And I believe I became an even better singer after that.
He said, "Everyone knows about your guitar playing, but I love your voice, too." That cancelled out all the bad press I was getting from people insisting I was a better instrumentalist than a singer. Sinatra paid me a special compliment that day that will stay with me forever. He called me over to sit beside him while we were recording, so I brought my guitar and stool over, but I was also sure to bring one of his best friends in life with me, the great guitarist Al Viola, for support. I happened to be one of those privileged musicians and, to my surprise, Mr. It was recorded in New York City at a gigantic studio with the most illustrious names in the music scene. Is My Lady" under the direction of Quincy Jones. I was awestruck like everyone else in the studio while recording Frank Sinatra's "L.A. What was it like getting that kind of advice from such a legendary vocalist? How was he to work with? You once told the New York Times that Frank Sinatra encouraged you to sing more on your records. He shared with me an idea he always had wanted to begin the song with, which is now the infamous orchestral opening sequence. I asked Tommy to invite Bobby Womack to the studio. People obviously liked the song, so I thought I should at least see if I could record it differently than them. Once for Sammy Gordon & the Hip Huggers, and then for Gabor. But I remembered something very important: it had been a hit two times before me. When Tommy LiPuma suggested I record it, being he was the original producer, I rejected him too. It was not a challenging piece of music, which I craved in that era. It never appealed to me as a piece of art, so I rejected it when people asked me to play it.
His version was very popular, especially at black radio, but it was simple. I knew Gabor Szabo, the Hungarian artist who first recorded it. How did you come across the song, and what led you to make it your own and the title track of your album? They were shocked, as they only thought of me as a guitar player until then.Ī lot of people don't realize that the "Breezin'" was originally written by Bobby Womack. When asked who was the artist, he said George Benson. He played "This Masquarade" fresh out of the studio to this group of hit-makers, and they all fell in love with it immediately. All the executives were in a high-level meeting in which he broke in. Tommy made a statement in the studio which turned out to be the truth: "We could be here all day tracking, and it will never get better than this." He immediately took the recording to Warner Bros. That one take was the only take ever recorded by me. I disagreed, but after some good old producer pushing, I agreed to do one take to see what happened (laughs). Tommy Lipuma swore people would love to hear me singing it. I liked the song because it was a spinoff of one of the most beloved jazz tunes called "Angel Eyes." Leon's version of it was accepted among pop lovers, and had some good success. What was the inspiration behind covering Leon Russell's "This Masquerade"? Wow, what a tremendous group of talented musicians! That's what made Breezin' great. And on bass, my brother Stanley Banks, who is still in my band today. Ronnie Foster and Jorge Dalto on keys livened things up. The great percussionist, Ralph McDonald, the best wah-wah guitar player, Phil Upchurdch, and the baddest drummer, Harry Mason. So, I hired a new batch of musicians for the studio. I also admired the instrumentation he was using. So, I started looking him up and listening to his music, and I liked his personality. I heard this popular cat, Peter Frampton, had talked about me in an article mentioning I was one of his favorite artists. One of the main reasons why Breezin' was important to me was the way in which I was influenced to record it. What do you recall of the mood and atmosphere in the recording studio while making the record? It was popular enough to take the #1 spot on the Billboard 200 away from "Frampton Comes Alive" for two weeks in a row that summer. debut, and the inspirations that made BREEZIN' such a timeless classic.īREEZIN' is one of the definitive albums of 1976. We recently had an opportunity to chat with George Benson about his auspicious Warner Bros. The sound of Benson's distinctively smooth, clean guitar tones on the title track and hit single, "This Masquerade," echoed across backyard BBQs, parks and beaches across America as the country celebrated its bicentennial. In the summer of 1976, George Benson's BREEZIN' album reigned atop the Billboard 200 for two weeks straight as the heat of July simmered into the early days of August.
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