During their first seven years, the band released three studio records, a compilation of B-sides and outtakes, and eight singles. They also contributed to a number of soundtracks and compilations. Ben Folds Five disbanded in October 2000, but reunited in 2011, and released their fourth album, The Sound of the Life of the Mind, in 2012, before disbanding again in 2013.
History
1993–2000
Ben Folds Five was formed in 1993 in Chapel Hill by Ben Folds. They were a trio in spite of their name, and the primary motivation behind the name, apart from the band's well-known use of humor, was simple preference, according to Ben: "I think it sounds better than Ben Folds Three."[1] Folds once described their music as "punk rock for sissies," a reaction to the angst prevalent in '90s rock.[2]
The band's final released recording was a cover of Steely Dan's "Barrytown" for the Me, Myself & Irene soundtrack. The band had begun work on a fourth studio album, but following the worldwide tour in support of The Unauthorized Biography of Reinhold Messner, the band "amicably" broke up in October 2000. Tracks from the sessions later emerged in solo projects.[3]
Jessee formed the indie band Hotel Lights in 2004, with his songs featured in television and film. Jessee released three studio albums for Bar/None Records in this time – including Hotel Lights in 2006, Firecracker People in 2008, and Girl Graffiti in 2011.
Sledge played with International Orange until the group disbanded in 2005. He later became the bass player in the three-piece Chapel Hill band Surrender Human, with Matt McMichaels from the Mayflies USA.
Reunions (2008, 2011–2013, 2023)
Ben Folds Five made a one-off concert appearance in September 2008 at the UNC Memorial Hall in Chapel Hill as part of the MySpace "Front to Back" series, in which artists play an entire album live. The band played its then-final album, The Unauthorized Biography of Reinhold Messner, and were briefly joined on stage by Ben's father, Dean Folds, who read a transcript of his voice mail message that is used in the album song "Your Most Valuable Possession", encoring with some of the songs from their first two albums.[4]
In 2011, Ben Folds Five reunited to record three tracks for Ben Folds' The Best Imitation of Myself: A Retrospective. They made their first live appearance in four years as one of the headliners of the 2012 Mountain Jam festival.[5] They made further appearances at that year's 2012 Bonnaroo and Summerfest festivals.
The band's fourth studio album, The Sound of the Life of the Mind was released in September 2012, supported by the single Do It Anyway, with a video featuring Anna Kendrick, Rob Corddry, and the cast of Fraggle Rock.[6] A tour of the US, the UK, Australia and Ireland followed across the remainder of 2012.
In June 2013, the trio released their first live album, titled Live.[7] During that year Ben Folds Five toured with the Barenaked Ladies and Guster,[8] before entering a hiatus that ultimately became permanent. Folds resumed his solo career, releasing the yMusic collaboration So There in 2015[9] and continuing to tour extensively. Jessee, meanwhile, released a new album with Hotel Lights in 2016, entitled Get Your Hand in My Hand,[10] before releasing two solo albums: 2018's The Jane, Room 217[11] and 2020's Remover.[12]
Caleb Southern – the producer of the band's first three albums and considered the "fourth member" of the band by Folds – died on July 6, 2023.[13] The band briefly reunited for a concert in tribute to Southern on August 28, 2023, at the Cat's Cradle in Chapel Hill, performing five songs.[14]
Discography
Ben Folds Five discography
Studio albums
4
Live albums
1
Compilation albums
2
Singles
9
Video albums
1
Studio albums
List of studio albums, with selected details, chart positions and certifications
Top 100 peaks to December 2010: Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988–2010 (pdf ed.). Mt. Martha, VIC, Australia: Moonlight Publishing. p. 105.
All releases except as noted below: "ベン・フォールズ・ファイヴのCDアルバムランキング" [Ben Folds Five: Highest position and charting weeks on the albums chart]. oricon.co.jp (in Japanese). Oricon Style. Retrieved February 18, 2014.
The Best Imitation of Myself: "ベン・フォールズのCDアルバムランキング" [Ben Folds: Highest position and charting weeks on the albums chart]. oricon.co.jp (in Japanese). Oricon Style. Retrieved February 18, 2014.
