When
Brook Benton, an R&B crooner, turned to folk-pop for his unique interpretation of the traditional "The Boll Weevil Song," he made one of the biggest and most memorable hits of 1961. Mercury hurried him into the studio to create an album around the single, which would be its title track.
Benton delivered 11 additional performances, mostly traditional folk songs for which he took composer credit. "Frankie and Johnny," the well-known and oft-recorded murder ballad, became
Benton's copycat follow-up hit to "The Boll Weevil Song" later that year, though it lacked the same charm and barely made the Top 20. The same country/folk/pop sound blankets every song on the album, but unlike the humorous hits, the other songs tend toward serious folk ballads like "Careless Love."
Benton falls comfortably into crooner mode where required, but the good-natured swagger of "The Boll Weevil Song" is missed. Only "Johnny-O," another story-song, captures a little bit of the magic of the hits. The rest of the album consists of pleasant and well-produced versions of common folk tunes that could have used some of the fire
Benton breathed into "The Boll Weevil Song."