George Benson in 10 Songs

By the early 1960s, Benson was touring and recording with soul-jazz organist Brother Jack McDuff, developing his jazz vocabulary and getting international attention. A 20-year-old Benson is on fire and pretty much steals the show in this rare footage of Brother Jack McDuff's Quartet (also featuring Red Holloway and Joe Dukes) captured in Antibes, France in 1964.

As Benson's star rose throughout the 1960s, artists across the world took notice. In 1968, Miles Davis brought Benson into the studio with his Second Great Quintet to record on the song "Paraphernalia," which was released on the 1968 album Miles In The Sky. When we think of Miles’ great bands in the ‘70s and ‘80s, guitar is a fixture of his sound, but Miles In The Sky would be the very first time he featured guitar on a recording. It had to be Benson!

In the early '70s, Benson joined producer Creed Taylor’s CTI label, recording with Stanley Turrentine, Ron Carter and Freddie Hubbard. He released his own landmark recordings as well, like 1971’s Beyond the Blue Horizon, which featured his groovy interpretation of Miles Davis' iconic “So What.” For any jazz fan, CTI is a whole sonic world to journey into, and Benson sat at the center of this world.

After Breezin', Benson kept building on his success with a string of defining hits including his cover of The Drifers' “On Broadway." Released on his live recording Weekend In LA in 1978, Benson's signature cover earned him a GRAMMY award for Best R&B Vocal Performance. It's perhaps the best display of his signature scat-guitar dual improvisation.

While Benson has reached the pinnacle of popular success, at his core he is, and always has been, a jazz master. Anyone who doubts George Benson's jazz bona fides after his pop success in the ‘70s and ‘80s needs to check out this 1989 performance of Thelonious Monk's 'Round Midnight with McCoy Tyner and his trio.