{"id":380599,"date":"2026-08-25T11:46:11","date_gmt":"2026-08-25T11:46:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/380599\/"},"modified":"2026-08-25T11:46:11","modified_gmt":"2026-08-25T11:46:11","slug":"benny-latimore-obituary-miami-soul-singer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/380599\/","title":{"rendered":"Benny Latimore obituary: Miami soul singer"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Press<\/p>\n

Press photo dated Nov. 9, 1974, of R&B\/soul singer Benny Latimore during his time on Miami\u2019s T.K. Records. On his records he just needed one name, Latimore.<\/p>\n

Mario Algaze<\/p>\n

Miami Herald File<\/p>\n

Some singers need just one name to leave a lasting impression. It\u2019s in the voice. The visual presentation. The elusive \u201cIt\u201d factor.<\/p>\n

Benjamin William Lattimore, one of the leading lights of Miami\u2019s vaunted TK Records in the 1970s, fit that billing.<\/p>\n

Lattimore didn\u2019t even need all nine letters in the surname that ushered him into the world in Charleston, Tennessee, on Sept. 7, 1939, and through his Baptist church choir years.<\/p>\n

Latimore \u2014 no double t necessary \u2014 on records as his professional name would be his calling card as he swept into Miami\u2019s fledgling recording studios in the mid-1960s where he cut his first record for one of Henry Stone\u2019s labels, Dade Records.<\/p>\n

The Latimore name represented this towering beanpole of a man whose even larger bedroom-smooth, soulful voice and keyboards behind bluesy R&B crossover hits like his signature \u201cLet\u2019s Straighten It Out\u201d and \u201cSomethin\u2019 \u2018Bout \u2018Cha\u201d seduced soul music fans nationwide. Those two songs, in 1974 and 1977, respectively, became Latimore\u2019s two Billboard Hot 100 Top 40 singles.<\/p>\n

Benny Lattimore \u2014 musician Latimore \u2014 died Aug. 22, at age 86 in Tampa.<\/p>\n

KC pays tribute to his colleague<\/p>\n

One of Latimore\u2019s colleagues at TK Records was Hialeah-raised Harry Wayne Casey, the KC of KC and the Sunshine Band\u2019s string of five No. 1 crossover pop hits between 1975 and 1980 spanning \u201cGet Down to Tonight\u201d to \u201cPlease Don\u2019t Go.\u201d He remembers Latimore fondly as one of the main male R&B artists at TK when Casey arrived there in the early-1970s after graduating from Hialeah Senior High.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe was charismatic, classy, kind, humble and respectful,\u201d Casey said.<\/p>\n

Latimore closed his fourth album, 1976\u2019s \u201cIt Ain\u2019t Where You Been,\u201d with a sultry cover of Casey\u2019s Sunshine Band percolating tune, \u201cI Get Lifted.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHe had this voice that would just take you in and swallow you up,\u201d Casey said. \u201cAt times it was silky smooth. And other times, commanding with soulful R&B energy.\u201d<\/p>\n

After moving to Miami in the early 1960s, Latimore\u2019s music crossed genres from R&B\/soul to blues and onto mainstream pop music stations. He scored his first significant nationwide hit on Stone\u2019s Glades Records with \u201cStormy Monday.\u201d That sultry tune climbed to No. 27 on the R&B charts in 1973, followed by \u201cIf You Were My Woman,\u201d a gender-tweaked cover of a 1970 Gladys Knight and the Pips Motown single.<\/p>\n

When Stone and singer-songwriter Steve Alaimo<\/a> formed TK Records, Latimore played piano on many of the Miami label\u2019s recordings, including Alaimo\u2019s, songs that, today, crop up in movies, TV shows and as soundtracks for social media posts.<\/p>\n

Made in Miami talent \"Willie Willie Clarke, Clarence Reid, George “Chocolate” Perry, George McCrae, Timmy Thomas (partially hidden), Willie Hale, Jimmie ‘Bo’ Horne, Paul Lewis, Steve Alaimo, Henry Stone and musician Latimore in February 2013 at Vision Studios in North Miami. Alaimo and Stone co-founded TK Records and these musicians were some of Miami’s shining stars for the label in the 1970s. Jacob Katel Miami Herald File <\/p>\n

TK was a hotbed of Miami-supplied and groomed talent.<\/p>\n

In addition to Latimore and KC and the Sunshine Band, TK Productions and its offshoot labels boasted vocalists including George McRae, whose Casey-Richard Finch-written \u201cRock Your Baby\u201d in 1974 inspired the rhythm track of ABBA\u2019s \u201cDancing Queen\u201d two years later. His then-wife Gwen McRae scored a hit with Clarence \u201cBlowfly\u201d Reid\u2019s sexy \u201cRockin\u2019 Chair\u201d in 1975. Earlier, Betty Wright<\/a> had one of the era\u2019s most enduring hits with Reid\u2019s \u201cClean Up Woman\u201d in 1971. Timmy Thomas<\/a> had a major TK hit with \u201cWhy Can\u2019t We Live Together\u201d in 1972.<\/p>\n

Latimore played keyboards, including piano and electric piano, with that same velvet-smooth touch he brought to his vocals. He\u2019s on the McRaes\u2019 recordings, as well as Wright\u2019s \u201cClean Up Woman\u201d and on Bobby Caldwell\u2019s self-titled 1978 TK imprint album that contained the elegant Top 10 pop hit, \u201cWhat You Won\u2019t Do for Love.\u201d<\/p>\n

Remembering Latimore \"Henry Henry Stone, left, founder and president of Miami\u2019s T.K. Productions, presents singer Latimore, right, with a gold record for his 1974 No. 1 R&B single and Top 40 crossover pop hit, “Let’s Straighten it Out,” in this file photo from 1974. Miami Herald File <\/p>\n

\u201cBenny was cool. He always called me \u2018Big Joe\u2019 even though he stood a solid seven inches taller than me,\u201d said Joe Stone, Henry\u2019s son and a veteran music industry executive.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe was always the tallest man in the room and one of the kindest people and artists I ever had the pleasure of working with,\u201d Stone said. \u201cI feel fortunate to have worked with such a talent and even more fortunate to have co-written a song with him in the early 2000s, one of the highlights of my career.\u201d<\/p>\n

Latimore\u2019s later years \"TK TK Productions co-founder Henry Stone and singer-musician Benny Latimore in an undated photo. Courtesy Joe Stone <\/p>\n

Latimore scored a few other R&B chart hits for the Miami labels, including \u201cKeep the Home Fire Burnin\u2019\u201d in the 1970s before branching out into the blues, releasing albums, including a reunion with Henry Stone on a new label collaboration. LatStone released his album \u201cBack \u2018Atcha\u201d in 2007. He also scored work as a session pianist on Joss Stone\u2019s \u201cThe Soul Sessions\u201d and \u201cMind Body and Soul\u201d albums in 2003 and 2004.<\/p>\n

In 2017, Latimore was inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame.<\/p>\n

\u201cBenny was one of a kind. He had his own style of playing keyboard and a voice that was filled with deep passion. You could feel the emotion when he would sing. He would grab the low notes with a solid southern blues power and hit those high notes spot on the money, the kind that make the hair on your arms rise up and fill the room with joy,\u201d Joe Stone said. \u201cA true southern soul man who played the road and entertained millions. He will be missed.\u201d<\/p>\n

Henry Stone died in 2014<\/a>. Alaimo, who discovered Sam & Dave at Liberty City\u2019s King of Hearts club in 1961, died in 2024.<\/p>\n

Latimore\u2019s survivors include his wife, Yvonne Lattimore. There is no information on services.<\/p>\n

\"A A Feb. 17, 2005, file photo of musician Bennie Latimore who performed at Miami Bluesfest that month on Miami Dade College\u2019s North Campus. Handout photo Miami Herald file <\/p>\n

This story was originally published August 25, 2026 at 6:14 AM.<\/p>\n


\n \"Profile
\n <\/a><\/p>\n

Howard Cohen<\/a><\/p>\n

Miami Herald<\/p>\n

Miami Herald consumer trends reporter Howard Cohen, a 2017 Media Excellence Awards winner, has covered pop music, theater, health and fitness, obituaries, municipal government, breaking news and general assignment. He started his career in the Features department at the Miami Herald in 1991. Cohen is an adjunct professor at the University of Miami School of Communication.
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