George Washington Benson (born March 22, 1943) is an American jazz fusion 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, playing soul jazz with Jack McDuff 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, 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. At the age of seven, he first played the ukulele in a corner drug store, for which he was paid a few dollars. At age eight, he played guitar
Benson attended Connelley Vocational High School on Bedford Avenue in the Hill District. However, he dropped out, choosing to focus on music.
As a youth, Benson learned how to play straight-ahead instrumental jazz during a relationship performing for several years with organist Jack McDuff. One of his many early guitar heroes was country-jazz guitarist Hank Garland.
At the age of 21, he recorded his first album as leader, The New Boss Guitar of George Benson (1964), featuring McDuff. 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 and Stanley Turrentine, notably on the latter's acclaimed album Sugar (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" 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. (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 live take of "On Broadway," recorded a few months later from the 1978 release Weekend in L.A., also won a Grammy.
thumb|upright=0.9|Benson in Montreux 1986
The Qwest record label (a subsidiary of Warner Bros., run by Quincy Jones) released Benson's breakthrough pop album Give Me the Night, produced by Jones.
1990s to present
In 1990, Benson was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Music from the Berklee College of Music.
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.
thumb|A 1978 [[Ibanez George Benson signature guitar played by Joni Mitchell from at least 1979 to 1983]]
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 on July 25, 2009, and his tribute show to Nat King Cole, 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, 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, Jimmy Kimmel Live! and Late Night with 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's most talented guitarist.
In May 2018, Benson was featured on the Gorillaz single "Humility".
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 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. Benson has been a resident of Englewood, New Jersey.
Discography
Awards
Grammy Awards
List of Grammy Awards and nominations received by George Benson.
|-
|1973
|"White Rabbit"
|Best Jazz Performance By A Group
|
|-
|rowspan="5"|1977
|"Theme From Good King Bad"
|Best R&B Instrumental Performance
|
|-
|rowspan="2"|Breezin
|Best Pop Instrumental Performance
|
|-
|Album Of The Year
|
|-
|rowspan="2"|"This Masquerade"
|Record Of The Year
|
|-
|Best Male Pop Vocal Performance
|
|-
|1979
|"On Broadway"
|Best Male R&B Vocal Performance
|
|-
|rowspan="2"|1980
|"Livin' Inside Your Love"
|Best Jazz Fusion Performance, Vocal or Instrumental
|
|-
|"Love Ballad"
|Best Male R&B Vocal Performance
|
|-
|rowspan="3"|1981
|Moody's Mood
|Best Male Jazz Vocal Performance
|
|-
|"Off Broadway"
|Best R&B Instrumental Performance
|
|-
|"Give Me the Night"
|rowspan="2"|Best Male R&B Vocal Performance
|
|-
|1983
|"Turn Your Love Around"
|
|-
|1984
|"Being With You"
|Best Pop Instrumental Performance
|
|-
|1986
|"Beyond The Sea"
|Best Male Jazz Vocal Performance
|
|-
|1988
|Collaboration
|Best Jazz Fusion Performance, Vocal Or Instrumental
|
|-
|1990
|Tenderly
|rowspan="2"|Best Male Jazz Vocal Performance
|
|-
|rowspan="2"|1991
|Big Boss Band
|
|-
|"Basie's Bag"
|Best Jazz Instrumental Performance, Soloist
|
|-
|1994
|"Got To Be There"
|rowspan="4"|Best Pop Instrumental Performance
|
|-
|1998
|"Song For My Brother"
|
|-
|2005
|"Take You Out"
|
|-
|rowspan="3"|2007
|"Mornin'"
|
|-
|"God Bless The Child"
|Best Traditional R&B Performance
|
|-
|"Breezin'"
|Best R&B Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocals
|
References
External links
- Official website
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