Benny Spellman  

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Benny Spellman, was born on December 11, 1931, in Pensacola, Florida, and died on June 3, 2011. He's an American rhythm and blues singer, best known for his 1962 hit "Lipstick Traces (On A Cigarette)," written by Allen Toussaint and the original version of "Fortune Teller", covered by The Rolling Stones among others. "Lipstick Traces" reached #28 on the Billboard Black Singles chart and #80 on the Hot 100. He also worked with Huey Piano Smith and sang backup on Ernie K-Doe's #1 hit, "Mother in Law". He recorded a single, "Word Game", on Atlantic Records in 1965, then he semi-retired from music to work in the beer industry.

Benny Spellman's contribution to the music industry and his talent was not forgotten. Dianna Chenevert, founder and president of Omni Attractions included Spellman in the Southern Stars Poster to help historically document his contribution to music, and assist in providing him and his fellow Louisiana musicians with more steady gigs. In August of 1988, Spellman performed at a party for George H.W. Bush, which coincided with the Republican National Convention in New Orleans, Louisiana. Chenevert made the arrangements for this engagement which took place at the Riverwalk's Spanish Plaza. In this same year, Collectables Records issued a retrospective album of 16 of Spellman's recordings from the 1960s. Then in 2009, Benny Spellman was inducted into the Louisiana Music Hall of Fame.