Ben Branch | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1928-01-08)January 8, 1928 |
| Died | August 27, 1987(1987-08-27) (aged 59) Chicago, Illinois, U.S. |
| Genres | Jazz |
| Occupation | Musician |
| Instrument | Saxophone |
Ben F. Branch (January 8, 1928 – August 27, 1987)[1][2] was an American entrepreneur,jazz tenor saxophonist, andbandleader.
Although known as the last personMartin Luther King Jr. spoke to moments beforehis assassination in 1968,[3] Branch had been a jazz bandleader for many years.
With his brother, Thomas, on trumpet, Branch was a member of the horn section onB.B. King's first recordings forBullet Records in 1949. "My very first recordings were for a company out of Nashville called Bullet, the Bullet Record Transcription company," King recalls. "I had horns that very first session. I hadPhineas Newborn on piano; his father played drums, and his brother,Calvin, played guitar with me. I hadTuff Green on bass, Ben Branch on tenor sax, his brother, Thomas Branch, on trumpet, and a lady trombone player."[4]
Branch recorded with King again on an early 1952 Memphis recording with the B.B. King Orchestra with, among others,Hank Crawford andIke Turner.
For much of the 1950s, Branch was the bandleader for the house band, the Largos, at Curry's Club in North Memphis, which provided a youngIsaac Hayes with his first professional gigs.[5][6]
FutureM.G.'s bassistDonald "Duck" Dunn was the first white member of Branch's big band, in the early 1960s.
In 1982, Branch founded the American Music Hall of Fame, a private music school inChicago.
A few months before his death, Branch appeared with his band at the 1987Chicago Blues Festival backingRosco Gordon.[7]
Branch also recorded withBrother Jack McDuff andEtta James,Little Milton, andPhil Upchurch.
Branch held a degree in music fromTennessee State University.[1]
Branch was president of Doctor Branch Products Inc., founded in 1983, in Chicago, Illinois, the nation's onlyblack-owned soft-drink manufacturing company. The company eventually signed a $355 million agreement with Kemmerer Bottling Group, bottler of several well-known soft drinks, including 7Up, to distribute the Doctor Branch Products beverages.[8][9]
As musical director for theSCLC'sOperation Breadbasket, he led the Breadbasket Orchestra and Choir that performed benefits for Dr.Martin Luther King Jr. and Operation/PUSH. Just moments before beingassassinated, Dr. King had just asked Branch to play a gospel song, "Precious Lord, Take My Hand," at a rally that was to have been held two hours later.[10] King's exact words (which were also the last words that he ever spoke) were "Ben, make sure you play 'Take My Hand, Precious Lord' in the meeting tonight. Play it real pretty."[11]
Cannonball Adderley, in the introduction to the title track of his 1969 albumCountry Preacher, makes a specific mention of Branch in recognition of his work as leader of the Operation Breadbasket Orchestra and Choir.[12]
While musical director of the Breadbasket Orchestra and Operation/PUSH, he arranged for gospel singerDeleon Richards to perform at the Chicago Stadium (later the United Center).[13]
