George Washington Benson (born March 22, 1943) is an American

jazz fusion Jazz fusion (also known as jazz rock, jazz-rock fusion, or simply fusion) is a popular music genre that developed in the late 1960s when musicians combined jazz harmony and improvisation with rock music, funk, and rhythm and blues. Electric gui ...

guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He began his professional career at the age of 19 as a

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. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

guitarist. A former

child prodigy A child prodigy is, technically, a child under the age of 10 who produces meaningful work in some domain at the level of an adult expert. The term is also applied more broadly to describe young people who are extraordinarily talented in some f ...

, Benson first came to prominence in the 1960s, playing soul jazz with

Jack McDuff Eugene McDuffy (September 17, 1926 – January 23, 2001), known professionally as "Brother" Jack McDuff or "Captain" Jack McDuff, was an American jazz organist and organ trio bandleader. He was most prominent during the hard bop and soul jazz ...

and others. He then launched a successful solo career, alternating between jazz, pop, R&B singing, and scat singing. His album '' Breezin''' was certified triple-

platinum Platinum is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol Pt and atomic number 78. It is a density, dense, malleable, ductility, ductile, highly unreactive, precious metal, precious, silverish-white transition metal. Its name origina ...

, hitting No. 1 on the ''Billboard'' album chart in 1976. His concerts were well attended through the 1980s, and he still has a large following. Benson has won ten

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious ...

s and has been honored with a

star A star is a luminous spheroid of plasma (physics), plasma held together by Self-gravitation, self-gravity. The List of nearest stars and brown dwarfs, nearest star to Earth is the Sun. Many other stars are visible to the naked eye at night sk ...

on the

Hollywood Walk of Fame The Hollywood Walk of Fame is a landmark which consists of 2,813 five-pointed terrazzo-and-brass stars embedded in the sidewalks along 15 blocks of Hollywood Boulevard and three blocks of Vine Street in the Hollywood, Los Angeles, Hollywood dist ...

Biography

Early career

Benson was born and raised in the Hill District of

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, second-most populous city in Pennsylvania (after Philadelphia) and the List of Un ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

. At the age of seven, he first played the

ukulele The ukulele ( ; ); also called a uke (informally), is a member of the lute (ancient guitar) family of instruments. The ukulele is of Portuguese origin and was popularized in Hawaii. The tone and volume of the instrument vary with size and con ...

in a corner drug store, for which he was paid a few dollars. At age eight, he played guitar 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", with

RCA Victor RCA Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Group Corporation. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside Columbia Records (its former longtime rival), Arista Records and Epic ...

in New York. Although one source indicates this record was released under the name "Little Georgie", the 45rpm label is printed with the name George Benson. The single was produced by Leroy Kirkland for RCA's rhythm and blues label, Groove Records. Benson attended Connelley Vocational High School on Bedford Avenue in the Hill District. However, he dropped out, choosing to focus on music. In 1987, Benson received an honorary degree from Pittsburgh Public Schools. As a youth, Benson learned how to play straight-ahead instrumental jazz during a relationship performing for several years with organist

. One of his many early guitar heroes was country-jazz guitarist

Hank Garland Walter Louis Garland (November 11, 1930 – December 27, 2004), known professionally as Hank Garland, was an American guitarist and songwriter. He started as a country musician, played rock and roll as it became popular in the 1950s, and release ...

. At the age of 21, he recorded his first album as leader, '' The New Boss Guitar of George Benson'' (1964), featuring McDuff. Benson's next recording was '' It's Uptown'' (1966) with the George Benson Quartet, including Lonnie Smith on organ and Ronnie Cuber on

baritone saxophone The baritone saxophone (sometimes abbreviated to "bari sax") is a member of the saxophone family of instruments, larger (and lower-pitched) than the tenor saxophone, but smaller (and higher-pitched) than the bass saxophone, bass. It is the lowe ...

. Benson followed it up with '' The George Benson Cookbook'' (1967), also with Lonnie Smith and Ronnie Cuber on baritone and drummer Marion Booker.

Miles Davis Miles Dewey Davis III (May 26, 1926September 28, 1991) was an American jazz trumpeter, bandleader, and composer. He is among the most influential and acclaimed figures in the history of jazz and 20th century music, 20th-century music. Davis ado ...

employed Benson in the mid-1960s, featuring his guitar on "Paraphernalia" on his 1968 Columbia release, '' Miles in the Sky'' before Benson went to

Verve Records Verve Records is an active American record label owned by Universal Music Group (UMG). Founded in 1956 by Norman Granz, the label is home to the world's largest jazz catalogue, which includes recordings by artists such as Ella Fitzgerald, Ca ...

1970s and 1980s

In 1970, Benson released '' The Other Side of Abbey Road'', featuring renditions of songs from

the Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...

' 1969 album ''

Abbey Road ''Abbey Road'' is the eleventh studio album by the English rock band the Beatles, released on 26 September 1969, by Apple Records. It is the last album the group recorded, although '' Let It Be'' (1970) was the last album completed before th ...

''. Benson then signed with Creed Taylor's jazz label CTI 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 the CTI All-Stars collective both touring and recording. As well as the collective's live albums, he also played and recorded on a number of the collective's members' individual albums, including

Freddie Hubbard Frederick Dewayne Hubbard (April 7, 1938 – December 29, 2008) was an American jazz trumpeter. He played bebop, hard bop, and post-bop styles from the early 1960s onwards. His unmistakable and influential tone contributed to new perspectives fo ...

and Stanley Turrentine, notably on the latter's acclaimed album ''

Sugar Sugar is the generic name for sweet-tasting, soluble carbohydrates, many of which are used in food. Simple sugars, also called monosaccharides, include glucose Glucose is a sugar with the Chemical formula#Molecular formula, molecul ...

'' (1970). Benson played on Hubbard's 1971 album '' First Light'', which won a Grammy Award for Best Jazz Performance by a Group at the 15th Annual Grammy Awards, as well as five other Hubbard studio albums. Benson released a version of "

White Rabbit The White Rabbit is a fictional and anthropomorphic character in Lewis Carroll's 1865 book ''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland''. He appears at the very beginning of the book, in chapter one, wearing a waistcoat, and muttering "Oh dear! Oh dea ...

" on the album of the same name in 1972, originally written and recorded by San Francisco rock group Great Society, and made famous by

Jefferson Airplane Jefferson Airplane was an American Rock music, rock band formed in San Francisco, California, in 1965. One of the pioneering bands of psychedelic rock, the group defined the San Francisco Sound and was the first from the San Francisco Bay Area, ...

. His 1974 release, '' Bad Benson'', climbed to the top spot in the ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

'' jazz chart, while the 1976 follow-ups, ''

Good King Bad ''Good King Bad'' is the thirteenth studio album by American guitarist George Benson featuring performances recorded in 1975 and released by CTI Records in 1976.Payne, DCTI Records discographyaccessed February 24, 2012 Reception The Allmusic r ...

'' (No. 51 Pop album) and '' Benson & Farrell'' (with Joe Farrell), both reached the jazz top-three sellers. By the mid-to-late 1970s, as he recorded for Warner Bros. Records, a whole new audience began to discover Benson. On 1976's '' Breezin''', Benson sang a lead vocal on the track " This Masquerade", a song written by Leon Russell. Benson's version (notable also for the lush, romantic piano intro and solo by

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 ...

), became a huge pop hit and won a

Grammy Award for Record of the Year The Grammy Award for Record of the Year is presented by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to "honor artistic achievement, technical proficiency and overall excellence in the recording industry, without reg ...

. (He had sung vocals infrequently on albums earlier in his career, notably his rendition of " Here Comes the Sun" on '' The Other Side of Abbey Road''.) The rest of the album is instrumental, including his rendition of the 1975 José Feliciano composition " Affirmation". In 1976, Benson embarked on a tour called George & Minnie Live! with soul singer Minnie 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 on

Stevie Wonder Stevland Hardaway Morris (; Judkins; born May 13, 1950), known professionally as Stevie Wonder, is an American and Ghanaian singer-songwriter, musician, and record producer. He is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the 20th c ...

's song " Another Star" from Wonder's album '' Songs in the Key of Life'' (1976). He also recorded the original version of " The Greatest Love of All" for the 1977

Muhammad Ali Muhammad Ali (; born Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr.; January 17, 1942 – June 3, 2016) was an American professional boxer and social activist. A global cultural icon, widely known by the nickname "The Greatest", he is often regarded as the gr ...

biopic, '' The Greatest'', which was later covered by

Whitney Houston Whitney Elizabeth Houston (August 9, 1963 – February 11, 2012) was an American singer, actress, film producer, model, and philanthropist. Commonly referred to as "Honorific nicknames in popular music, the Voice", she is List of awards and no ...

as "Greatest Love of All." During this time Benson recorded with the German conductor Claus Ogerman. The live take of " On Broadway," recorded a few months later from the 1978 release '' Weekend in L.A.'', also won a Grammy. George benson 1986 montreux 16 3

The Qwest record label (a subsidiary of Warner Bros., run by

Quincy Jones Quincy Delight Jones Jr. (March 14, 1933 – November 3, 2024) was an American record producer, composer, arranger, conductor, trumpeter, and bandleader. Over the course of his seven-decade career, he received List of awards and nominations re ...

) released Benson's breakthrough pop album '' Give Me the Night'', produced by Jones. Benson made it into the pop and R&B top ten with the song " Give Me the Night" (written by former Heatwave keyboardist

Rod Temperton Rodney Lynn Temperton (9 October 1949 – 25 September 2016) was an English musician, songwriter, and record producer. Temperton was the keyboardist and principal songwriter for the 1970s funk band Heatwave, writing songs including "Star of a ...

). 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 for

Nat King Cole Nathaniel Adams Coles (March 17, 1919 – February 15, 1965), known professionally as Nat King Cole, alternatively billed as Nat "King" Cole, was an American singer, jazz pianist, and actor. Cole's career as a jazz and Traditional pop, pop ...

Ray Charles Ray Charles Robinson (September 23, 1930 – June 10, 2004) was an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. He is regarded as one of the most iconic and influential musicians in history, and was often referred to by contemporaries as "The Gen ...

and

Donny Hathaway Donny Edward Hathaway (October 1, 1945 – January 13, 1979) was an American soul singer, keyboardist, songwriter, backing vocalist, and arranger who ''Rolling Stone'' described as a "soul legend". His most popular songs include " The Ghetto" ...

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 release '' Absolute Benson'', featuring a cover of one of Hathaway's most notable songs, " The Ghetto". Benson accumulated three other platinum LPs and two gold albums.

1990s to present

In 1990, Benson was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Music from the

Berklee College of Music Berklee College of Music () is a Private university, private music college in Boston, Boston, Massachusetts. It is the largest independent college of contemporary music in the world. Known for the study of jazz and modern Music of the United ...

. To commemorate the long relationship between Benson and Ibanez 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. In 2009, Benson was recognized by the National Endowment of the Arts as a Jazz Master, the United States highest honor in jazz. Benson performed at the 49th issue of the Ohrid Summer Festival in

North Macedonia North Macedonia, officially the Republic of North Macedonia, is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe. It shares land borders with Greece to the south, Albania to the west, Bulgaria to the east, Kosovo to the northwest and Serbia to the n ...

on July 25, 2009, and his tribute show to

, ''An Unforgettable Tribute to Nat King Cole'', as part of the Istanbul International Jazz Festival in Turkey on July 27. In late 2009, Benson finished recording an album entitled '' Songs and Stories'' with

Marcus Miller William Henry Marcus Miller Jr. (born June 14, 1959) is an American musician, songwriter, and record producer. He has worked with trumpeter Miles Davis, pianist Herbie Hancock, singer Luther Vandross, and saxophonists Wayne Shorter and David Sa ...

, producer John Burk, and session musicians David Paich and Steve Lukather. As part of the promotion for the album, Benson appeared or performed on ''

The Tavis Smiley Show Tavis Smiley (; born September 13, 1964) is an American talk show host and author. Smiley was born in Gulfport, Mississippi, and grew up in Bunker Hill, Indiana. After attending Indiana University, he worked during the late 1980s as an aide to ...

'', '' Jimmy Kimmel Live!'' and ''

Late Night with Jimmy Fallon ''Late Night with Jimmy Fallon'' is an American television talk show broadcast by NBC. The show was the third installment of the '' Late Night'' franchise. Hosted by Jimmy Fallon,

''. He performed at the 2011 Java Jazz Festival during March 4–6. On October 4, Benson released the album '' Guitar 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. In June 2013, Benson released his fourth album for Concord, '' Inspiration: A Tribute to Nat King Cole'', which included Wynton Marsalis, Idina Menzel, Till Brönner, and Judith Hill. In September, he returned to perform at Rock in Rio festival, in Rio de Janeiro, 35 years after his first performance at this festival, which was then the inaugural one. In July 2016, Benson participated as a mentor in the Sky Arts programme '' Guitar Star'' in the search for the UK and

Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 Counties of Ireland, counties of the island of Ireland, with a population of about 5.4 million. ...

's most talented guitarist. In May 2018, Benson was featured on the

Gorillaz Gorillaz are an English virtual band created by musician Damon Albarn and artist Jamie Hewlett in London, England in 1998. The band primarily consists of four fictional members: (vocals, keyboards), Murdoc Niccals (bass guitar), Noodle (gui ...

single "

Humility Humility is the quality of being humble. The Oxford Dictionary, in its 1998 edition, describes humility as a low self-regard and sense of unworthiness. However, humility involves having an accurate opinion of oneself and expressing oneself mode ...

". On July 12, 2018, it was announced that Benson had signed to Mascot Label Group. Benson stopped touring internationally at the start of 2024 due to ill health, cancelling a series of UK concerts that summer. Benson released a new album, ''Dreams Do Come True: When George Benson Meets Robert Farnon'' on July 19, 2024. The album was an abandoned project based on recordings with arranger and conductor Robert Farnon backed by the

London Symphony Orchestra The London Symphony Orchestra (LSO) is a British symphony orchestra based in London. Founded in 1904, the LSO is the oldest of London's orchestras, symphony orchestras. The LSO was created by a group of players who left Henry Wood's Queen's ...

from 1989 that were thought to have been lost. Upon location of the masters, Benson played them for his current label,

Rhino Entertainment Rhino Entertainment Company (formerly Rhino Records Inc.) is an American specialty record label and production company founded in 1978. It is currently the catalog division for Warner Music Group. Its current CEO is Mark Pinkus. History Founded ...

, who encouraged Benson to complete the project. Were the album released when it was recorded it would have predated most of the

wave In physics, mathematics, engineering, and related fields, a wave is a propagating dynamic disturbance (change from List of types of equilibrium, equilibrium) of one or more quantities. ''Periodic waves'' oscillate repeatedly about an equilibrium ...

of Great 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 called ''Breezin' with the Stars'' planned for January 2025.

Personal life

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 a Jehovah's Witness. Benson has been a resident of

Englewood, New Jersey Englewood is a city in Bergen County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Englewood was incorporated as a city by an act of the New Jersey Legislature on March 17, 1899, from portions of Ridgefield Township and the remaining portions of Engle ...

Discography

Awards

Grammy Awards

List of

s received by George Benson

References

External links

*
Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Benson, George 1943 births Living people 20th-century African-American male singers 20th-century American male singers 20th-century American singers 20th-century American guitarists 21st-century African-American male singers 21st-century American male singers 21st-century American guitarists African-American guitarists African-American jazz guitarists Jazz fusion guitarists American lead guitarists African-American songwriters American funk guitarists American jazz composers American jazz guitarists American jazz singers American Jehovah's Witnesses American male guitarists American male jazz composers American male singer-songwriters American rhythm and blues guitarists American soul guitarists Columbia Records artists Concord Records artists Converts to Jehovah's Witnesses CTI Records artists DownBeat Jazz Hall of Fame members Grammy Award winners Groove Records artists GRP Records artists Guitarists from New Jersey Musicians from Phoenix, Arizona Musicians from Pittsburgh Musicians from Englewood, New Jersey Prestige Records artists Schenley High School alumni Singer-songwriters from Arizona Singer-songwriters from Pennsylvania Smooth jazz guitarists Verve Records artists Warner Records artists NEA Jazz Masters