[citation needed][4] "Ben" was written for Donny Osmond, but he was on tour at the time and unavailable for recording, so Black and Scharf offered the song to Jackson instead.

[8] AllMusic editor Lindsay Planer wrote about the success of the song: "Like much of the Motown empire at the time, the title track's multimedia exposure, coupled with strong crossover appeal, ensured that 'Ben' scored the artist his first Pop Singles' chart-topper".

[9] Rolling Stone editor Vince Aletti was not satisfied: "The title song is lovely, no doubt, and Michael packs it with a surprising amount of feeling (his delivery of 'They don't see you as I do/I wish they would try to' still tears me up) but it's all a little too thick for my tastes".

In 1985, the song became a top 10 hit again in the U.K. when covered by Marti Webb[26] as a tribute to Ben Hardwick, a young liver transplant patient.

[26] Crispin Glover performed a cover of the song, as well starred and directed a music video, to the 2003 remake of Willard.

The video featured R. Lee Ermey (who also appears in the movie) as a few male patrons, as well Lindsay Beamish and Jane Jensen among the female extras.

[28] Kipp Lennon of the band Venice performed a cover of the song on a 1991 episode of The Simpsons titled "Stark Raving Dad".