Collection, The Jacksons Story, the North American version of Number Ones (even though here it is the 1981 live version), some versions of King of Pop and Icon. A live recorded version was released on the 1981 album The Jacksons Live! and remixed versions have appeared on The Remix Suite, The Stripped Mixes and some versions of Immortal. After Jackson's death, singer Akon released a remix of the song with his own background vocals and Jackson's original vocal solo. Charts Weekly charts Year-end charts Critical reception 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" and he highlighted the track. 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". Sales Marti Webb version In 1985, the song became a top 10 hit again in the UK when covered by Marti Webb as a tribute to Ben Hardwick, a young liver transplant patient. This version reached #5 in the U.K. Singles Chart and was one of the singer's biggest hits. The song's lyricist, Don Black, was at the time Webb's manager. See also List of number-one singles in Australia during the 1970s List of Billboard Hot 100 number ones of 1972 References External links Film theme songs 1972 singles Michael Jackson songs Best Original Song Golden Globe winning songs Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles Number-one singles in Australia Songs with lyrics by Don Black (lyricist) Pop ballads Songs about mice and rats Motown singles 1972 songs Boyzone songs 1970s ballads Soul ballads Songs about friendship