"This Masquerade" is a song written by American singer and musician

Leon Russell Leon Russell (born Claude Russell Bridges; April 2, 1942 – November 13, 2016) was an American musician and songwriter who was involved with numerous bestselling records during his 60-year career that spanned multiple genres, including rock and ...

. It was originally recorded in 1972 by Russell for his album '' Carney'' and as a

B-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph records and cassettes; these terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or record compan ...

for the album's hit single " Tight Rope". The song was then covered on

Helen Reddy Helen Maxine Reddy (25 October 194129 September 2020) was an Australian-American singer, actress, television host, and activist. Born in Melbourne to a showbusiness family, Reddy started her career as an entertainer at age four. She sang on rad ...

's 1972 album, '' I Am Woman''. It was then recorded by American vocal duo, the Carpenters, for their 1973 album '' Now & Then'' and as the

of the Carpenters's single "

Please Mr. Postman "Please Mr. Postman" is a song written by Georgia Dobbins, William Garrett, Freddie Gorman, Brian Holland and Robert Bateman. It is the debut single by the Marvelettes for the Tamla (Motown) label, notable as the first Motown song to reach the ...

". Three years later, "This Masquerade" was recorded by American singer and guitarist

George Benson George Washington Benson (born March 22, 1943) is an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He began his professional career at the age of 19 as a jazz guitarist. A former child prodigy, Benson first came to prominence in the 1960s, play ...

, who released it on his 1976 album, '' Breezin'''. Benson's version, featuring

Jorge Dalto Jorge Dalto (July 8, 1948 – October 27, 1987) was a pop, jazz and Afro-Cuban music pianist from Argentina, and the former musical director and keyboardist (together with Ronnie Foster) for George Benson, contributing the acoustic piano intro a ...

on piano, was released as a single and became the first big hit of his career.

George Benson version

In 1976, "This Masquerade" was a top-ten pop and R&B hit for

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a m ...

guitarist A guitarist (or a guitar player) is a person who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of guitar family instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themsel ...

vocalist Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or withou ...

, who recorded it on his 1976 signature album '' Breezin'''. It was his first single release. Benson's rendition is the only charting version of the song in the U.S. It reached number 10 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and number three on the Hot Soul Singles chart. On the ''

Cash Box ''Cashbox'', also known as ''Cash Box'', was an American music industry trade magazine, originally published weekly from July 1942 to November 1996. Ten years after its dissolution, it was revived and continues as ''Cashbox Magazine'', an onli ...

'' Top 100 it reached #12. "This Masquerade" was most successful in Canada, where it reached number 8 on the Pop Singles chart as well as the Adult Contemporary chart. In 1977, Benson's version won a

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pr ...

for Record of the Year, while it was nominated for Song of the Year and for

Best Pop Vocal Performance, Male The Grammy Award for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance was a Grammy Award recognizing superior vocal performance by a male in the pop category, the first of which was presented in 1959. It was discontinued after the 2011 Grammy season. The award wen ...

Track listing

Music video

recorded an official music video for "This Masquerade" in 1976. In the video, the song has the same length as the song's single (3:17).

Chart history

Personnel

* Lead Vocal –

* Lead Guitar – George Benson * Conductor, Arranged By – Claus Ogerman * Piano oloist–

* Rhythm Guitar – Phil Upchurch * Bass – Stanley Banks * Drums –

Harvey Mason Harvey William Mason (born February 22, 1947) is an American jazz drummer, record producer, and member of the band Fourplay. Mason, who attended Berklee in the 1960s, received an Honorary Doctorate at Berklee's 2015 Commencement Ceremony ...

* Percussion – Ralph MacDonald * Producer – Tommy LiPuma

Trivia

's original version is part of the soundtrack for ''

The Exorcist ''The Exorcist'' is a 1973 American supernatural horror film directed by William Friedkin and written for the screen by William Peter Blatty, based on his 1971 The Exorcist (novel), novel of the same name. It stars Ellen Burstyn, Max von Sydow, ...

'' director William Friedkin's psychological thriller film '' Bug''. The '' Bug Soundtrack'' was released on May 22, 2007. It also appeared in the movie '' The Pursuit of Happyness''. * The Carpenters' version was also performed on TV with

Ella Fitzgerald Ella Jane Fitzgerald (April 25, 1917June 15, 1996) was an American jazz singer, sometimes referred to as the "First Lady of Song", "Queen of Jazz", and "Lady Ella". She was noted for her purity of tone, impeccable diction, phrasing, timing, in ...

; the medley in which it was sung was subsequently released on the compilation '' As Time Goes By''.

References

External links

*
Page of "This Masquerade" by George Benson
at

Discogs Discogs (short for discographies) is a database of information about audio recordings, including commercial releases, promotional releases, and bootleg or off-label releases. While the site was originally created with a goal of becoming the ...

Page of "This Masquerade" by George Benson
at 45cat {{Authority control 1972 songs 1976 singles Songs written by Leon Russell Leon Russell songs The Carpenters songs George Benson songs Warner Records singles Grammy Award for Record of the Year