The AMERICAN SUITE, itself a hymn to a hidden culture, was evolved from several popular songs, tunes, and hymns that Ben transcribed and performed with his friend and partner, DON JUNG, in whose memory this work is dedicated.

The first part, RED AND YELLOW, BLACK AND WHITE, a contemporary sunday school song, is derived from the civil war tune, 'tramp, tramp, tramp'.

The second part is more familiar as 'Red River Valley'.

The third part, SIDE BY SIDE, was a show tune from an early musical. Ben relates that his grandmother listened daily to two young male singers who had a half-hour radio program broadcast locally. The 'theme song' was SIDE, BY SIDE. One day, with no notice or explanation, they were discontinued. Some years later, a gay friend divulged that the singers had been at a gay gathering and had been arrested in a police raid. Undaunted, they moved westward and sang for many years to come, side, by side.

The fourth part, THROW OUT THE LIFE LINE, was often played and sung in gay bars when Ben was a young man, often with changed words and meaning.

The fifth, STRANGERS IN THE NIGHT, was thought at one time by many gay men, to be 'their song'. Maybe it was, though Mr. Sinatra says, 'not true'. More often than not, there is more power in what people believe than in what is true in fact.

JOHN BROWN'S BODY, the fantasy finale, is notated in most published editions as a march with dotted rhythms. Ben has altered the meter to 6/8, changing the rhythm to quarter eighth, thus giving a lighter, more whimsical mood to the ancient english air.

In addition to the solo keyboard orchestration, Ben has arranged this work for two guitars, and also for woodwind quintet. In all three versions, he has striven to reflect the pieces as he heard them sung and played.