While much of the world knows Cheryl Bentyne as having been a member of the… Read Full Bio ↴While much of the world knows Cheryl Bentyne as having been a member of the multi-Grammy-winning vocal quartet The Manhattan Transfer since 1979, this compelling vocalist has a story all her own - one that includes a solo career that encompasses a variety of musical styles.

Born and raised near Seattle, Washington, Bentyne was exposed to music at a very early age. Her father, a jazz clarinetist and bandleader, held his band's rehearsals at the family's home. It wasn't long before Bentyne was singing in her dad's band. After high school, she performed in Seattle area coffee houses where she met and joined a regional group called The New Deal Rhythm Band. The band combined campy comedy numbers with improvisation and "theatrical" swing. The New Deal served as a training ground for Bentyne to sharpen her performance technique and develop her own distinct style.

While on tour with the group, Bentyne caught the attention of a talent agent who assured her that her singing ability could support a solo career and encouraged her to assemble material for her own show. Within a few months she moved to Los Angeles and was booked regularly at such legendary clubs as the Troubadour and the Bla-Bla Cafe.

In the spring of 1979, Bentyne's manager told her about an audition that was to change her life. The Manhattan Transfer was searching for a new singer to replace former member Laurel Massé. What they were looking for seemed like an impossible combination at the time - a soprano who was gifted and agile enough to immediately blend with the group's unique four-part harmony sound, yet who also possessed a strong individual musical personality which would contribute to the group's evolution. But Bentyne accomplished the impossible: she landed the job and made a vocal contribution that was immediate and decisive. The Manhattan Transfer won its first Grammy for "Birdland", a track from the 1979 album, Extensions (Best Jazz Fusion Performance). Since then, the foursome have scored ten more Grammys - so far.

Bentyne has sung some of the most memorable solos in the Transfer's repertoire: "Goodbye Love", Benny Goodman's solo on "Down South" (both on the 1983 release, Bodies and Souls), and "Meet Benny Bailey" (on their landmark 1985 recording, Vocalese). She won a Grammy (which she shares with Bobby McFerrin) for her arrangement of "Another Night In Tunisia" (also on Vocalese). Her hot performance in the video and single release "So You Say" (from Brasil, 1987) helped broaden the Transfer's audience via frequent appearances on BET. She also wrote and co-wrote tracks for the Transfer's 1992 release, The Offbeat of Avenues, including the Grammy-winning "Sassy".

But Bentyne has maintained a solid solo career aside from her work with the world-famous vocal quartet. In 1988, she appeared on bassist Rob Wasserman's highly acclaimed Duets album. Four years later, she released her solo debut album, Something Cool, a tribute to June Christy and other jazz singers of the 1950s.

Beyond the recording studio and performance stage, Bentyne has also dabbled in recording for motion pictures. She appears on the soundtrack to the 1990 film Dick Tracy, on "Back in Business", a song she performed with Lorraine Feather and fellow Transfer member Janis Siegel. She also collaborated with trumpeter/composer Mark Isham in the soundtrack to the 1991 Alan Rudolph film, Mortal Thoughts. In 2000, she recorded and released an original cast album of her new musical revue based the music and wit of Cole Porter. Dreaming Of Mister Porter has played to sold-out audiences and received rave reviews in Boston and Seattle.

Bentyne has released four solo albums for King Records in Japan: Talk Of The Town (2002), Moonlight Serenade (2003), The Lights Still Burn (2003), and Waltz for Debby (2004). She has had numerous solo engagements in the Japanese club scene and enjoys a large following of fans in Japan.

Bentyne joined the Telarc label for the January 2004 U.S. re-release of Talk of the Town. The album features a number of standards from the Great American Songbook, plus a few lesser-known - but no less engaging - ballads that Bentyne makes her own. In addition to her sexy, compelling vocals, Talk of the Town features some of the finest players on today's jazz scene, including pianist Kenny Barron, saxophonist David "Fathead" Newman, flugelhornist Chuck Mangione, percussionist Don Alias, and drummer Lewis Nash.

Bentyne's second Telarc outing was released in April 2005, Let Me Off Uptown, and is a tribute to legendary songstress Anita O'Day. She followed this with her third recording for Telarc, The Book of Love in October 2006.

Official website: www.cherylbentyne.net

Killing Me Softly With His Song
Cheryl Bentyne Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

I heard he sang a good song, I heard he had a style
And so I came to see him to listen for a while
And there he was, this young boy, a stranger to my eyes

Strumming my pain with his fingers
Singing my life with his words
Killing me softly with his song
Killing me softly with his song

Telling my whole life with his words
Killing me softly with his song

I felt all flushed with fever, embarrassed by the crowd
I felt he found my letters and read each one out loud
I prayed that he would finish, but he just kept right on

Strumming my pain with his fingers
Singing my life with his words
Killing me softly with this song
Killing me softly with this song
Killing me softly with his song

He sang as if he knew me in all my dark despair
And then he looked right through me as if I wasn't there
And he just kept on singing, singing clear and strong

Strumming my pain with his fingers
Singing my life with his words
Killing me softly with this song
Killing me softly with this song
Telling my whole life with his words
Killing me softly

Killing me softly
Mmm, mmm, mmm

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of Cheryl Bentyne's "Killing Me Softly With His Song" tell the story of a woman who hears a young man singing and is immediately drawn in by his talent and style. As she listens to him perform, she becomes emotionally overwhelmed and feels as though he is singing directly to her, telling the story of her life with his words. The chorus repeats the haunting phrase "Killing me softly with his song," emphasizing the power his music has over her.

In the second verse, the woman becomes embarrassed by the impact the young man's singing has on her, feeling as though he has read her private letters and exposed her innermost thoughts to the crowd. Despite this, she cannot tear herself away from his performance, and as he continues to sing, she feels as though he understands her completely.

The lyrics of "Killing Me Softly With His Song" are powerful and resonant, capturing the intensity of music's ability to connect us to a deeper part of our emotions and experiences. The singer is a master at touching on the universal human experience of being moved by music and how it can help us feel understood.

Line by Line Meaning

I heard he sang a good song, I heard he had a style
I had heard that his singing was really good and unique

And so I came to see him to listen for a while
As a result, I decided to go out for a concert to listen to him live

And there he was, this young boy, a stranger to my eyes
When I saw him, he was young and unknown to me

Strumming my pain with his fingers
He played the guitar in a way that expressed all my pain

Singing my life with his words
His lyrics resonated with the story of my life

Killing me softly with his song
His performance was so emotionally powerful that it felt like it was slowly taking over me

Telling my whole life with his words
He sang in a way that felt like he knew everything about me and my life

I felt all flushed with fever, embarrassed by the crowd
His performance left me feeling hot and embarrassed under the gaze of many people

I felt he found my letters and read each one out loud
I felt like he was singing all the private things I had written, revealing each one to the world

I prayed that he would finish, but he just kept right on
I was hoping desperately that he would stop, but he just went on singing

He sang as if he knew me in all my dark despair
His singing was so connected to my deepest sorrows and fears that it felt like he knew me intimately

And then he looked right through me as if I wasn't there
But at the same time, he seemed otherworldly, like he wasn't actually looking at me but rather beyond me

And he just kept on singing, singing clear and strong
He continued with his performance, singing with incredible clarity and strength

Killing me softly with this song
The song was still taking control of me, killing me softly

Killing me softly with his song
He continued to kill me softly with the song

Killing me softly
And I couldn't escape the emotional grip of his singing

Mmm, mmm, mmm
The sound of the song and his voice lingered in my mind

Lyrics © TuneCore Inc., Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Norman Gimbel, Charles Fox

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind

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