Ben Folds was born in North Carolina (contrary to other
definitions) and has been creating (and performing on piano) original music since his first single, Jackson Cannery with Ben Folds Five. During his span in the late nineties, he released three albums (where he popularized his use of percussion with the piano) with his band Ben Folds Five, a trio, featuring Robert Sledge, Darren Jessee, and himself. His most popular song, on
the album Whatever and Ever Amen, was Brick. The band broke up after their third album (The Unauthorized Biography of Reinhold Messner), and that is when he released his first solo album, Rockin' the Suburbs, featuring him on drums, guitar, bass, and piano. During his break from the Ben Folds Five, he played with a group called the Bens, where he played with Ben Kweller and Ben Lee. From there he composed his next albums, Supersunnyspeedgraphics LP, Songs for Silverman and Way to Normal, which seemed subpar to many Ben Folds fans. He keeps creating music, and is most widely known for his improv stint on
Chatroulette and his comedic Dr Dre cover of
Bitches Ain't Shit. He is often criticized for his lack of vibrato and pitchy voice.
