George Benson

Off the Wall

Michael Jackson · 1979

Give Me the Night

George Benson · 1980

Jazz guitarist George BensonGeorge Bensonジョージ・ベンソン heard Michael JacksonMichael Jacksonマイケル・ジャクソン's Off the Wall (1979) and decided to join Quincy JonesQuincy Jonesクインシー・ジョーンズ's Qwest Records. Jones assembled the same team — Rod TempertonRod Tempertonロッド・テンパートン (songwriter), Paulinho Da CostaPaulinho Da Costaパウリーニョ・ダ・コスタ (percussion), Jerry Hey (horn arrangements) — to produce Benson's 'Give Me the Night' (1980), which hit #1 on both the jazz and soul charts. The same crew that made MJ's pop worked just as well for a jazz guitarist.

— Time Capsule: George Benson's Give Me the Night — Paste Magazine

July 12, 2008, North Sea Jazz Festival, Rotterdam. George BensonGeorge Bensonジョージ・ベンソン. A rare figure who achieved worldwide success as both a jazz guitarist and a vocalist/pop artist.

— NN North Sea Jazz Festival - George Benson 2008, 2008

George BensonGeorge Bensonジョージ・ベンソン began as a guitarist in the Wes Montgomery and Charlie Christian tradition. His CTI/Verve recordings from the 1960s preserve the work of a high-level hard-bop improviser before his pop crossover.

— George Benson, Pennsylvania Center for the Book (Penn State Libraries), 2010

Breezin'

George Benson · 1976

"This Masquerade" from 1976's Breezin' won Record of the Year at the 19th Annual Grammy Awards. The album itself won Best Pop Instrumental Performance for BensonGeorge Bensonジョージ・ベンソン and Best Engineered Album (Non-Classical) for Al Schmitt, and topped Billboard's pop, jazz, and R&B album charts simultaneously.

— Breezin', Wikipedia, 2024