He was born in Phenix City, Alabama, and began singing in nightclubs when in his teens. He joined Chuck Willis as a backing singer in the 1950s, before joining forces with fellow singer Peggy Scott, who previously backed Ben E. King, in a duo. The pair were heard and encouraged by record producer Huey Meaux,[1] and were recruited by Shelby Singleton's SSS International label in Nashville, Tennessee, in order to record duets.[2] Their first recording for the label, "Lover's Holiday", reached No. 8 on the Billboard R&B chart and No. 31 on the pop chart in 1968, eventually becoming a gold record. They followed it up with "Pickin' Wild Mountain Berries", which was also a hit and for which they were nominated for a Grammy.[3] Benson and Scott had two more hits in 1969, "Soulshake" and "I Want to Love You Baby", and released two albums together, Lover's Heaven and Soulshake.[4][5][6]
The pairing of Benson and Scott split up in 1971. Benson later owned several nightclubs in the Chattahoochee Valley, and was seriously wounded in a shooting incident in 1979.[3] He and Scott temporarily reunited in the mid-1980s for an album. In 1999, Benson recorded a solo album, Reminiscing in the Jam Zone, which Living Blues magazine called "among the finest soul albums of the year - indeed, of the decade". In 2001, he followed it up with the album Everybody Loves to Cha Cha Cha.[4]
On December 23, 2014, Jo Jo Benson was found dead at a motel in Columbus, Georgia, at the age of 76. The coroner's office stated that he died of natural causes.[3]
