Benjamin Montmorency "Benmont" Tench III (born September 7, 1953) is an American musician and singer, and a founding member of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers.

[4] While on a college break, Tench went to a concert by Mudcrutch, Petty's band, with an opening act from nearby Jacksonville, Lynyrd Skynyrd.

[6] In addition to playing piano and Hammond organ with the Heartbreakers, Tench is also a session musician, having recorded with dozens of notable artists.

Tench has worked extensively with other musicians, playing keyboards on hundreds of songs on albums such as Stevie Nicks' Bella Donna, Bob Dylan's Shot of Love, along with Johnny Cash, Roy Orbison, Alanis Morissette, Eurythmics, Fiona Apple, U2, X, and he is featured on "Depending on You" on the Rolling Stones's album Hackney Diamonds, among many more.

In 2016, Tench played the Fleetwood Mac tribute at the Fonda Theater, in Los Angeles; he performed the song "Silver Springs" with Courtney Love.

Tench also appears on the bill for a tribute to the band Big Star that took place in Los Angeles, California, in April 2016 (together with members of R.E.M, Wilco and Semisonic).

[14][15] In March 2019, Tench played three shows with Phil Lesh & Friends at the Capitol Theatre in Port Chester, New York.

[17] In 2024, Neil McCormick of The Daily Telegraph ranked Tench as the third greatest keyboard player of all time, calling him "the King of the Hammond in the contemporary rock era".