Carla Benson

Carla L. Benson is an American vocalist, actress, and educator from Camden, New Jersey, whose career has spanned Broadway, studio recording, film, and live performance. Her parents, both educators, recognized her vocal talent early and arranged classical voice training for her under Dr. James Mumford.

Benson launched her professional career alongside her cousin Barbara J. Ingram and her childhood friend and college roommate Evette L. Benton. The trio became the in-house background vocalists for Philadelphia International Records, a tenure that lasted approximately eight years. At Sigma Sound Studios, mix master Tom Moulton gave them the nickname "The Sweethearts of Sigma." Their session work placed them on hundreds of recordings, among them Billy Paul's "Me and Mrs. Jones," The Spinners' "I'll Be Around," McFadden and Whitehead's "Ain't No Stoppin' Us Now," Evelyn "Champagne" King's "Shame," Lou Rawls' "You'll Never Find Another Love Like Mine," Patti LaBelle's "New Attitude" and "If Only You Knew," and the LaBelle and Michael McDonald duet "On My Own." Before Benson turned 21, she and Benton were listed among the Top 40 Women in the Music Business. Confidentiality agreements prevented the group from receiving credit on several major disco hits, though they contributed vocals for studio orchestras including MFSB, The Salsoul Orchestra, The Original Ritchie Family, and John Davis and the Monster Orchestra, as well as for artists such as Grace Jones, The Trammps, the Village People, Gloria Gaynor, Loleatta Holloway, and France Joli. John Travolta also enlisted their assistance following the success of Saturday Night Fever.

As disco declined and the Sweethearts disbanded, Benson took on additional work in her community and in theater. She produced, wrote, directed, and performed in a fundraising production called "Rhapsody in Black" for The Dr. Charles Henderson Auxiliary, the only African-American auxiliary of Cooper University Hospital in Camden. She also won lead roles in two productions of Ain't Misbehavin' at The Riverfront Dinner Theater in Philadelphia.

The Sweethearts later reunited to tour exclusively with Patti LaBelle, who renamed them "The Sweeties." During that period they recorded the soundtrack for Beverly Hills Cop and appeared in the music video "Stir It Up." LaBelle's album Winner in You, on which the Sweeties performed, became her first platinum record. LaBelle arranged for the Sweeties to receive their own platinum albums during a live on-air interview on People Are Talking with Richard Bey in 1987. Benson's Broadway credits date to this era, with appearances connected to Patti LaBelle and Patti LaBelle on Broadway: The 'Look to the Rainbow' Tour between 1984 and 1986.

In November 1988, Benson opened as a solo performer in the main room of the Claridge Hotel and Casino, with LaBelle in attendance. She spent the following two years performing at the Claridge Casino and at special events for Trump Casino. When casino lounges later closed, Benson performed for more than fifteen years with the wedding band The Franklin Alison Orchestra, based in Princeton, New Jersey.

Tony Award-winning playwright Joseph A. Walker engaged Benson for a series of musicals at Rutgers University, where she starred in productions of Dreamgirls, The Amen Corner, Buddy Bolden, and Raisin. Walker had begun writing a new musical specifically for her with the intention of bringing it to Broadway before his death. Walker's musical director, Tony Booker, was instrumental in securing Benson a five-year contract at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C., where she was featured in annual productions of Black Nativity under the direction of Mike Malone, founder of the Duke Ellington School of Performing Arts. She also appeared in a developing work written and directed by Tony Award-winning choreographer George Faison.

In 1996, Benson earned certification as a paralegal from the Technical Institute of New Jersey's Pennsauken Campus and subsequently worked as an executive legal secretary in arbitration for Judge Vogelson at the Hall of Justice in Camden.

In 2000, filmmaker Allan Slutsky recruited Benson to serve as Section Leader for background vocals on a documentary about Motown's studio musicians, known as the Funk Brothers. She traveled to Detroit with her cousin Johnny Ingram and her brother Keith Benson, who served as Associate Producer on the film. The project, Standing in the Shadows of Motown, earned three Grammy Awards. Benson subsequently toured internationally with the Funk Brothers for approximately three years. During this same period, author John A. Jackson interviewed her for his 2005 book A House on Fire: The Rise and Fall of Philadelphia Soul.

Barbara Ingram died unexpectedly in 1994, and Evette Benton passed away in 2021. Benson served as Vocal Music Director at Sword of the Spirit Christian Center in Camden for more than fifteen years and also worked as a substitute teacher in the Camden school system. She has released a single titled "Welcome" and a CD entitled You Should Be Here, and in November 2014 she directed and produced a Christmas video on YouTube titled "Voices of Camden, Featuring Carla Benson." In 2025, Benson self-published a memoir titled Journey Into Love, chronicling the lives of herself, Ingram, and Benton alongside their families and friends.