George Benson | |
|---|---|
 Benson in 2011 | |
| Background information | |
| Born | George Washington Benson (1943-03-22)March 22, 1943 (age 82) Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Genres | |
| Occupations |
|
| Instruments |
|
| Years active | 1964–present[1][2] |
| Labels | |
| Website | georgebenson.com |
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
George Washington Benson (born March 22, 1943)[3] is an Americanjazz fusion guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He began his professional career at the age of 19 as ajazz guitarist.
A formerchild prodigy, Benson first came to prominence in the 1960s, playingsoul jazz withJack McDuff and others. He then launched a successful solo career, alternating between jazz, pop,R&B singing, andscat singing. His albumBreezin' was certified triple-platinum, hitting No. 1 on theBillboard album chart in 1976.[4] His concerts were well attended through the 1980s, and he still has a large following.[4] Benson has won tenGrammy Awards and has been honored with astar on theHollywood Walk of Fame.
Benson was born and raised in theHill District ofPittsburgh,Pennsylvania.[5][6] At the age of seven, he first played theukulele in a corner drug store, for which he was paid a few dollars. At age eight, he played guitar[5] in an unlicensed nightclub on Friday and Saturday nights, but the police soon closed the club down. At age nine, he started to record. Out of the four sides he cut, two were released: "She Makes Me Mad" backed with "It Should Have Been Me",[1] withRCA Victor in New York. Although one source indicates this record was released under the name "Little Georgie",[5] the 45rpm label is printed with the name George Benson. The single was produced byLeroy Kirkland for RCA's rhythm and blues label,Groove Records.[7]
Benson attended Connelley Vocational High School on Bedford Avenue in the Hill District. However, he dropped out, choosing to focus on music.[8][9] In 1987, Benson received an honorary degree fromPittsburgh Public Schools.[9]
As a youth, Benson learned how to play straight-ahead instrumental jazz during a relationship performing for several years with organistJack McDuff. One of his many early guitar heroes was country-jazz guitaristHank Garland.[10][11]
At the age of 21, he recorded his first album as leader,The New Boss Guitar of George Benson (1964), featuring McDuff.[3] Benson's next recording wasIt's Uptown (1966) with the George Benson Quartet, includingLonnie Smith on organ andRonnie Cuber onbaritone saxophone. Benson followed it up withThe George Benson Cookbook (1967), also with Lonnie Smith and Ronnie Cuber on baritone and drummer Marion Booker.[3]Miles Davis employed Benson in the mid-1960s, featuring his guitar on "Paraphernalia" on his 1968Columbia release,Miles in the Sky before Benson went toVerve Records.
In 1970, Benson releasedThe Other Side of Abbey Road, featuring renditions of songs fromthe Beatles' 1969 albumAbbey Road.Benson then signed withCreed Taylor's jazz labelCTI Records, where he recorded several albums, with jazz heavyweights guesting, to some success, mainly in the jazz field. In addition to his own albums and performances, during this time Benson was a core member of theCTI All-Stars collective both touring and recording.[12] As well as the collective's live albums, he also played and recorded on a number of the collective's members' individual albums, includingFreddie Hubbard andStanley Turrentine, notably on the latter's acclaimed albumSugar (1970).[13] Benson played on Hubbard's 1971 albumFirst Light, which won aGrammy Award for Best Jazz Performance by a Group at the15th Annual Grammy Awards,[14] as well as five other Hubbard studio albums.[15]
Benson released a version of "White Rabbit" on thealbum of the same name in 1972, originally written and recorded by San Francisco rock groupGreat Society, and made famous byJefferson Airplane.[3] His 1974 release,Bad Benson, climbed to the top spot in theBillboard jazz chart, while the 1976 follow-ups,Good King Bad (No. 51 Pop album) andBenson & Farrell (with Joe Farrell), both reached the jazz top-three sellers.
By the mid-to-late 1970s, as he recorded forWarner Bros. Records, a whole new audience began to discover Benson. On 1976'sBreezin', Benson sang a lead vocal on the track "This Masquerade", a song written byLeon Russell. Benson's version (notable also for the lush, romantic piano intro and solo byJorge Dalto), became a huge pop hit and won aGrammy Award for Record of the Year.[16] (He had sung vocals infrequently on albums earlier in his career, notably his rendition of "Here Comes the Sun" onThe Other Side of Abbey Road.[16]) The rest of the album is instrumental, including his rendition of the 1975José Feliciano composition "Affirmation".
In 1976, Benson embarked on a tour called George & Minnie Live! with soul singerMinnie Riperton; she had recently been diagnosed with terminal breast cancer and would die in 1979. In addition, Benson appeared as a guitarist and backup vocalist onStevie Wonder's song "Another Star" from Wonder's albumSongs in the Key of Life (1976).
He also recorded the original version of "The Greatest Love of All" for the 1977Muhammad Ali biopic,The Greatest,[16] which was later covered byWhitney Houston as "Greatest Love of All."[17] During this time Benson recorded with the German conductorClaus Ogerman.[18] The live take of "On Broadway," recorded a few months later from the 1978 releaseWeekend in L.A., also won a Grammy.[16][19]
The Qwest record label (a subsidiary of Warner Bros., run byQuincy Jones) released Benson's breakthrough pop albumGive Me the Night, produced by Jones.[16] Benson made it into the pop and R&B top ten with the song "Give Me the Night" (written by formerHeatwave keyboardistRod Temperton). He had many hit singles such as "Love All the Hurt Away", "Turn Your Love Around", "Inside Love", "Lady Love Me", "20/20", "Shiver", and "Kisses in the Moonlight". More importantly, Jones encouraged Benson to search his roots for further vocal inspiration, and he rediscovered his love forNat King Cole,Ray Charles andDonny Hathaway in the process, influencing a string of further vocal albums into the 1990s. Despite returning to his jazz and guitar playing most recently, this theme was reflected again much later in Benson's 2000 releaseAbsolute Benson, featuring a cover of one of Hathaway's most notable songs, "The Ghetto". Benson accumulated three other platinum LPs and two gold albums.[17]
In 1990, Benson was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Music from theBerklee College of Music.[20]
To commemorate the long relationship between Benson andIbanez and to celebrate 30 years of collaboration on the GB Signature Models, Ibanez created the GB30TH, a limited-edition model with a gold-foil finish inspired by the traditional Japanese Garahaku art form.[21]
_-_Play_It_Loud._MET_(2019-05-13_18-51-45_by_Eden%2c_Janine_and_Jim).jpg)
In 2009, Benson was recognized by theNational Endowment of the Arts as aJazz Master, the United States highest honor in jazz.[23] Benson performed at the 49th issue of theOhrid Summer Festival inNorth Macedonia on July 25, 2009, and his tribute show toNat King Cole,An Unforgettable Tribute to Nat King Cole, as part of theIstanbul International Jazz Festival in Turkey on July 27.
In late 2009, Benson finished recording an album entitledSongs and Stories withMarcus Miller, producer John Burk,[24] and session musiciansDavid Paich andSteve Lukather.[25] As part of the promotion for the album, Benson appeared or performed onThe Tavis Smiley Show,[26]Jimmy Kimmel Live![27] andLate Night with Jimmy Fallon.[28]
He performed at the 2011Java Jazz Festival during March 4–6. On October 4, Benson released the albumGuitar Man, revisiting his 1960s/early-1970s guitar-playing roots with a 12-song collection of covers of both jazz and pop standards produced by John Burk.[29]
In June 2013, Benson released his fourth album for Concord,Inspiration: A Tribute to Nat King Cole, which includedWynton Marsalis,Idina Menzel,Till Brönner, andJudith Hill. In September, he returned to perform atRock in Rio festival, in Rio de Janeiro, 35 years after his first performance at this festival, which was then the inaugural one.[30]
In July 2016, Benson participated as a mentor in theSky Arts programmeGuitar Star in the search for the UK andRepublic of Ireland's most talented guitarist.[31]
In May 2018, Benson was featured on theGorillaz single "Humility".[32]
On July 12, 2018, it was announced that Benson had signed toMascot Label Group.[33]
Benson stopped touring internationally at the start of 2024 due to ill health, cancelling a series of UK concerts that summer.[34]
Benson released a new album,Dreams Do Come True: When George Benson Meets Robert Farnon on July 19, 2024.[35][36] The album was an abandoned project based on recordings with arranger and conductorRobert Farnon backed by theLondon Symphony Orchestra from 1989 that were thought to have been lost. Upon location of the masters, Benson played them for his current label,Rhino Entertainment, who encouraged Benson to complete the project.[35] Were the album released when it was recorded it would have predated most of thewave ofGreat American Songbook albums released by popular artists at the end of the 20th century and well into the 21st century. Benson also announced plans for a four-night festival calledBreezin' with the Stars planned for January 2025.[35]
Benson has been married to Johnnie Lee since 1965 and has seven children. Benson describes his music as focusing more on love and romance, due to his commitment to his family and religious practices, with Benson being aJehovah's Witness.[37] Benson has been a resident ofEnglewood, New Jersey.[38]
List ofGrammy Awards and nominations received by George Benson.[39]
| Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1973 | White Rabbit | Best Jazz Performance By A Group | Nominated |
| 1977 | Theme From Good King Bad | Best R&B Instrumental Performance | Won |
| Breezin' | Best Pop Instrumental Performance | Won | |
| Album Of The Year | Nominated | ||
| This Masquerade | Record Of The Year | Won | |
| Best Male Pop Vocal Performance | Nominated | ||
| 1979 | On Broadway | Best Male R&B Vocal Performance | Won |
| 1980 | Livin' Inside Your Love | Best Jazz Fusion Performance, Vocal or Instrumental | Nominated |
| Love Ballad | Best Male R&B Vocal Performance | Nominated | |
| 1981 | Moody's Mood | Best Male Jazz Vocal Performance | Won |
| Off Broadway | Best R&B Instrumental Performance | Won | |
| Give Me the Night | Best Male R&B Vocal Performance | Won | |
| 1983 | Turn Your Love Around | Nominated | |
| 1984 | Being With You | Best Pop Instrumental Performance | Won |
| 1986 | Beyond The Sea | Best Male Jazz Vocal Performance | Nominated |
| 1988 | Collaboration | Best Jazz Fusion Performance, Vocal Or Instrumental | Nominated |
| 1990 | Tenderly | Best Male Jazz Vocal Performance | Nominated |
| 1991 | Big Boss Band | Nominated | |
| Basie's Bag | Best Jazz Instrumental Performance, Soloist | Nominated | |
| 1994 | Got To Be There | Best Pop Instrumental Performance | Nominated |
| 1998 | Song For My Brother | Nominated | |
| 2005 | Take You Out | Nominated | |
| 2007 | Mornin' | Won | |
| God Bless The Child | Best Traditional R&B Performance | Won | |
| Breezin' | Best R&B Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocals | Nominated |
Hill District George Benson.
