Ticket 2 Ride

In the late 1970s, fans who were raised on classic rock, would find themselves listening to jazz guitarist George Benson. Was it the fluid guitar licks or choice of songs or jazz-pop production or his soulful voice?

All of the above. Benson had been around since the 1960s, and with each decade, he tackled an another musical genre and broadened his audience. My focus here is the 1970s and 1980s, his most commercial period, primarily because that’s what I know. I will touch base on his earlier and later periods, but won’t spend a lot of time there.

My first experience listening to George Benson was the album Breezin’ (1976) courtesy of fellow audiophile Tommy Johnson. I picked up many of my musical favorites from Tommy. Breezin’ received a lot of FM airplay, a triple platinum selling album that topped several song charts. “This Masquerade” was a Top Ten hit and recipient of the Grammy Award for Song of the Year. Written by Leon Russell, this and Bobby Womack’s “Breezin’”, helped introduce Benson to a much wider audience and upped his profile. An underrated vocalist at the time, he masters the cool-R&B vibe, sounding like Stevie Wonder on “This Masquerade.” Breezin’ was produced by Tommy LiPuma and engineered/mixed by Al Schmidt. Benson’s band deserves a lot of credit: Phil Upchurch (guitar/bass), and Ronnie Foster (keyboards), Jorge Dalto (keyboards), Stanley Banks (bass), Harvey Mason (drums) and Ralph McDonald (percussion). There’s not one weak song on this album.

Weekend in L.A. (1978) was recorded at The Roxie Theatre in West Hollywood to a very enthusiastic crowd. “On Broadway”, first introduced by the Drifters, became Benson’s go-to song. It’s his version of this Leiber/Stoller/Weil/Mann song that most people remember, and won Benson a Grammy Award for Best R&B Performance. The same musicians and production team as Breezin’ returned for this album. Interestingly, none of the songs from Breezin’ appear on this album.

Livin’ Inside Your Love
(1979) was the last of Benson’s albums before he went fully commercial as a pop/R&B superstar. This album is again produced by LiPuma and engineered/mixed by Schmidt, and was the first Benson album I owned. “Love Ballad”, was the featured single, a Top Twenty charting song, that is one of my favorites. This double album was ambitious, and probably disappointing because it did not sell like Breezin’. There are some great moments on this album, but it’s clear to me that being a jazz artist and also a pop/R&B vocalist were conflicting and not advancing Benson’s career.

Enter Quincy Jones.

The album, Give Me the Night (1980) would give Benson a tighter, funkier sound, and much more commercial. Benson now had radio-friendly, hit singles. Jones and engineer Bruce Swedien set Benson up to highlight his strengths, his vocal prowess, and selectively lead guitar fills. Jones brings in a great group of session players including Richard Tee, Lee Ritenour, George Duke, Herbie Hancock, Clare Fischer, Michael Boddicker, Greg Phillinganes, Louis Johnson, Abe Laboriel, Carlos Vegas, Jerry Hay, Patti Austin and Patrice Rushen. This album won four Grammys including three for Benson. Although the jazz elements were downplayed on this album, they weren’t forgotten. Unfortunately, Benson and Jones did not work together again.

Benson would not have a new studio album until 1983, so to keep fans happy and Benson on the radio, a greatest hits collection was released in 1981. A two-album vinyl set, this was a collection that reached back to the beginning, and included two, new tracks. “Turn Your Love Around” and “Never Give Up on a Good Thing” are excellent, uptempo songs crafted for Benson. Both were produced by songwriter/guitarist Jay Graydon and kept Benson on the radio.

In Your Eyes (1983) was produced by veteran hit-maker, Arif Mardin, and featured reasonable copies of Benson’s recent work. Benson was now a full time R&B vocalist, with his jazz chops nowhere in sight. “Lady Love Me (One More Time)”, “Love Will Come Again”and “Inside Love (So Personal)” are the best of the material on an otherwise weak album. The album,l is slick and well-crafted, but lacks originality and soul.

20/20 (1985) and subsequent albums delved further into the formulaic R&B-pop. Warner Bros. and his later labels spent a lot of money for the top writers, musicians and producers, but they churned out the same kind of syrupy ballads and thumping R&B mid-tempo retreads. Mostly it was Benson’s velvety vocals, not his guitar, or jazz stylings that were the focus.

Skipping ahead, Songs and Stories (2009) is very representative of his contemporary jazz-adult pop output: slick production, top session players, mix of ballads and synthesizer-driven songs. I imagine this formula was for the audience that loved Give Me the Night almost 30 years earlier. “Show Me the Love” and “Exotica” are the most uptempo numbers on the album and represent themselves well. Silky and smooth, but not challenging or groundbreaking, Benson had nothing to prove and wasn’t aiming to leave the sweet George Benson R&B groove that elevated him from jazz stylist to soul superstar.

To be fair, Benson has switched gears many times through the years. Benson’s collaboration include guitarist Earl Klugh, saxophonist Joe Farrell, vocalists Aretha Franklin and Al Jarreau; tributes to Nat King Cole, Count Basie, McCoy Tyner, Chuck Berry, Fats Domino, Miles Davis and others; and dives into jazz classics, cool jazz, Latin rock, contemporary R&B, show tunes, and pop classics.

Let’s backtrack a bit…

Benson has always had talent for interpreting material by other people. This is no reflection on him as a writer, but he is able to make material his own. The Other Side of Abbey Road (1970) is a case in point. Taking tracks from the Beatles’ album, Benson, along with such top musicians as Bob James and Herbie Hancock, create a funky, urban view of these songs.

White Rabbit (1972) is another pretty incredible effort. His early albums were produced by Creed Taylor. Surrounded by Hancock, Ron Carter, Earl Klugh, Herbert Laws, Billy Cobham, Airto Moreira and other jazz notables, the arrangements are by Don Sebesky. The best songs are the title song and “California Dreamin’” and “El Mar (The Sea)”, however this album feels light years from Breezin’, just four years into the future.

After years of grinding out respected, but modest selling jazz albums, Benson caught the right wave. The George Benson of 1976-1983 set the table for the rest of his career, placing bar impossibly high to duplicate originality, critical acclaim, chart success and Benson jazz strengths. His later catalog of course contains many gems and occasional display of the strengths of his talents, but not his best work.

A greatest hits or play list if I was making one would contain the following:

“Walk On By” 1968 Bacharach/David

“Windmills of Your Mind” 1969 Michel Legrand, Alan and Marilyn Bergman

“White Rabbit” 1972 Grace Slick. Recorded by the Jefferson Airplane.

“Take Five” Paul Desmond. Made famous by Dave Brubeck.

“Breezin’” 1976 Bobby Womack’s song gets an awesome, funky arrangement and Benson’s soulful guitar.

“Affirmation” (1976) José Feliciano. Another song from “Breezin’”

“This Masquerade” 1976 Leon Russell. A combination of soulful vocals, combined with his tasteful melodic guitar picking and scat vocals is exceptional. Jorge Dalto’s piano is exquisite, providing a lovely, romantic atmosphere.

“On Broadway” 1978 Leiber/Stoller/Weil/Mann, Grammy Award for Best R&B Performance. A perfect song for Benson, his measured guitar fills and scat vocals.

“Love Ballad” 1979 Skip Sarborough

“Love X Love” 1980 Rod Temperton 

“Give Me the Night” 1980 Rod Temperton

“What’s On Your Mind” 1980 Glen Ballard/Kerry Chater

“Turn Your Love Around” 1981 Jay Graydon, Bill Champlin, Steve Lukather. From the greatest hits collection, a new song included to give the album a boost and get airplay. Totally pop/R&B.

“Never Give Up On a Good Thing” 1981 Tom Shapiro, Michael Garvin. Also from the greatest hits, same formula as above.

“Lady Love Me (One More Time)” 1983 David Paich, James Newton Howard

“Beyond the Sea” (1985) An outstanding, big production, quality cover of the Charles Trenet, Albert Lasry composition.

“When Love Comes Calling” (1996) From an EP, the dance flavored song written by Brits Jean-Paul Maunick and Max Beesley allows Benson some jazz scatting and his fluid guitar fills.