July 25, 2025
Benny Benjamin
William “Benny” Benjamin (July 25, 1925 – April 20, 1969 Birmingham, AL), nicknamed Papa Zita, was an American musician, most notable as the primary drummer for the Motown Records studio band The Funk Brothers. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2003 and was named the eleventh best drummer of all time by Rolling Stonemagazine in 2016. By the late 1960s, Benjamin struggled with drug and alcohol addiction, and the fellow Funk Brothers Uriel Jones and Richard “Pistol” Allen increasingly recorded more of the drum tracks for the studio’s releases. He died on April 20, 1969, of a stroke at age 43.