George Benson's "Give Me the Night" Album Story...
“Give Me the Night” is the legendary album of 1980, which is rightfully considered a bestseller and an important branch in the creative development of George Benson… The cult record was produced by Quincy Jones himself! Subsequently, he, as well as Jerry Hay (who also handled the arrangements), received a Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Arrangement (composition "Dinorah, Dinorah").
"Give Me the Night" topped the prestigious Top Soul Albums and Jazz Albums charts and peaked at number three on the Billboard Pop Albums chart. The title song instantly became a hit track that has not lost its relevance to this day ... The equally famous song "Moody's Mood" was recorded together with singer Patti Austin. Shortly after the release, the album went platinum in America, receiving 3 Grammy awards at once!
Where did it all begin? Idea, concept, recording...
The current generation of listeners may not be familiar with George Benson, but he is definitely one who contributed to the development of modern music ... Born March 22, 1943 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Benson began his career as a musician early: playing the ukulele (actually, as on the classical) in his formative years, he recorded his first song "She Makes Me Mad" at the tender age of ten ... As a teenager, George was taken under the wing of jazz legend Jack McDuff, who later helped Benson develop skills as a multi-instrumentalist and laid the foundation for a guy the basis for the excellent musician he eventually became! Benson made the jump to the lead with his debut album The New Boss Guitar (with McDuff) before working with jazz icons Lonnie Smith and Miles Davis on subsequent releases.
Signed to the jazz company CTI Records, Benson really achieved success, releasing several top-notch albums during the 1970s. Switching to Warner Bros. Records, Benson finally achieved worldwide success: in 1976 he released the album Breezin'! This album included the single "This Masquerade", which became a huge pop hit, earning Benson a Grammy Award! Later, Breezin' would become the first jazz album ever to go platinum and set the stage for Benson's ascent to the top of Olympus: it was this record that would give him the opportunity to work with A-List stars such as Minnie Riperton and Stevie Wonder...
But George Benson's career reached its peak after he contacted producer Quincy Jones' label Qwest, on which he released his landmark album Give Me The Night... and also played a big role in receiving three Grammy awards at once, including for the best male performance in the style of R&B ... George Benson recorded many albums in the following decades, but it was Give Me The Night that became the best moment in his career. And now, decades later, we look back at this album. And just look at the list of tracks from it to understand why this album is so important and beautiful...
List of tracks
Enjoy the songs from the album...
"Love X Love"
Give Me The Night instantly proves its worth with its opening song "Love X Love"... Everything from saxophones and flutes to keyboards and guitars is involved! This creates a noisy soundscape...
Off Broadway
"Moody's Mood"
George Benson gets more sensual in the dreamy track "Moody's Mood" - the legendary duet featuring Patti Austin! In fact, this duet is a rendition of the 1949 song "I'm in the Mood for Love" by jazz great James Moody (his version, in turn, is an arrangement of the 1935 ballad...) While countless artists have released interpretations of this old but good bestseller, Benson and Austin make an inspired effort to both counter the original and at the same time more than do justice to it...
"Give Me the Night"
This composition became the pearl of the whole album! Some songs transcend eras and are destined to live until the end of time… And “Give Me the Night” is definitely one of those songs. Written by Rod Temperton and produced by Quincy Jones, the track is brilliant from top to bottom and still rings in the listener's mind to this day... Benson's beautifully choreographed voice tells you to stay up and boogie-woogie all night long!
"What's on Your Mind"
The song was produced by Glen Ballard and Kenny Chater and arranged by Quincy Jones. The composition of the song is flawless, not to mention the heavy soundtrack: it is the perfect canvas for a soulful soloist who can paint over it with his strong and beautiful voice...
Dinorah, Dinorah
"Love Dance"
"Star of a Story (X)"
"Midnight Love Affair"
Benson sticks to the script with "Midnight Love Affair", a smoky tune that features a guitarist-vocalist playing a man in the shadows... The beat is filled with thin drums, guitar riffs, additional horns and synths... Benson sings passionately about love in the song. This is a fantastic composition that will surely sound in your head again and again ...
"Turn Out the Lamplight"
Success…
Needless to say, Give Me the Night was just a huge success? The album topped both the R&B and Jazz charts and climbed to number three on the Billboard 200! Along with the recording of this cult record, George Benson made a grand journey, exploring new forms of sound and, of course, surprising the audience! With the release of Give Me the Night, Benson demonstrated his dexterity, jumping between successes as a jazz guitarist and a pop star... It was this phenomenon of his that was reflected in the studio work: Give Me the Night completed the journey that began with the Breezin' album, tearing Benson off jazz roots and making him the leading jazz-pop artist in the world ... This album is also notable for the fact that he became the only record on which Benson and Quincy Jones worked together. Just imagine what these two could have done if their paths had crossed again... But! What their union left behind is really something special!
