Ben Robert Moody II (born January 22, 1981 in
Little Rock, Arkansas, U.S.) is a singer-songwriter and instrumentalist, and is best known as the lead guitarist and co-founder of the multi-platinum Grammy Award winning rock band Evanescence from 1998 to October 2003. Since leaving Evanescence, Moody has collaborated with an array of performers, both vocally and as a writer.
Moody met Amy Lee in 1994 while at a youth camp, and soon began playing at local shops. Within a few years, the pair began selling EPs at local shows, culminating in their discovery by Wind-up Records and the release of their major label debut album, Fallen, in 2003. Moody abruptly left the band in October 2003 during their European tour, citing “creative differences”.
Beginning in 2004, Moody began collaborating with a variety of artists, working in multiple disciplines. That year, he co-wrote the track “Nobody’s Home” for Avril Lavigne’s second album, Under My Skin, and wrote and recorded the track “The End Has Come” with Jason Miller and Jason Jones for The Punisher Soundtrack. He then wrote with David Hodges, Kelly Clarkson and others for Clarkson’s second album, Breakaway, working on the songs “Because of You” and “Addicted”.In early 2005, Moody played lead guitar for the song “Forever in Our Hearts”, the ’song for tsunami relief’ made exclusively for iTunes. He collaborated with singer Anastacia on the song “Everything Burns”, which is featured on her album Pieces of a Dream and the Fantastic Four soundtrack. Moody then assisted Lindsay Lohan on her album A Little More Personal (Raw) and worked with Bo Bice on the song “My World” (a cover from SR-71) for his debut album The Real Thing.In April 2006, Moody began working on the debut album of
Billings, Montana singer-songwriter Hana Pestle. He co-produced and co-wrote alongside Michael “Fish” Herring, and contributed vocals and instrumentals to the album. He later produced the Godhead album The Shadow Line with Julian Beeston, and again collaborated with David Hodges on American Idol Chris Daughtry’s debut album Daughtry for the song “What About Now”.As of 2007, Moody has begun working with Céline Dion on her upcoming album, and is preparing for the release of his own album, titled Can’t Regret What You Don’t Remember.Aside from his music endeavors, Moody works with his television and film production company, Makeshift Films. He has also done some film work, such as his cameo as a zombie in Resident Evil: Apocalypse. Discography
Main article: Evanescence discography