Singer-Songwriter Who Lost Mom In Hit-And-Run Honors Her Through Music
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) – It's a milestone for an aspiring singer-songwriter from Long Island, who has recorded her first album.
But what's most unique is how Lindsay Benjamin is dedicating the music to her mother, struck down by a hit-and-run driver.
Even in rehearsal, Stony Brook native Benjamin belts it out like the rockstar she says she was born to be.
As TV 10/55's Richard Rose reported, Benjamin has been performing on stage since she was a child. But the senseless death of her mother at the hands of a hit-and-run driver has added a dimension to her music she never expected.
"It's still pretty fresh. Some days I'm OK, some days I'm not," she said.
A year and a half ago, her mother Karen was struck and killed while jogging. Just last month, Benjamin stood with family members of other hit-and-run victims to demand stiffer penalties.
Now, the 27-year-old's lifelong dream of producing an album features a tribute to her mother's memory filmed last summer by the Montauk Beach lighthouse.
The memorial song is titled "Not Feeling Anymore," and includes home video of her mother from when Benjamin was just a toddler.
"I wrote it at a time right after she died and I needed to vent and put my frustrations into a song," she said.
Benjamin's guitarist and producer said those powerful emotions can be clearly seen and felt in her vocals.
"It really has a unique texture to it, and kind of like grit and velvetness at the same time," Frank Laudicina said.
Two of the songs on Benjamin's albums are in tribute to her mother, but she said the rest is a mixture of original jazz and rock and roll that she produced with her band.
Hoping to increase awareness of the growing syndrome of hit-and-run drivers, Benjamin has posted the tribute to her mother on YouTube.
If you'd like to show support for the cause, Benjamin will debut her tribute album next Thursday night during a free concert at the Bowery Electric on Manhattan's Lower East Side.
