Ben McKee | |
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 McKee performing in 2013 | |
| Background information | |
| Born | Benjamin Arthur McKee (1985-04-07)April 7, 1985 (age 40) Forestville, California, U.S. |
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| Years active | 2009–present |
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| Member of | Imagine Dragons |
Benjamin Arthur McKee (born April 7, 1985) is an American musician, songwriter, and record producer. He is the bassist for thepop rock bandImagine Dragons.
McKee was raised inForestville, California, and graduated fromEl Molino High School.[1] He grew up playing acoustic guitar and violin, before picking up acoustic bass in fifth grade. In high school, he continued learning bass guitar as a member of a jazz trio, which influenced his decision to attendBerklee College of Music.[2][3] While at Berklee, McKee played in a guitar performance ensemble with future Imagine Dragons bandmatesWayne Sermon andDaniel Platzman.[4]
In 2009, McKee was invited byWayne Sermon to join Imagine Dragons, based out ofLas Vegas. McKee dropped out of his final semester at Berklee to join the band, invitingDaniel Platzman to play drums, completing the lineup. The band relocated to Las Vegas performing and honing their craft nearly nightly as a lounge act.[5][6][7] The band proceeded to earn a number of local accolades including "Best CD of 2011" (Vegas SEVEN),[8] "Best Local Indie Band 2010" (Las Vegas Weekly),[9] and "Las Vegas' Newest Must See Live Act" (Las Vegas CityLife).[10] In November 2011 they signed withInterscope Records and began working with producerAlex da Kid.[11]
In 2012 their debut albumNight Visions brought the band mainstream success. It reached #2 on theBillboard 200 chart and won theBillboard Music Award for Best Rock Album (2014). Single "It's Time" became the band's first single reaching #15 Billboard Hot 100 and certified multi-platinum by the RIAA. Second single "Radioactive" reached #3 Billboard Hot 100 and was certified diamond by the RIAA, becoming the best selling rock song in the history ofNielsen SoundScan. Third single "Demons" reached #6 Billboard Hot 100 and was certified multi-platinum by the RIAA. Their album made the highest debut for a new rock band in six years (since 2006) and single Radioactive set a new record forlongest time atop the Billboard Hot Rock Songs chart with 23 consecutive weeks.[12] Tracks from the album topped the Billboard Rock Songs, Billboard Alternative Songs, and Billboard Pop Songs charts. Radioactive was also nominated for twoGrammy Awards, winning theGrammy Award for Best Rock Performance.[13] In 2015, Imagine Dragons' second albumSmoke + Mirrors reached #1 on theBillboard 200,UK Albums Chart, andCanadian Albums Chart.[14][15] Singles include "I Bet My Life", "Gold", and "Shots".[16][17]
Since then, the band has released four more albums:Evolve (2017),Origins (2018),Mercury - Acts 1 & 2 (2022), andLoom (2024). Imagine Dragons has also contributed songs to several film soundtracks, including "Ready Aim Fire" forIron Man 3, "Who We Are" forHunger Games: Catching Fire and "Battle Cry" forTransformers: Age of Extinction. In addition, in September 2014, "Warriors" was released byRiot Games along with an animated music video promoting theLeague of Legends World Championships. They also collaborated with Riot Games andJ.I.D and in October 2021 releasedEnemy, the theme song ofArcane, the League of Legends animated TV series. In August 2023, a collaboration withBethesda Softworks producedChildren of the Sky, a song using the theme of and inspired byStarfield.[18][19][20][21][22][23]
In February 2021, McKee pledged to donate $1,000 a day to worthy causes for a year. Some of his donations have been to causes that aid Latino families (UndocuFund), that mentor LGBTQIA+ youth (Positive Images), food providers (Redwood Empire Food Bank and Food for Thought), and wildlife rescue (Bird Rescue Center).[24]
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