Latimore

Born in the small town of Charleston, Tennessee, singer-songwriter and pianist Benjamin Latimore began to make a name for himself playing piano in and around Florida in the late 1960s and playing sessions for the Miami-based Dade label. Latimore subsequently signed to Glades and recorded a heavily revamped version of 'Stormy Monday', the 1947 blues classic by T-Bone Walker. Latimore's version moved away from the original recording's slow twelve bar blues replacing it with a syncopated, upbeat jazz style which completely altered the mood of the song. Latimore's version brought him his first minor hit reaching number 27 on Billboard's R&B Chart following it up with three top five singles including 'Let's Straighten It Out' which went to number one in the R&B listings and crossed over into the Hot 100.

The run of hits dried up in the late 1970s and Latimore concentrated on modern blues enjoying only limited commercial success before eventually returning to session work. In 2003 he featured on Joss Stone's 'The Soul Sessions' album alongside fellow Miami veterans Timmy Thomas and Betty Wright and also on Stone's follow-up album 'Mind, Body & Soul' released the following year. Latimore continues to record as a solo artist and has released more than 25 albums under his own name.