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Ben Folds | |
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_(cropped).jpg) Folds in 2018 | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Benjamin Scott Folds |
| Born | September 12, 1966 Winston-Salem, North Carolina, U.S. |
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| Years active | 1988–present |
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| Spouses | Katie Rosen
(m. 1996; div. 1996)Frally Hynes
(m. 1999; div. 2006)Fleur Stanbrook
(m. 2007; div. 2011)Emma Sandall
(m. 2017; div. 2024) |
| Website | benfolds |
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Benjamin Scott Folds (born September 12, 1966)[1] is an American singer-songwriter from Winston-Salem, North Carolina. After playing in several small independent bands throughout the late 80s and into the early 90s, Folds came to prominence as the eponymous frontman and pianist of the alternative rock trio Ben Folds Five from 1993 to 2000, and again during their reunion from 2011 to 2013. He has recorded a number of solo albums – the most recent of which, What Matters Most, was released in June 2023. He has also collaborated with musicians such as Regina Spektor, "Weird Al" Yankovic, and yMusic, and undertaken experimental songwriting projects with actor William Shatner and authors such as Nick Hornby and Neil Gaiman. Since May 2017, he has been the first artistic advisor to the National Symphony Orchestra at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C.[2][3]
Folds has frequently performed arrangements of his music with uncommon instrumentation for rock and pop music, including symphony orchestras and a cappella groups. In addition to contributing music to the soundtracks of the animated films Hoodwinked!, and Over the Hedge, Folds has produced several albums, including Amanda Palmer's first solo album Who Killed Amanda Palmer in 2008.
Folds was a judge on the NBC a cappella singing contest The Sing-Off from 2009 to 2013.[4] In July 2019, Folds published his first book, a memoir, titled A Dream About Lightning Bugs: A Life of Music and Cheap Lessons.[5]
- ^ "Q&A". TheGuardian.com. June 25, 2005.
- ^ "Ben Folds Biography". Kennedy-center.org. Retrieved February 8, 2018.
- ^ "Ben Folds Named Artistic Advisor for National Symphony Orchestra". BroadwayWorld. May 11, 2017. Retrieved May 22, 2019.
- ^ "The Sing Off". About the Show. NBC. Archived from the original on November 6, 2011. Retrieved November 3, 2011.
- ^ Meek, Andy (June 5, 2019). "Ben Folds On His Memoir & Advice for an Authentic Creative Life". Billboard. Retrieved July 15, 2019.