Early years

Carla L. Benson grew up in South Jersey with her mother and two brothers. Eventually, her family grew to include a stepfather and younger sister.

Benson studied dance at Sidney King School of Dance in Camden from ages 4–12. She attended Pyne Point Junior High School where she joined the Walter Young Choral Ensemble. In 1968, they earned an appearance on the Ted Mack Amateur Hour in New York City.

She graduated from Camden High School in 1971, and took classes at Glassboro State College, later named Rowan University, before eventually finishing her Bachelor of Arts in music in 1999.^[1]

Early career

Benson began her professional career singing with her cousin Barbara, who died unexpectedly in 1994, and Evette L. Benton, her best friend from childhood and later college roommate. After auditioning for Thom Bell they became the in-house background vocalists for Philadelphia International Records for over 10 years.^[2] They vigorously resisted any group name, but eventually were named "The Sweethearts of Sigma" for the famous Sigma Sound Studios where they did the majority of their work, by mix master Tom Moulton.

They never signed an exclusive contract, making them free to work as independent contractors. As a result, they appeared on many projects outside the Philadelphia International stable. They can be heard on hundreds of hits, including Billy Paul's "Me and Mrs. Jones", The Spinners' "I'll Be Around", McFadden and Whitehead's "Ain't No Stoppin' Us Now", Evelyn "Champagne" King's "Shame", Patti LaBelle's "New Attitude" and "If Only You Knew", Lou Rawls' "You'll Never Find Another Love Like Mine" and Patti LaBelle and Michael McDonald's "On My Own" to name a few.^[3]

During the Disco era, The Sweethearts were heavily sought after for their vocals. Confidentiality agreements prevented the Sweethearts from being credited as the vocalists for several major disco hits. The trios also worked as named and unnamed background vocalists for studio orchestras MFSB, The Salsoul Orchestra, The Original Ritchie Family, and John Davis' Monster Orchestra. They also provided background vocals for Grace Jones, The Trammps, the Village People, Gloria Gaynor, Loleatta Holloway, France Joli, and hundreds of other successful disco acts. After the runaway success of Saturday Night Fever, even John Travolta tried his hand at recording and insisted on the vocal assistance of the famed Sweethearts. (Credits at Discogs.com/CarlaL.Benson)

With the sudden decline of disco, work dried up and The Sweethearts decided to break up. Benson was approached to produce the annual fundraising event for The Dr. Charles Henderson Auxiliary, the only African American auxiliary of the Cooper University Hospital in her native Camden, New Jersey. She wrote and directed an ensemble cast, produced, and performed in her creation, which she named "Rhapsody in Black". That year, the auxiliary exceeded its own expectations and was able to make its largest donation to the hospital in their history. That record still stands today.

Benson won lead roles in two productions of Ain't Misbehavin' at The Riverfront Dinner Theater in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

The Sweethearts had previously recorded the background vocals for Patti LaBelle's "If Only You Knew", "Love, Need, and Want", and a few others. In the mid-80s, when LaBelle wanted new background vocalists, she wondered if "The Girls" would be interested. The Sweethearts quickly came back together and toured exclusively with LaBelle, who renamed them "The Sweeties." LaBelle fondly referred to Benson as "Sweetie Number One".^[4] It was during their tenure with LaBelle that they recorded the soundtrack for Beverly Hills Cop and did the popular video "Stir It Up". LaBelle received her first platinum album, Winner in You, on which the Sweeties performed. She graciously orchestrated the moment when the Sweeties received their platinum albums during an on-air interview on the popular television show People Are Talking with Richard Bey in 1987.

During her down times off the road, Carla Benson worked as a substitute teacher for the Camden School system, where her love of inner-city teenagers began to take root and grow.

On her own

In 1988, Benson opened in the main room of the Claridge Hotel and Casino in November, which LaBelle attended and sang at. Benson spent the next two years performing exclusively at the Trump Casino's special events, and the Claridge Casino.

Wedding singer

When the casinos closed many of their lounges, Benson sang for over fifteen years with a wedding band, The Franklin Alison Orchestra, out of Princeton, New Jersey.

Tony Award-winning writer Joseph A. Walker (The River Niger) was hired to produce a series of musicals for Rutgers University. Under his direction, Benson starred in productions of Dreamgirls, The Amen Corner, Buddy Bolden and Raisin. Before his death, he was writing another musical, especially for her, which he hoped to have produced on Broadway.

Walker's musical director, Tony Booker, was instrumental in Benson being signed to a five-year contract at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C., where she was featured in their annual production of Black Nativity, under the direction of the founder of the Duke Ellington School of Performing Arts, Mike Malone. She also had a lead role in a developing work written and directed by Tony Award-winning choreographer George Faison.

In 1996, Benson graduated at the top of her class from the Technical Institute of New Jersey, Pennsauken Campus as a certified paralegal. She began work as an executive legal secretary in arbitration for Judge Vogelson at the Hall of Justice in Camden.

In 1999, she graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Vocal Music from Rowan University.

Benson worked as a Permanent Substitute at Camden High School.

Standing in the shadows

In 2000, Benson was approached by her friend, Allan Slutsky, to participate in a film that would highlight the studio musicians of Motown, who were called "The Funk Brothers". Being a studio musician herself, this project held a particular appeal for her. Slutsky knew of Benson's professional recording career and hired her to be section leader for the background vocals for the film. Benson hired her cousin Johnny Ingram to go with her, and they traveled with her brother Keith, associate producer for the film, to Detroit, Michigan for two weeks of rehearsals and filming. She worked with artists like Gerald LeVert, whose father she'd previously worked with as a member of the O'Jays; Chaka Khan; Bootsy Collins; Ben Harper; Joan Osborne; Tom Scott; and the Funk Brothers themselves. The project, called Standing in the Shadows of Motown, became an award-winning documentary, and went on to win three Grammy Awards.

Encouraged by her mother to return to music, Benson toured the world with the infamous Funk Brothers for about three years. Due to the advanced ages of the Funk Brothers, the touring schedule was very sporadic, leaving big chunks of downtime.

Also during this time, writer John A. Jackson approached Benson for an interview in his upcoming book, A House on Fire, the Rise and Fall of Philadelphia Soul, which was released in 2005. Benson is credited with the opening quote and is quoted extensively throughout the book.

Return to teaching

In 2001, Dr. Stephanie Branch offered her a position as a music teacher at the Charles E. Brimm Medical Arts High School in Camden. Benson She said, "My children need to know more than do-re-mi. They need to know they are valuable. They need to know life skills such as the importance of voting and the absolute necessity of being able to read and they must, must reconnect with their dreams and goals. I can help them do all of that, through MUSIC as I teach it."^[5]

Dr. Branch thought it was a plus to have a music teacher who was also a performing musician, as long as her absences were not too long in duration or frequency. After two years, Dr. Branch left to further her career and Benson was forced out.^[6] She attended classes at the Women's Opportunity Resource Center in Philadelphia to complete her business plan, and her "Awakenings, Inc." was born.^[7]

Currently

Benson continues to perform and has released two new original projects, a single called "Welcome" and a full CD entitled You Should Be Here. In November 2014, she directed and produced a Christmas video for Youtube with an all Camden, New Jersey cast, entitled "Voices of Camden, Featuring Carla Benson".^[8]

She continues to seek funding for her "Awakenings" after-school program aimed at inner-city, at-risk high school youth.^[9]