Eurovision Daily News Update
16 August 2023






Born Efrén Eugene Benita in 1951 on the Caribbean island of Aruba, he was fluent in English, Dutch, Spanish and Papiamento, the creole language of the island. As a drummer and a backing vocalist, he worked with The Drifters, Tom Jones, Billy Ocean, José Feliciano and The Platters.
Benton's daughter Sissi participated in Eesti Laul in 2021 with the song "Time", attempting to follow in her father's footsteps and represent Estonia in the Eurovision Song Contest 2021. She qualified to the superfinal, where she placed second.