Ben Light (pianist)
{{Short description|American pianist}}
{{Close paraphrasing|source=http://saxonyrecordcompany.com/ben-light.html|date=July 2023}}
Benjamin Bertram Leight (April 23, 1893 – January 6, 1965), better known by his stage name Ben Light was an American pianist.
Light was born on April 23, 1893, in New York City.{{cite news| author =| title = Ben Light Dead; Song Writer Credited as Composer of 'My Melancholy Baby'| url =https://www.nytimes.com/1965/01/09/archives/ben-light-dead-song-writer-721-wascredited-as-composer-of-my.html| work = New York Times | date = January 9, 1965|access-date=2023-06-28| page = 25 }} He had a long career at the keyboard. He started playing the piano at the age of three without a teacher, and made his professional debut at the age of seven. For 15 years, he toured as a vaudeville pianist, performing with renowned figures such as Al Jolson, Eddie Cantor, Fanny Brice, Jack Benny and Sophie Tucker.{{cite news| author =| title = World Deaths| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=IoJiAAAAIBAJ&dq=Ben+Light+died&pg=PA3&article_id=5584,671432| work = The Washington Reporter
| date = January 9, 1965|access-date=2023-06-28| page = }} Known as a musical phenomenon, Ben Light was once timed playing 1,173 notes in a single minute.{{Cite web|url=http://saxonyrecordcompany.com/ben-light.html|title=Ben Light|website=saxonyrecordcompany.com}} Light was noted for his fast ragtime play and recorded over 100 piano compositions.{{cite news| author = | title = Obituaries| url = https://newspaperarchive.com/star-news-jan-09-1965-p-6/| work = Star News in Pasadena, California | date = January 9, 1965|access-date=2023-06-28| page = 6 }} He claimed to have written "My Melancholy Baby" as a teenager, but did not copyright the work.{{cite book |last=Garber |first=Michael G. |author-link= |date=June 28, 2021 |title=My Melancholy Baby: The First Ballads of the Great American Songbook, 1902-1913 |url= |location= |publisher=University Press of Mississippi |page= |isbn=9781496834317 }}{{Cite web|url=http://greatamericansongbook.net/pages/songs/m/my_melancholy_baby_m.html|title="My Melancholy Baby": Song history, Commentary, Discography, Performances on Video|website=greatamericansongbook.net}}
In the late 1930s, he recorded bawdy "party" records for a low-budget jukebox label.{{Cite web|url=https://www.discogs.com/artist/1606523-Ben-Light-And-His-Surf-Club-Boys|title=Ben Light And His Surf Club Boys|website=Discogs}} He also toured with Cliff "Ukulele Ike" Edwards in 1938. From the late 1940s to the mid-1950s, he made over 100 recordings for the Tempo, Capitol, and X labels, selling millions of records.{{Cite web|url=https://propermusic.com/products/benlighthislightningfingers-thespeedoflight|title=The Speed Of Light|website=Proper Music}}
Light died of a heart attack, on January 6, 1965, in Santa Monica, California at the age of 72.{{cite news| author = Bruce Peacock| title = Stage and Screen| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=jdxUAAAAIBAJ&dq=Ben+Light+died&pg=PA4&article_id=923,1332718| work = The Leader-Post, Regina, Sask.| date = January 11, 1965|access-date=2023-06-28| page = 4 }}