Benjamin Mink | |
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| Born | (1951-01-22)January 22, 1951 (age 74) Toronto, Ontario, Canada |
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| Website | benmink |
Benjamin MinkCM (born January 22, 1951) is a Canadian songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, andproducer best known as a longtime collaborator of Canadian singerk.d. lang.[1] He plays several string instruments, notably the guitar, violin, and themandolin.
Born to PolishHolocaust survivors,[2] Mink was raised inToronto, Canada.
Mink began performing with the rock/country group Mary-Lou Horner, which became thehouse band at the Rockpile bar and nightclub[3] and acted as a backup band forChuck Berry.[4]
He has been a member of the groupsStringband, Murray McLauchlan's Silver Tractors, andFM.[5][6]
Mink is best known as a longtime collaborator of Canadian singerk.d. lang, whom he met atExpo '85 while doing a gig withCANO.[7][8] He has performed on, along with co-writing and producing, several of her albums, which often combine voice with string arrangements.[9] Mink subsequently performed as violinist, guitarist, and mandolinist with lang's band, the Reclines. A performance for theGrammy-nominated albumIngénue was recorded as part of theMTV Unplugged series at theEd Sullivan Theater, New York City, on December 16, 1992.[10] Mink was interviewed about his songwriting collaboration with lang on the British television showSouth Bank Show in 1996.[11]
Mink was invited to playelectric violin on theRush song "Losing It", from their 1982 album,Signals. He also contributed strings to the song "Faithless" from the 2007 album,Snakes & Arrows. He also co-wrote, produced, and played guitar onMy Favourite Headache (2000), a solo project of Rush lead singer and bassist,Geddy Lee.[12][13][14]On June 19, 2015, he performed "Losing It" with the trio at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto, as part of their farewellR40 Live Tour.
Mink has also produced and/or performed on recordings byBarenaked Ladies,Anne Murray,Dan Hill,Mendelson Joe,Prairie Oyster,Raffi,Jane Siberry,Ian and Sylvia Tyson,Valdy,Bruce Cockburn,Murray McLauchlan,[15]Willie P. Bennett,Susan Aglukark,Methodman,Alison Krauss,Feist,Daniel Lanois,Sarah McLachlan,Roy Orbison,Elton John, andHeart.[citation needed]
He co-producedRed Velvet Car for Heart'sAnn andNancy Wilson, released in the fall of 2010,[16] and appeared onstage in the band's concert videoNight at Sky Church.[17] Mink was back at the helm as producer of Heart's 2012 albumFanatic, which included the single "Walkin' Good", featuringSarah McLachlan.
Mink co-produced and performed on Feist's Grammy-nominated hit single "1234", playing strings and guitars.[15]
He is a member of Black Sea Station, a North Americanklezmer supergroup. Their debut recording,Transylvania Avenue, is produced by Mink, and was released on Rounder Records in the Fall of 2010 as a digital download.[18] He has also produced other klezmer musical acts in the past, such asFinjan,the Klezmatics,[19] andChava Alberstein.[20][21]
Mink scored the 2007 biopicConfessions of an Innocent Man about British-Canadian engineerWilliam Sampson, which garnered him aGemini Award.[citation needed]He wrote the soundtrack to the filmFifty Dead Men Walking,[22] which has since received numerous awards and nominations, including a 2010Genie Award nomination for Best Achievement in Music—Original Score, and a 2009 Leo Award for Best Musical Score for a Feature-Length Drama. The television soundtracks forTerminal City andAlice[23] both also garneredLeo Awards.In 2011, the TV seriesGlee used the 1992 song "Constant Craving", written by Mink and k.d. lang,[24] in the seventh episode of the third season, for its closing number (performed byChris Colfer,Idina Menzel andNaya Rivera).[citation needed]
Mink has lectured on such topics as "The Music Business vs. the Creative Process" at theUniversity of British Columbia,Western Washington University, andSimon Fraser University.[citation needed] He has also worked with students as an associate of UBC's Department of Mechanical Engineering (robotics) and is an associate member of the Institute for Computing, Information & Cognitive Systems.[citation needed] In 2006, he delivered the introductory speech to k.d. lang'sGovernor General's Performing Arts Award induction at the National Arts Centre inOttawa.[citation needed] He has also contributed to the Library and Archives Canada.[25]
Mink is one of few people to ever share a songwriting credit withMick Jagger andKeith Richards. In 1997, Mink and k.d. lang were co-credited as songwriters onthe Rolling Stones single "Anybody Seen My Baby?" becauseJagger-Richards felt the chorus was similar to "Constant Craving".[26]
Mink has one solo recording—the 1980 releaseForeign Exchange, onPassport Records.[1]
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