Ben Light (pianist)

Benjamin Bertram Leight (April 23, 1893 – January 6, 1965), better known by his stage name Ben Light was an American pianist.

Light was born on April 23, 1893, in New York City.^[1] He had a long career at the keyboard. He started playing the piano at the age of three without a teacher, and made his professional debut at the age of seven. For 15 years, he toured as a vaudeville pianist, performing with renowned figures such as Al Jolson, Eddie Cantor, Fanny Brice, Jack Benny and Sophie Tucker.^[2] Known as a musical phenomenon, Ben Light was once timed playing 1,173 notes in a single minute.^[3] Light was noted for his fast ragtime play and recorded over 100 piano compositions.^[4] He claimed to have written "My Melancholy Baby" as a teenager, but did not copyright the work.^[5][6]

In the late 1930s, he recorded bawdy "party" records for a low-budget jukebox label.^[7] He also toured with Cliff "Ukulele Ike" Edwards in 1938. From the late 1940s to the mid-1950s, he made over 100 recordings for the Tempo, Capitol, and X labels, selling millions of records.^[8]

Light died of a heart attack, on January 6, 1965, in Santa Monica, California at the age of 72.^[9]