Complete List Of Ben Folds Five Songs From A to Z

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Ben Folds Five emerged from Chapel Hill, North Carolina, in 1993 with a configuration that immediately separated them from the era’s guitar-heavy alternative-rock bands. Ben Folds handled piano and lead vocals, Robert Sledge played bass, and Darren Jessee played drums. Despite the “Five” in the name, the group was a trio, an early indication of the dry humor that would become part of its identity.

Their self-titled debut album arrived in 1995 and introduced a sound built around forceful piano, melodic bass, jazz-informed rhythms, and sharp storytelling. “Philosophy,” “Underground,” “Jackson Cannery,” and “The Last Polka” demonstrated how easily the trio could move between theatrical humor, frustration, melancholy, and explosive instrumental interplay.

Whatever and Ever Amen followed in 1997 and brought Ben Folds Five to a much larger audience. “Brick” became the band’s biggest mainstream radio success, while “Battle of Who Could Care Less,” “Kate,” “Song for the Dumped,” “One Angry Dwarf and 200 Solemn Faces,” and “Evaporated” revealed the breadth of an album that could be abrasive, funny, intimate, and deeply sad.

The band expanded its ambitions on The Unauthorized Biography of Reinhold Messner in 1999. Orchestral arrangements, connected themes, and more introspective writing gave songs including “Army,” “Don’t Change Your Plans,” “Mess,” “Narcolepsy,” and “Magic” a different emotional weight from the group’s earlier work.

Ben Folds Five separated in 2000. Folds began a successful solo career, Sledge worked with several groups, and Jessee formed Hotel Lights. The trio reunited in 2008 to perform The Unauthorized Biography of Reinhold Messner in its entirety at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

A more substantial return began in 2011, when Ben Folds Five recorded “House,” “Tell Me What I Did,” and “Stumblin’ Home Winter Blues” for The Best Imitation of Myself: A Retrospective. Those sessions led to the band’s fourth studio album, The Sound of the Life of the Mind, released in 2012. The album included “Erase Me,” “Do It Anyway,” “Sky High,” and the title track, and it became the trio’s first release to reach the Top 10 of the Billboard 200.

The band’s official catalog also extends beyond its four studio albums. Naked Baby Photos gathered early recordings, outtakes, and live performances, while The Complete Sessions at West 54th documented the trio’s stage chemistry. Soundtracks, benefit albums, international editions, remasters, archival collections, and live releases added alternate versions and songs that never appeared on the original studio albums.

In 2026, the band announced Ben Folds Five (30th Anniversary), pairing a newly remastered edition of the debut album with Shelved First Attempt, a previously unreleased early version of the record. The collection introduced alternate performances of familiar songs alongside archival versions of “Dick Holster,” “Emaline,” and “Eddie Walker.” The original trio also announced plans for its first run of performances together in more than 13 years.

Ben Folds Five’s lasting appeal comes from the tension inside the music. The arrangements could be meticulously constructed and still sound as if they might collapse, while the lyrics often placed wit beside embarrassment, anger, tenderness, and regret. That combination gave the trio a voice that remained recognizable across its early albums, reunion recordings, and expanding archival catalog.

Complete List Of Ben Folds Five Songs From A to Z

“Air” – Whatever and Ever Amen (Remastered Version) – 1997
“Air” – Godzilla Soundtrack – 1998
“Alice Childress” – Ben Folds Five – 1995
“Alice Childress” – KCRW Rare On Air, Volume 3 – 1997
“Alice Childress (Live on KCRW)” – Naked Baby Photos – 1998
“Alice Childress (Shelved First Attempt)” – Shelved First Attempt – 2026
“Amelia Bright” (Mitch Easter demo session) – The Best Imitation of Myself: A Retrospective – 2011
“Army” – The Unauthorized Biography of Reinhold Messner – 1999
“Away When You Were Here” – The Sound of the Life of the Mind – 2012
“Bad Idea” – The Truth About Cats & Dogs Soundtrack – 1996
“Bad Idea (Original Demo Version)” – Naked Baby Photos – 1998
“Barrytown” (Steely Dan cover) – Me, Myself & Irene Soundtrack – 2000
“Battle of Who Could Care Less” – Whatever and Ever Amen – 1997
“Best Imitation of Myself” – Ben Folds Five – 1995
“Birds” – The Unauthorized Biography of Reinhold Messner (Japanese Edition) – 1999
“Boxing” – Ben Folds Five – 1995
“Boxing (Live)” – Naked Baby Photos – 1998
“Boxing (Shelved First Attempt)” – Shelved First Attempt – 2026
“Brick” – Whatever and Ever Amen – 1997
“Brick” – Non Stop ’90s Rock – 2001
“Brick (3AM Dance Remix)” – MegaHits Dance Party, Volume 2 – 1998
“Cigarette” – Whatever and Ever Amen – 1997
“Dick Holster” – Naked Baby Photos – 1998
“Dick Holster (Shelved First Attempt)” – Shelved First Attempt – 2026
“Do It Anyway” – The Sound of the Life of the Mind – 2012
“Don’t Change Your Plans” – The Unauthorized Biography of Reinhold Messner – 1999
“Draw a Crowd” – The Sound of the Life of the Mind – 2012
“Eddie Walker” – Naked Baby Photos – 1998
“Eddie Walker (Shelved First Attempt)” – Shelved First Attempt – 2026
“Emaline” – Naked Baby Photos – 1998
“Emaline (Shelved First Attempt)” – Shelved First Attempt – 2026
“Erase Me” – The Sound of the Life of the Mind – 2012
“Evaporated” – Whatever and Ever Amen – 1997
“Evaporated (Shelved First Attempt)” – Shelved First Attempt – 2026
“Fair” – Whatever and Ever Amen – 1997
“For All the Pretty People” – Whatever and Ever Amen (Remastered Version) – 1997
“For Those of Y’all Who Wear Fanny Packs” – Naked Baby Photos – 1998
“Hold That Thought” – The Sound of the Life of the Mind – 2012
“Hospital Song” – The Unauthorized Biography of Reinhold Messner – 1999
“House” – The Best Imitation of Myself: A Retrospective – 2011
“It’s All Right with God” (Mitch Easter demo session) – The Best Imitation of Myself: A Retrospective – 2011
“Jackson Cannery” – Ben Folds Five – 1995
“Jackson Cannery (Original 7-Inch Version)” – Naked Baby Photos – 1998
“Jane” – The Unauthorized Biography of Reinhold Messner – 1999
“Julianne” – Ben Folds Five – 1995
“Julianne (Live)” – Naked Baby Photos – 1998
“Julianne (Shelved First Attempt)” – Shelved First Attempt – 2026
“Kate” – Whatever and Ever Amen – 1997
“Kate” – Sabrina, the Teenage Witch – The Album Soundtrack – 1998
“The Last Polka” – Ben Folds Five – 1995
“The Last Polka (Shelved First Attempt)” – Shelved First Attempt – 2026
“Leather Jacket” – No Boundaries: A Benefit for the Kosovar Refugees – 1999
“Lullabye” – The Unauthorized Biography of Reinhold Messner – 1999
“Magic” – The Unauthorized Biography of Reinhold Messner – 1999
“Mess” – The Unauthorized Biography of Reinhold Messner – 1999
“Michael Praytor, Five Years Later” – The Sound of the Life of the Mind – 2012
“Missing the War” – Whatever and Ever Amen – 1997
“Mitchell Lane” – Whatever and Ever Amen (Remastered Version) – 1997
“Narcolepsy” – The Unauthorized Biography of Reinhold Messner – 1999
“On Being Frank” – The Sound of the Life of the Mind – 2012
“One Angry Dwarf and 200 Solemn Faces” – Whatever and Ever Amen – 1997
“One Angry Dwarf and 200 Solemn Faces” – Triple J Hottest 100, Volume 5 – 1998
“Philosophy” – Ben Folds Five – 1995
“Philosophy (Live)” – Naked Baby Photos – 1998
“Philosophy (Shelved First Attempt)” – Shelved First Attempt – 2026
“Prince Charming” (Mitch Easter demo session) – The Best Imitation of Myself: A Retrospective – 2011
“Raindrops Keep Fallin’ On My Head” – Burt Bacharach: One Amazing Night – 1998
“Regrets” – The Unauthorized Biography of Reinhold Messner – 1999
“Satan Is My Master (Live)” – Naked Baby Photos – 1998
“Selfless, Cold, and Composed” – Whatever and Ever Amen – 1997
“She Don’t Use Jelly” (Flaming Lips cover) – Lounge-A-Palooza – 1997
“She Don’t Use Jelly” (Flaming Lips cover) – Whatever and Ever Amen (Remastered Version) – 1997
“Sky High” – The Sound of the Life of the Mind – 2012
“Smoke” – Whatever and Ever Amen – 1997
“Smoke” – Songbook – 2002
“Song for the Dumped” – Mr. Wrong Soundtrack – 1996
“Song for the Dumped” – Whatever and Ever Amen – 1997
“Song for the Dumped (金返せ)” – Whatever and Ever Amen (Remastered Version) – 1997
“Song for the Dumped (Live)” – Naked Baby Photos – 1998
“The Sound of the Life of the Mind” – The Sound of the Life of the Mind – 2012
“Sports & Wine” – Ben Folds Five – 1995
“Steven’s Last Night in Town” – Whatever and Ever Amen – 1997
“Stumblin’ Home Winter Blues” – The Best Imitation of Myself: A Retrospective – 2011
“Tell Me What I Did” – The Best Imitation of Myself: A Retrospective – 2011
“Thank You for Breaking My Heart” – The Sound of the Life of the Mind – 2012
“Theme from ‘Dr. Pyser’” – Whatever and Ever Amen (Remastered Version) – 1997
“Theme from ‘Dr. Pyser’” – Teleconned, Volume 1: We Want The Airwaves – 1998
“(Theme From) Dr. Pyser” – The Unauthorized Biography of Reinhold Messner (Australian Edition) – 1999
“Tom & Mary” – Naked Baby Photos – 1998
“Twin Falls (Live)” – Naked Baby Photos – 1998
“The Ultimate Sacrifice (Live)” – Naked Baby Photos – 1998
“Uncle Walter” – Ben Folds Five – 1995
“Uncle Walter (Shelved First Attempt)” – Shelved First Attempt – 2026
“Underground” – Ben Folds Five – 1995
“Underground (Live)” – Naked Baby Photos – 1998
“Underground (Shelved First Attempt)” – Shelved First Attempt – 2026
“Video” – Ben Folds Five – 1995
“Video Killed the Radio Star” – Whatever and Ever Amen (Remastered Version) – 1997
“Where’s Summer B.?” – Ben Folds Five – 1995
“Where’s Summer B.?” – Songs for Summer – 2000
“Your Most Valuable Possession” – The Unauthorized Biography of Reinhold Messner – 1999
“Your Redneck Past” – The Unauthorized Biography of Reinhold Messner – 1999