In the third (of four) entries saluting the milestone birthdays of music artists I greatly appreciate, it turns out March 22, 2018 marks the 75th birthday of a R&B and jazz musician and guitarist.
George Benson was born March 22, 1943 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He has been married to his wife, Johnnie Lee, since 1965 and with whom he has seven children. He is a Jehovah’s Witness.
His career dating back to the 1950s, and a former child prodigy, Benson’s most popular period came during the second half of the 1970s and through the first half of the 1980s. (The below section of music has the first five from the 1970s and the last five from the 1980s.) “This Masquerade” won Benson the 1976 Grammy in the top category Record of the Year. (Written by Leon Russell, who was nominated for Song of the Year, “This Masquerade” came from Breezin’, whose title track is featured below, which was nominated for Album of Year.) From that point forward, Benson won nine more Grammys for numerous recordings so commonly associated with him: “On Broadway” (1978; so memorably featured at the beginning of Bob Fosse’s 1979 film All That Jazz), his 1980 album Give Me the Night (with the title track and the LP produced by, as saluted here last week, Quincy Jones), and more modest successes from his albums like In Your Eyes (1983) and 20/20 (1984).
For more on George Benson: Wikipedia — George Benson.
In the meantime, here ten five personal favorites (of mine) from the music of George Benson:
Here are two videos: The first is part of a 1996 interview with Larry King, then with CNN, talking with George Benson about keeping jazz fresh. The second is a brief clip, from 2016, of George Benson in a short thank-you speech as he is honored with the Jazz Walk of Fame from Kansas City, Missouri. (I originally had an interview clip of Tavis Smiley and George Benson. That was taken down at YouTube.)
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