Fifty-four years ago this week, a 14-year-old boy sat at the top of the American pop chart all by himself for the first time.
The boy was Michael Jackson. The song was “Ben.” On the chart dated October 14, 1972, it was the biggest single in the country, and Michael became one of the youngest solo singers ever to pull that off.
Here’s the funny part. The song almost wasn’t his at all.
“Ben” was a soft, sweet ballad, the kind of tune that sticks in your head for days. It was written with a specific young star in mind. A teen idol every bit as famous as Michael back then. Somebody whose name you’ll recognize the second you read it.
So how did it end up in Michael’s hands? That story is below. But first, here’s the song itself.
Michael Jackson’s “Ben,” the ballad that gave him his first solo No. 1
Play it and listen to how young his voice is. He was barely a teenager, and he already sang with a tenderness most grown singers never find.
Now, the twist. “Ben” was first offered to Donny Osmond.
Yes, that Donny Osmond. In the early ’70s, Donny and Michael were the two biggest teen idols in the country, each with his own famous musical family. Girls had posters of both of them up on their walls. But when “Ben” came around, Donny was out on tour and couldn’t get into the studio to record it in time.
So the song went to Michael instead. And it became a No. 1 smash and the title track of his second solo album.
It stayed on top for just one week before Chuck Berry knocked it off. One week at the summit, but what a week it was for a boy of 14.
The story has a gentle ending too. Donny Osmond never quite let go of the song that got away. More than 40 years later, in 2014, he finally recorded “Ben” himself. The teen idol who missed it in 1972 got his turn at last.
If you remember being young when both of these boys were on the radio, here’s a treat. This is Michael singing “Ben” on television back in 1972.
Young Michael sings “Ben” on TV in 1972
Watch his face while he sings. There’s no big dance here, only a boy and a melody.
That’s the magic of “Ben.” It wasn’t built for him, and it still became one of the most touching songs of his early career. Not bad for a tune that was headed somewhere else.