He is perhaps best known for his songs "When God Ran" and "Nobody Knows Me Like You", and for producing the groundbreaking tween/teen music-driven sketch comedy and dance television series Roundhouse on Nickelodeon.
[9][10] "When God Ran" continues to be rerecorded by artists in many languages and musical genres, including adult contemporary, pop, rock, R&B, alternative, and Southern Gospel, making it to the top of the charts repeatedly.
[11][12][13] Hester's first Contemporary Christian music singles, "Jesus Came Into My Life" and "Be A Receiver", were breakthrough recordings for radio, blurring the lines between pop, rock, and inspirational music, and becoming the first contemporary pop rock songs to be universally accepted and widely played across all Christian Radio formats.
While attending Richfield High School, Hester was one of the founding members of the popular Texas pop rock band, The Morticians.
Headed now by guitarist and original founding member, Joe Hall, The Morticians continue to play concerts regularly.
[16]Hester was hired to play in the live stage band and orchestra for the long running musical, Texas, and continued with the show for two years.
While playing El Paso, Hester was asked to write two songs for a recording session by the group, The Sojourners.
Hester and his older brother, a music fan with a ten-year head start on him, grew up singing and listening to Buddy Holly songs.
During that period Maher was engineering Ike and Tina Turner’s “Proud Mary", The 5th Dimension's Age of Aquarius, Duke Ellington's last record, The Jackson 5, Chuck Berry, Sammy Davis Jr., Gladys Knight, Sly and the Family Stone, and others, and Maher brought Hester to many of those memorable recording sessions.
Hester taught music at a private music school, recorded Hester & Hilton demos with Maher at United Recording, and later, with Maher, formed a successful jingle advertising company, MusAd, which dominated the Las Vegas radio and television market for ten years.
Hester first became a Christian while attending an evangelical rally at a traveling tent crusade called Christ is the Answer.
The band was made up of Ron Tutt, James Burton, Glen Hardin and Jerry Scheff, as well as Larry Muhoberac and Joe Osborn.
While labels continued to explore music genres, with the release of his 1978 CCM debut album on Sparrow Records, which he recorded with his Las Vegas formed live concert band, Hester was able to emerge with an album that showcased his instantly recognizable pop rock vocals and songwriting style, and his, by now, finely tuned, spiritually driven themes.
Hester has since released a string of hit albums and chart topping songs, and performed thousands of concerts.
[26][27] Other top Benny Hester songs include "Nobody Knows Me Like You", "Christ The Solid Rock", "Rubber Canoe", "Come Back", "Goodbye Salty", "Legacy", "Whoever Touches You", "Streets Of Las Vegas", "Can I Get To You From Here", "No Man's Land", "Step By Step", "To Fill Our Empty Hearts", "Real Change", "Melody Man", "Hold Me", "Jesus Came Into My Life", "Be A Receiver", "Sure Of Your Call", "The Door", "Squeeze You", "We All Know He's Comin'", "Out Of The Natural", "Underground River", "Remember Me", "Caught Away", "You Weren't Meant To Live Your Life Alone".
[31] He also received three television Cable Ace Award nominations for best Variety Special or Series as Co-Executive Producer of Roundhouse.
Nickelodeon exercised its 50% approval right by blocking the first of four Roundhouse cast albums, which included five solo artist spinoff options.
Ross and Bonnett were subsequently promoted at Disney, along with others from the Disney Channel, and credited for Hannah Montana’s broad reaching success across TV, music, and live tours, the model first proposed and put into motion by Roundhouse producers at Nickelodeon, but blocked by the network during the time Ross and Bonnett were there.