Artist:Benny Hester
Song:Nobody Knows Me Like You
Album:Personal Best
CCM singer songwriter Benny Hester had success in the early 80s with hits like Nobody Knows Me Like You. He went on to have success as one of the producers of the Nickelodeon TV series Roundhouse. He was born May 3, 1948 in Waco, TX. Hester is a classically trained pianist. He was in the Texas Boys Choir. He played piano for the Western Swing band Sam Weaver and the Texas Playboys and appeared on their TV show. While attending high school he was in the band The Morticians. Hester played in the band for the musical Texas and he formed the duo Hester & Hilton with Steve Hilton. A couple of songs got Hester working with Buddy Holly's producer Norman Petty. Hester moved to Las Vegas where he worked with veteran producer Brett Maher. Maher produced Hester's first albums which got him a record deal with Sparrow. Unfortunately his debut album was destroyed in a recording studio fire. After recording country music for Decca, Hester signed with Word's CCM label Myrrh for the 1981 album Nobody Knows Me Like You. This was when "Jesus Music" was becoming CCM. Both the title song and When God Ran were big CCM hits. The album was produced by veteran producer Michael Omartian. Pianist Jeff Lams was also a key figure. He wrote songs with Hester and led his touring band. Hester recorded four albums for Myrrh and two for Frontline. This comp is a good intro to Hester's music. In 1992, Hester and his wife created the Nickelodeon music and variety show Roundhouse. Hester was musical director. The show ran from 1992-96 and won several Cable Ace Awards. After conflict with Nickelodeon over a proposed Roundhouse concert tour and soundtrack albums, Hester and his wife created Rock and Roland for The Disney Channel. Instead of buying that, The Disney Channel created the very similar Hannah Montana. Hester sued and Disney settled. Hester released a 2016 album on his own label and he still performs live. Here's Benny Hester performing Nobody Knows Me Like You.
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