About Ben Rector
Benjamin Evans Rector is an American singer, songwriter and record producer based in Nashville, Tennessee. He has released seven studio albums, including Brand New , which peaked at No. 9 on the Billboard 200, and Magic , which debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Americana/Folk Albums chart.
"I didn't sing at all, until I saw a guy from Tulsa named Ben Kilgore sing at my school. Ben Kilgore had a great voice, and it changed that atmosphere of the room, and I had never seen that before. But I was just like 'What was that?' I want to find and feel that again."
Rector on how he started singing
Rector was born in south Tulsa, Oklahoma. He is the son of Evans Rector, a banker, and Bette Rector, a psychologist. He has two sisters. He did not grow up in a musical household, although Evans was a fan of Steve Winwood and Rector became a fan of his work at a young age. Evans recalled a moment where Rector performed in a talent show when he was 8 years old and enjoyed the attention, specifically when they called his name. His first musical memory was at a young age, where he was able to recognize Pachelbel's Canon by ear at a wedding. He became interested in music in eighth grade, listening to the Star 103 radio station in Tulsa, which played music from the 1960s and 1970s. He grew fond of pop music, beginning with "Drift Away" by Dobie Gray. The first song he learned on piano was the theme song of the animated television series Rugrats in the 1990s.
He took some piano lessons as a child, and after being inspired by camp counselors at a summer camp who played acoustic guitar, he began learning the instrument at 16, which later led him to begin songwriting at 16. His first song, titled "Tonight", was an acoustic guitar piece about kissing a girl. Rector attended high school at Tulsa's Metro Christian Academy. High school was also when he began listening to modern pop music. One class he took was dedicated to praise and worship, which he credits as the beginning of his interest in music. The class required an audition. Each week he was taught the technics of music, forming a set, and performing in a band; Rector praised this education structure in retrospect.
He did not sing until musician Ben Kilgore performed at his school, the atmosphere of his performance inspiring Rector to do so. Rector formed a high school band, Euromart, for a Battle of the Bands competition hosted by newspaper Tulsa World. His first performance was at Cain's Ballroom. The band did not place. He would re-recruit Euromart to perform in the music video for his song "Old Friends" in 2018. Throughout high school he would perform locally. He graduated from Tulsa's Metro Christian Academy in 2005 and resumed playing piano, and from the University of Arkansas in 2010 with a degree in business and marketing.
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