“Ben” gave Michael Jackson his first Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 as a solo artist in 1972.
Written by Don Black and Walter Scharf, “Ben” was recorded for the film Ben, a horror movie about a boy and a group of killer rats. Jackson performed the song for the film and released it as a single while he was still a teenager.
The single topped the chart for one week in October 1972. It followed Jackson’s early success with the Jackson 5, whose group singles had already reached No. 1. A common mix-up is to identify “Got to Be There” as his first solo chart-topper; that was his first solo single, but it peaked below No. 1.
“Ben” also earned Jackson a Golden Globe nomination and a Grammy nomination. It remains one of the most distinctive early milestones in his solo career, years before his major adult-pop breakthroughs.