User:BMarshon/sandbox

Benjamin M. Garrett, Sr. (Benjamin Marshon Garrett) born 1976... Author of 'Man of God': Inprired By Actual Events, published April 15th 2019. Columnist for South Atlanta Magazine. African American music artist of 'Audience of One', a solo piano jazz album, in which his philosophy that a musician plays better when in solitude. Son of Jerry and Ruby Garrett. He is one of eight children born of his mother and father.

He learned to read before kindergarten from the help of one of his elder sisters, Asha Malea Garrett. Then his primary education was that of a christian school called 'New Creation' outside of Scott Air Force Base, Illinois. From there, his family moved to Lebanon, Illinois, where his family attended an Pentacostal church. It is said that when young Benjamin was 8 years old, his family attended a mid-week service where members of the church would have Bible Study. According to rumor, it was near the end of that service where young Benjamin was said to be 'in the Spirit' and began to prophesy with eyes close and tears running down his face. members claim that he then walked to the piano and started playing a song that was sung earlier in the service that evening. He would later undergo musical ear-training from a Local musician named Terrance McDonald and Lebanon Grade School's band teacher Nancy Ricther. He would later travel nationally with his church choir. At the age of 12, his mother arranged for him to have classical piano trying from Dr. Glen Friener, the Director of Arts at Illinois oldest College, McKendree University. By the time he entered high school, Benjamin enjoyed history, sports, and recreation. He was a member of the track and field team. His recreational activities at the school were chess, ping-pong, and archery. During his high school tenure, he was involved in gang related activities, and ended up dropping out. He later received his equivalency and attended a Southwestern Illinois College for music performance under Professor Jerry Bolen. By this time he was signed to an independent record label named High Resolution, where he wrote, produced, performed songs under a binding agreement. Shortly after this, Garrett married Rochelle Patrice Stevenson in September of 2001. They later introduced Benjamin Mar'Shon Garrett, Jr. to the world in July 2003.

Garrett's music was included in a package which was sent to HipHop icon MC Lyte who owned CCM Creative Music Management. Being interested in managing Garrett, Lyte flew to St. Louis to meet Garrett and offered High Resolution a glue agreement which would release Garrett from his then current contract, but High Resolution refused, thus allowing Garrett's current agreement to simply run out of time. Years later, Jennifer Mixon of J&J Theater in Mobile, Alabama hired Garrett to be the Music Director for Multi-Stellar Award winning gospel artist, Maurette Brown-Clark, where Clark was very impressed with Garrett's work ethic and professionalism.

Garrett was selected to be the organist in Tyler Perry's Madea's Witness Protection which later inspired Garrett to star in 'When The Church Doors Close', a stageplay about a pastor's family falling apart while keeping his church afloat.

Years later, Garrett was introduced to a former member of The Clutch and award winning songwriter, Balewa Muhammad. With Muhammad, Garrett has written, produced, and traveled as a Music Director for Jaheim and has produced collaborations with Angie Stone, Dave Hollister, and DeShawn Washington from The Voice.

Garrett was the Music Director for The Best Of Black Gospel tour (2015 - 2019), a musical production featuring American Idol's Erica Graddy, and Sunday Best's Chelsey Barnes.

In 2018, Gerrian Hawes, owner of South Atlanta Magazine was impressed with Garrett's historical content which he publicly posts on Facebook, and offered Garrett a job as a staff-writer. He published his first article 'Under The Sun' in September of 2018. In 2019 Garrett released his debut novel 'Man of God': Inspired By Actual Events to the public. In 2006, Garrett met LeVar Burton during a layover at a Charlotte airport. Garrett expresses his adulation to Burton for the child development program Reading Rainbow, and tells Burton about an idea for a movie called 'Man of God'. Burton tells Garrett, "Benjamin, that sounds like a good story. You should definitely write it in a book!" Garrett later published that story in his debut novel Man of God: Inspired By Actual Events.