1. Jorge Ben's music has been covered by artists such as Caetano Veloso, Sergio Mendes, Miriam Makeba, Soulfly and Marisa Monte.
15 Facts About Jorge Ben
1. 2.
Jorge Ben has been called "the father of samba rock", by Billboard magazine.
3.
Jorge Ben obtained his first pandeiro when he was thirteen, and two years later, was singing in a church choir.
4.
Jorge Ben took part as a pandeiro player in the blocos of Carnaval, and from eighteen years of age, he began performing at parties and nightclubs with the guitar given to him by his mother.
5.
Jorge Ben was given the nickname "Babulina" after his enthusiastic pronunciation of rockabilly singer Ronnie Self's song "Bop-A-Lena".
6.
The hybrid rhythms that Jorge Ben employed brought him some problems at the start of his career, when Brazilian music was split between the rockier sounds of the Jovem Guarda and traditional samba with its complex lyrics.
7.
However, as that phase in Brazilian pop music history passed and bossa nova became better known throughout the world, Jorge Ben rose to prominence.
8.
Jorge Ben left the label after his 1965 album Big Ben.
9.
In 1969, Jorge Ben released his eponymous album amid the excitement of the cultural and musical Tropicalia movement.
10.
Jorge Ben released his most esoteric and experimental albums in the 1970s, most notably A Tabua de Esmeralda in 1974 and Solta o Pavao in 1975.
11.
Jorge Ben sued for plagiarism and Stewart settled the lawsuit and donated the single's royalties to UNICEF.
12.
In 2002, Jorge Ben contributed to the critically acclaimed Red Hot + Riot, a compilation CD created by the Red Hot Organization in tribute to the music and work of Nigerian musician Fela Kuti, which raised money for various charities devoted to raising AIDS awareness and fighting the disease.
13.
Jorge Ben collaborated with hip-hop artists Dead Prez, Talib Kweli, and Bilal to remake Fela Kuti's famous song "Shuffering and Shmiling" for the CD.
14.
Jorge Ben was presented with the Lifetime Achievement Award by the Latin Recording Academy in 2005.
15.
Jorge Ben is a big fan of Flamengo, a Brazilian football club, located in Rio de Janeiro, which counts Zico, Junior and Leandro among their former star players.