Year:
2003
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Inducted by:
Paul Shaffer
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Category:
Musical Excellence
Introduction
The thumping heartbeat of Motown.
The Beatles admired him. Berry Gordy wouldn’t conduct sessions without him. Benny Benjamin was the impeccable pulse at the heart of the Motown empire.
Paul Shaffer Inducts Benny Benjamin
Paul Shaffer Inducts Benny Benjamin at the 2003 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony-
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Paul Shaffer Inducts Benny Benjamin00:02:10 -
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Benny Benjamin's Family Acceptance Speech00:03:50
Hall of Fame Essay
2003
May 27, 1964: It’s a Wednesday afternoon at Motown’s converted garage studio on 2648 West Grand Boulevard in Detroit. Cutting tracks for the Temptations is producer Norman Whitfield - young, ambitious, confident - a protégé of company head Berry Gordy.
But Whitfield is nothing without a hit, and he badly needs one. Looking for an undeniable intro, he focuses his attention on the far corner of the room, where master drummer William “Benny” Benjamin is poised behind an acoustic baffle waiting for the count-off.
the backbone of the sound of young America made you want to dance.
