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 gained recognition in the 1960s, performing soul jazz with Jack McDuff and others. He later began a successful solo career, performing in different styles including jazz, pop, R&B, and scat singing. His album Breezin' was certified as triple platinum and reached No. 1 on the Billboard album chart in 1976. His concerts were widely attended during the 1980s, and he continues to have a large fan base. Benson has received ten Grammy Awards and has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
Biography
George Benson was born and raised in the Hill District of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. At age seven, he played the ukulele in a corner drug store and earned a few dollars for his performance. At eight, he played guitar in an unlicensed nightclub on Friday and Saturday nights, but the police closed the club soon after. At nine, he began recording music. Out of the four recordings he made, two were released: "She Makes Me Mad" backed with "It Should Have Been Me," produced by RCA Victor in New York. One source says the record was released under the name "Little Georgie," but the 45 rpm label shows 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 left school to focus on music. In 1987, Benson received an honorary degree from Pittsburgh Public Schools.
As a young musician, Benson learned to play straight-ahead instrumental jazz during his time performing with organist Jack McDuff for several years. One of his early guitar influences was country-jazz guitarist Hank Garland.
At age 21, Benson recorded his first album as leader, The New Boss Guitar of George Benson (1964), which included Jack McDuff. His next recording was It's Uptown (1966) with the George Benson Quartet, featuring Lonnie Smith on organ and Ronnie Cuber on baritone saxophone. He followed it with The George Benson Cookbook (1967), also with Lonnie Smith and Ronnie Cuber on baritone saxophone and drummer Marion Booker. In the mid-1960s, Miles Davis hired Benson, and his guitar was featured on "Paraphernalia" from Davis's 1968 Columbia release, Miles in the Sky. Benson later signed with Verve Records.
In 1970, Benson released The Other Side of Abbey Road, which included renditions of songs from the Beatles' 1969 album Abbey Road. He then signed with Creed Taylor's jazz label CTI Records, where he recorded several albums with guest musicians, achieving success in the jazz field. During this time, Benson was a core member of the CTI All-Stars collective, performing and recording with other artists such as Freddie Hubbard and Stanley Turrentine. He 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 an album with the same name in 1972. The song was originally written and recorded by the San Francisco rock group Great Society and later made famous by Jefferson Airplane. His 1974 release, Bad Benson, reached the top of the Billboard jazz chart, while the 1976 follow-ups, Good King Bad (No. 51 Pop album) and Benson & Farrell (with Joe Farrell), both reached the top three in jazz sales.
By the mid-to-late 1970s, Benson recorded for Warner Bros. Records, which introduced his music to a new audience. On 1976's Breezin', Benson sang lead vocals on the track "This Masquerade," a song written by Leon Russell. His version, known for its romantic piano intro and solo by Jorge Dalto, became a major pop hit and won a Grammy Award for Record of the Year. The rest of the album includes instrumental versions of songs, such as José Feliciano's 1975 composition "Affirmation."
In 1976, Benson toured with soul singer Minnie Riperton, who had recently been diagnosed with terminal breast cancer and passed away in 1979. He also appeared as a guitarist and backup vocalist on Stevie Wonder's song "Another Star" from Wonder's album Songs in the Key of Life (1976).
Benson recorded the original version of "The Greatest Love of All" for the 1977 Muhammad Ali biopic The Greatest, which was later covered by Whitney Houston as "Greatest Love of All." During this time, Benson worked with German conductor Claus Ogerman. A live recording of "On Broadway" from the 1978 release Weekend in L.A. won a Grammy Award.
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. The album's song "Give Me the Night" (written by former Heatwave keyboardist Rod Temperton) reached the pop and R&B top ten. Benson had several hit singles, including "Love All the Hurt Away," "Turn Your Love Around," "Inside Love," "Lady Love Me," "20/20," "Shiver," and "Kisses in the Moonlight." Jones encouraged Benson to explore his musical roots, inspiring him to rediscover the styles of Nat King Cole, Ray Charles, and Donny Hathaway. This influenced a series of vocal albums in the 1990s. Benson later returned to jazz and guitar, a theme reflected in his 2000 release Absolute Benson, which included a cover of one of Hathaway's songs, "The Ghetto." Benson earned three platinum LPs and two gold albums.
In 1990, Benson was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Music from Berklee College of Music.
To celebrate 30 years of collaboration with Ibanez on the GB Signature Models, the company created the GB30TH, a limited-edition guitar with a gold-foil finish inspired by traditional Japanese Garahaku art.
In 2009, Benson was recognized by the National Endowment of the Arts as a Jazz Master, the highest honor in jazz in the United States. He performed at the 49th Ohrid Summer Festival in North Macedonia on July 25, 2009, and at a tribute show to Nat King Cole
Personal life
Benson has been married to Johnnie Lee since 1965 and has seven children. He says his music focuses on love and romance because he is committed to his family and religious beliefs. Benson is a member of Jehovah's Witnesses. He has lived in Englewood, New Jersey.