George Benson (born March 22, 1943, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania)[1] is an Grammy Award winning American musician, whose recording career began at the age of twenty-one as a jazz guitarist. He is also known as a pop, R&B, and scat singer. This one time child prodigy topped the Billboard 200 in 1976 with the triple-platinum album, Breezin'.[2] He was also a major live attraction in the UK during the 1980s.[2]
Benson uses a rest-stroke picking technique very similar to that of gypsy jazz players such as Django Reinhardt.
Contents [hide] 1 Biography 1.1 Early career 1.2 1970s and 1980s 1.3 Later and current career 2 Discography 2.1 Albums 2.2 Singles 3 References 4 External links
[edit] Biography [edit] Early career Benson was born and raised in the Hill District in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and attended the Connelly High School before dropping out. Benson got his first experience playing straight-ahead instrumental jazz in a several-year stint with organist Jack McDuff. At the age of 21, he recorded his first album as leader, The New Boss Guitar, featuring McDuff.[1]
Benson's next recording was It's Uptown with the George Benson Quartet with Lonnie Smith on organ and Ronnie Cuber on baritone sax.[1] Benson followed it up with The George Benson Cookbook, also with Lonnie Smith and Ronnie Cuber.[1]
Miles Davis employed Benson in the mid 1960s, featuring his guitar on "Paraphernalia" on his 1967 Columbia release, Miles in the Sky. Benson went to Verve Records afterwards. Then, Creed Taylor signed him up for his CTI label, where he recorded numerous albums with jazz heavyweights guesting to limited financial success. Benson also did a version of The Beatles's 1969 album Abbey Road called The Other Side of Abbey Road, also released in 1969, and a version of "White Rabbit", originally written and recorded by San Francisco rock group Jefferson Airplane, around this time.[1]
[edit] 1970s and 1980s George Benson "Breezin'" (1976)
Title track sample from George Benson's Breezin' album
Problems listening to this file? See media help. By the mid to late 1970s, as he recorded for Warner Bros. Records, a whole new audience began to discover Benson for the first time. With the 1976 release Breezin', Benson began to put his vocal on tracks such as "This Masquerade". He had used his vocals on songs earlier in his career, notably his rendition of "Here Comes the Sun" on the Other Side of Abbey Road album. He was part of psychedelic soul group Harlem Underground Band during the 1970s, whose song "Smokin' Cheeba Cheeba" was featured in Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas.[3]
Benson toured with soul singer, Minnie Riperton, in 1976. Riperton had been diagnosed with terminal breast cancer earlier that year.
"This Masquerade" won a Grammy Award for Record of the Year and the live take of "On Broadway", recorded two years later from the 1978 release Weekend in L.A., also won a Grammy. Benson made it into the pop and R&B top ten with the song "Give Me the Night", produced by Quincy Jones. On Warner Bros., Benson accumulated three other platinum LPs and two gold albums.[4]
He also recorded the original version of "Greatest Love of All" for the 1977 Muhammad Ali bio-pic, The Greatest, which was later recorded as a cover by Whitney Houston.[4]
During this time Benson recorded with the German conductor, Claus Ogerman.[5]
[edit] Later and current career George Benson - "This Masquerade"
Sample track from George Benson's Breezin' album (1976)
Problems listening to this file? See media help. In 1985 Benson and guitarist Chet Atkins went on the smooth jazz charts with their collaboration "Sunrise", one of two songs from the duo released on Atkins' disc Stay Tuned.
In 1992, Benson appeared on Jack McDuff's Colour Me Blue album.
George Benson toured with Al Jarreau in America, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand to promote their 2006 album Givin' It Up. He played during the second Monsoon Cup in Terengganu in 2006 and also Malaysia's 50th Merdeka celebration alongside Jarreau in 2007.[citation needed]
In May 2008, for the first time Benson took part in Mawazine Festival in Morocco.[citation needed] Benson continues to tour the world performing over 100 shows a year. Benson lives a private life in Arizona, where he is one of Jehovah's Witnesses.
2009 saw Benson back in the studio recording a new album, with David Paich and Steve Lukather of Toto.[6] Benson performed at the 49th issue of The Ohrid Summer Festival in Macedonia on July 25, 2009, and his Nat King Cole "Unforgettable" tour as part of the Istanbul International Jazz Festival in Turkey on July 27.
[edit] Discography [edit] Albums Year Album U.S. Pop U.S. R&B U.S. Jazz Label 1964 George Benson/Jack McDuff — — — Prestige The New Boss Guitar — — — 1965 Benson Burner — — — Columbia It's Uptown — — — 1966 The George Benson Cookbook — — — Willow Weep for Me — — — CBS 1967 Blue Benson — — #23 Verve 1968 Giblet Gravy — — — Goodies — — — 1969 Shape of Things to Come — #38 #11 A&M Tell It Like It Is #145 #43 #16 The Other Side of Abbey Road #125 #18 — 1970 I Got a Woman & Some Blues — — — 1971 Beyond the Blue Horizon — — #15 CTI 1972 White Rabbit — — #7 1973 Jazz on a Sunday Afternoon, Vol. 1 — — — Accord Jazz on a Sunday Afternoon, Vol. 2 — — — Witchcraft — — — Jazz Hour 1974 Body Talk — — #10 CTI 1975 Bad Benson #78 — #1 1976 Good King Bad #51 #18 #3 Benson & Farrell #100 #27 #3 Breezin' #1 #1 #1 Warner Bros. 1977 In Concert-Carnegie Hall #122 #43 #6 CTI In Flight #9 #2 #1 Warner Bros. 1978 Space Album — — — CTI Weekend in L. A. #5 #1 #1 Warner Bros. 1979 Livin' Inside Your Love #7 #4 #1 Take Five — — — CTI 1980 Cast Your Fate to the Wind — — — Give Me the Night #3 #1 #1 Warner Bros. 1981 GB — — — CTI The George Benson Collection #14 #5 #1 Warner Bros. 1983 In Your Eyes #27 #6 #1 Pacific Fire — — — CTI 1984 20/20 #45 #20 #3 Warner Bros. Live in Concert — — — Design 1985 The Electrifying George Benson — — — Affinity 1986 While the City Sleeps... #77 #21 #8 Warner Bros. 1987 Collaboration (with Earl Klugh) #59 #28 #1 1988 Twice the Love #76 #17 #10 1989 Tenderly #140 — #1 1990 Big Boss Band — — #3 1991 Midnight Moods — — — 1992 The Essence of George Benson — — — Columbia 1993 Love Remembers — #50 #1 Warner Bros. 1994 The Most Exciting New Guitarist on the Jazz Scene — — — Sony 1995 The Best of George Benson — — #14 Warner Bros. 1996 California Dreamin' — — — Sony Lil Darlin' — — — Thunderbolt That's Right #150 #33 #1 GRP 1998 Standing Together — #47 #1 Masquerade — — — Thunderbolt 1999 The Masquerade Is Over — — — Jazz Hour 2000 Live at Casa Caribe — — — Columbia River Absolute Benson #125 #24 #1 GRP 2001 All Blues — — — Bianco 2002 Blue Bossa — — — Prestige Elite After Hours — — — Universe 2003 Irreplaceable — — — GRP 2003 The Greatest Hits of All #138 #74 #3 Rhino 2004 Golden Legends Live — — — St. Clair 2005 Jazz After Hours with George Benson — — — Performax Best of George Benson Live — — #4 GRP 2006 Givin' It Up (with Al Jarreau) #58 #14 #1 Monster Music/Concord 2007 Live from Montreux — — — Immortal 2009 Songs And Stories #96 #15 #1 Monster Music/Concord
[edit] Singles Year Title U.S. Pop U.S. R&B UK Singles Chart[2] 1975 "Supership" — — #30 1976 "This Masquerade" #10 #3 — "Breezin'" #63 #55 — 1977 "Everything Must Change" — #34 — "Nature Boy" — — #26 "Gonna Love You More" #71 #41 — "The Greatest Love of All" #24 #2 #27 1978 "On Broadway" #7 #2 — "Lady Blue" — #39 — 1979 "Love Ballad" #18 #3 #29 "Unchained Melody" — #55 — 1980 "Give Me the Night" #4 #1 #7 "Love X Love" #61 #9 #10 1981 "Love All the Hurt Away" (with Aretha Franklin) #46 #6 — "Turn Out the Lamplight" — #33 — "What's On Your Mind" — — #45 "Turn Your Love Around" #5 #1 #29 1982 "Never Give Up on a Good Thing" #52 #16 #14 1983 "Inside Love (So Personal)" #43 #3 #57 "Lady Love Me (One More Time)" #30 #21 #11 "Feel Like Makin' Love" — — #28 "In Your Eyes" — — #7 1984 "Late At Night" — — — "20/20" #48 #15 #29 1985 "Beyond The Sea (La Mer)" — — #60 "I Just Wanna Hang Around You" #102 #24 — "New Day" — #87 — "No One Emotion" — — — 1986 "Kisses in the Moonlight" — #13 #60 "Shiver" — #16 #19 1987 "Teaser" — — #45 1988 "Let's Do it Again" — — — 1988 "Twice the Love" — #23 — 1998 "Standing Together" — #62 — 2004 "Cell Phone" — — — 2009 "Living in High Definition" — — —
