BLACK SOCIAL HISTORY : AFRICAN AMERICAN " BENNY SPELLMAN " WAS AN AMERICAN R&B SINGER BEST KNOWN FOR HIS 1962 HIT " LIPSTICK TRACES ON A CIGARETTE " : GOES INTO THE " HALL OF BLACK GENIUS "

                                                BLACK             SOCIAL              HISTORY                                            

                                                                                                                                                                                          Benny Spellman  December 11, 1931 – June 3, 2011  was an American R&B 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 Who and The Rolling Stones among others. "Lipstick Traces" reached #28 on the US Billboard Black singles chart and #80 on the Billboard Hot 100. Spellman variously worked with Allen Toussaint, Earl King ("Trick Bag"), Huey "Piano" Smith, Ernie K-Doe, Wilson Pickett, The Neville Brothers and The O'Jays.

Benjamin J. Spellman was born in Pensacola, Florida, United States. He sang backing vocals on Ernie K-Doe's number one hit record, "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.

In 1988, Collectables Records issued a retrospective album of 16 of Spellman's recordings from the 1960's. In 2009, Spellman was inducted into the Louisiana Music Hall of Fame.

Spellman died of respiratory failure in J

une 2011, at the age of 79.