Ben l'Oncle Soul

Ben l'Oncle Soul is a French soul singer with a retro style who made his eponymous Top Five hit album debut in 2010. Born Benjamin Duterde in 1984 in Tours, Indre-et-Loire, France, he took his name and look from Uncle Ben, the fictitious, elderly African-American man dressed in a bow tie who serves as the brand image of Uncle Ben's Rice. The moniker Ben l'Oncle Soul was chosen rather than Uncle Ben to avoid any charges of trademark infringement. Years before Duterde adopted the Ben l'Oncle Soul moniker, he got his professional start as a vocalist in the Fitiavana Gospel Choir, which he joined in 2004 before eventually shifting to a solo career. ~ Jason Birchmeier