Benson was born and raised in a middle-class family in greater Philadelphia, the son of Estelle and Robert Benson.[4] He is of Jewish descent.[4] He began playing keyboards in rock bands at the age of 13.[2] He attended college at Drexel University and studied engineering. During his years at Drexel, Benson took a year off and studied composition at the Philadelphia College for Performing Arts. Benson graduated from Drexel with a degree in materials engineering. After graduation, he moved to Los Angeles and worked for Garrett AiResearch, where he worked on aircraft such as C-5s and F-18s.[5]
At the time of his graduation, he regularly played with his band in small Hollywood clubs, and when his band finally went into the studio with a producer, Benson was inspired to become a record producer.[6]
He returned to Drexel in 2010 to create and teach the advanced production class at Drexel University's Antoinette Westphal College of Media Arts and Design. In 2011, he established the Howard and Monica Benson Endowed Scholarship Fund for students enrolled at the Antoinette Westphal College of Media Arts and Design.[7] In 2015, he received an honorary degree from Drexel University.[8]
He now produces exclusively at West Valley Recording Studios, in Woodland Hills.[11]
Benson stated that he utilizes Auto-Tune in the studio and that those who do not are "nuts".[12] Benson prefers to record in what he calls a "parallel system," in which musicians will record their parts in isolated rooms.[6] After the recording of an album, Benson typically brings the track to his home studio, Sparky Dark Studios, where he personally adds to the arrangement.
In 2017 Howard Benson partnered with audio plug-in developer STL Tones to create the Howard Benson - Producer Kemper Pack[17] and in 2018 they released STL Tonality - Howard Benson Guitar Plug-In Suite.[18] In 2020 Howard partnered with Joey Sturgis Tones and released his signature vocals plugin, Howard Benson Vocals. In 2022, Howard partnered with Joey Sturgis Tones again and released his signature voice generation plug-in, the Howard Benson Vocal Multiplier.[19]
