Benmont Tench
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Benjamin Montmorency Tench III (born September 7, 1953) an American keyboardist, best known as a founding member of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, along with Tom Petty, Mike Campbell and Ron Blair of the current lineup.
Born in Gainesville, Florida, Tench played piano from an early age. He met Tom Petty for the first time at a Gainesville music store at the age of 11. He went north to boarding school at Phillips Exeter Academy, then attended Tulane University in New Orleans but quit college to join Petty's band Mudcrutch, which would later evolve into Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers.
In addition to playing piano and Hammond organ with the Heartbreakers, Tench is also known as a skilled session performer, having recorded with dozens of notable artists, including Johnny Cash, Sam Phillips, You Am I, Bob Dylan, The Rolling Stones, The Tragically Hip, Alanis Morissette, Green Day, the Cult, and New Found Glory.
Tench has also written songs for other artists, including "Never Be You" (co-written with Petty), which became a #1 hit for Rosanne Cash. Tench has received two ASCAP songwriting awards: in 1995 for "Stay Forever" (performed by Hal Ketchum) and in 2001 for "Unbreakable Heart" (performed by Carlene Carter).
| Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers |
| Tom Petty | Mike Campbell | Scott Thurston | Ron Blair | Benmont Tench | Steve Ferrone |
| Howie Epstein | Stan Lynch |
| Discography |
|---|
| Studio albums: Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers | You're Gonna Get It! | Damn the Torpedoes | Hard Promises | Long After Dark | Southern Accents Let Me Up (I've Had Enough) | Into the Great Wide Open | Songs and Music from "She's the One" | Echo | The Last DJ |
| Tom Petty solo albums: Full Moon Fever | Wildflowers | Highway Companion |
| Tom Petty with Traveling Wilburys: Traveling Wilburys Vol. 1 | Traveling Wilburys Vol. 3 |
| Compilations: Greatest Hits | Playback | Anthology: Through The Years |
| Live albums: Pack up the Plantation: Live! | Live at the Olympic: The Last DJ |
| Production |
| Jimmy Iovine | Robbie Robertson | Jeff Lynne | Rick Rubin | George Drakoulias |
