Benjamin Scott Folds (born September 12, 1966 in Winston-Salem, North Carolina) is an American singer and pianist. He originally gained fame as a member of the rock band, Ben Folds Five. Ben has released three solo albums: Fear of Pop: Volume 1, Rockin' the Suburbs, and Ben Folds Live. Fear of Pop was released while Ben Folds Five were still together; Suburbs and Live were released afterwards. Since Fear of Pop is highly experimental and Live is a collection of live solo recordings of mostly songs originally recorded with Ben Folds Five, Rockin' the Suburbs is Ben's first proper solo release. In late 2003 two solo EPs: Speed Graphic and Sunny 16 were released, with a third entitled Super D released in mid-2004. He currently resides in Adelaide, Australia with his wife, Frally Hynes, and two children, Louis and Grace. He tours Japan and the United States, as well as other parts of the world periodically.

Folds also produced and arranged the most recent William Shatner album, Has Been (2004); he previously worked with Shatner on the songs 'In Love' and 'Still in Love' for Fear of Pop.

Folds described his former band, Ben Folds Five, as 'punk rock for sissies,' and his oddball lyrics often contain nuances of depression, melancholy and self-conflict. While he was with the band Ben Folds Five and since his departure, Folds also provided a number of songs for films soundtrack. Some of these include 'Lonely Christmas Eve' for the film How the Grinch Stole Christmas! (2000) and a rendition of the Beatles' 'Golden Slumbers' for the film I Am Sam (2001).

On a planned tour of Australia, Folds teamed up with fellow namesakes Ben Kweller and Ben Lee to travel the country together as The Bens, at the suggestion of a fan on Ben Kweller's official website. The trio also went on to record an four-track EP together, entitled The Bens.

In summer of 2004, Folds co-headlined an American tour with fellow rockers Rufus Wainwright and Guster. His fourth solo album entitled 'Songs for Silverman' is slated for release on April 26, 2005.

Discography

Fear of Pop: Volume 1, 1998, Sony

1. Fear of Pop
2. Kops
3. Slow Jam '98
4. Blink
5. In Love
6. Interlude
7. Avery M. Powers Memorial Beltway
8. I Paid My Money
9. Rubber Sled
10. Root to This
11. Still In Love

Rockin' the Suburbs, 2001, Sony

1. Annie Waits
2. Zak and Sara
3. Still Fighting It
4. Gone
5. Fred Jones part 2
6. The Ascent of Stan
7. Losing Lisa
8. Carrying Cathy
9. Not the Same
10. Rockin' the Suburbs
11. Fired
12. The Luckiest

Ben Folds Live, 2002, Sony

1. One Angry Dwarf and 200 Solemn Faces
2. Zak and Sara
3. Silver Street
4. Best Imitation of Myself
5. Not the Same
6. Jane
7. One Down
8. Fred Jones part 2
9. Brick
10. Narcolepsy
11. Army
12. The Last Polka
13. Tiny Dancer
14. Rock this Bitch
15. Philosophy
16. The Luckiest
17. Emaline

(DVD)

1. Not the Same
2. Philosophy
3. Army
4. 'Album Art Antics'
5. Eddie Walker
6. The Ascent of Stan
7. Tiny Dancer (Elton John cover)
8. Song for the Dumped

Speed Graphic (2003) (EP)

1. In Between Days (The Cure cover)
2. Give Judy My Notice
3. Protection
4. Dog
5. Wandering

Sunny 16 (2003) (EP)

1. There's Always Someone Cooler Than You
2. Learn to Live With What You Are
3. All U Can Eat
4. Rockstar
5. Songs of Love (The Divine Comedy cover)

Super D (2004) (EP)

1. Kalamazoo
2. Adelaide
3. Rent a cop
4. Get Your Hands off of my Woman (The Darkness cover)
5. Them That Got (Recorded live at the Avalon, Boston, MA, 8 June 2002) (Ray Charles cover)

Landed (2005) (Single)

1. Landed

External links

• Official Site (http://www.benfolds.com)
• Fan Site benfolds.org (http://www.benfolds.org)
• Joey's Guide to Ben Folds Five B-Sides and Rarities (http://www.geocities.com/rarebff/benfolds/)
• Fan Site thesuburbs.org.uk (http://www.thesuburbs.org.uk)
• Ben Folds Lyrics Database (http://benfolds.bluni.com)