How Ben Folds Five SHOCKED the Music Industry

the untold story of Ben Folds Five, a band who didn’t use guitar

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Origins and Early Years
Ben Folds grew up in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, receiving his first piano at age nine when his father accepted it as payment for construction work. Despite early piano lessons, he initially abandoned the instrument, breaking piano benches out of frustration before returning to it in the 1990

Pre-Band Journey
After various musical endeavors, including studying drums at the University of Miami (where he famously threw his drum kit into a lake), Folds experienced several false starts. He worked in Nashville as a songwriter, played in off-Broadway productions in New York, and performed in various bands before forming Ben Folds Five.

Band Formation
In 1994, Folds formed Ben Folds Five in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, with bassist Robert Sledge and drummer Darren Jessee Despite their name, they were deliberately a trio, choosing “Five” simply because it sounded better than “Three.” The band stood out for their unique guitar-free format, inspired by Elton John’s live album “17-11-70″1

Career Trajectory
Their self-titled debut album in 1995 sold 200,000 copies, earning them a reputation for witty lyrics and energetic performances. The breakthrough came with 1997’s “Whatever and Ever Amen,” recorded in Folds’ house, which produced their biggest hit “Brick”. The song reached #19 on US Radio charts and #6 on US Alternative charts1
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Final Chapter
Their third album, “The Unauthorized Biography of Reinhold Messner” (1999), marked a more serious direction with increased orchestration1
Despite artistic merit, it struggled commercially, selling around 300,000 copies. The band amicably disbanded in 2000 after releasing a Steely Dan cover for a movie soundtrack, with Folds moving to Australia to pursue a solo career