Benson
The Autobiography
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4.8 • 4 Ratings
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- $13.99
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- $13.99
Publisher Description
Over the course of his fifty-year career, George Benson has performed for hundreds of millions of fans around the world, received ten Grammy Awards, and recorded with some of the most revered musicians of his era. In 2011, he earned a National Endowment of the Arts Jazz Masters Award. And he has finally decided to tell his story.
Benson: The Autobiography follows the musician's remarkable rise from the ghettos of Pittsburgh to the stages of Dubai, and everywhere in between. His tales of scuffling on the road with jazz legend Brother Jack McDuff, navigating his way through the recording studio with Miles Davis, and emerging as the first true (and truly successful) jazz/soul crossover artist will enthrall devotees of both music history and pop culture.
An open and truthful raconteur, Benson discusses his near-arrest for domestic abuse, the tragic illnesses that afflicted his family, the secret lives of his musical cohorts, and racism's effect on his life and art. His long-awaited book allows readers to meet one of the most beloved, prolific, and bestselling musicians of any era.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
With a foreword by Bill Cosby, this memoir by guitarist and singer Benson is more than a mere rag-to-riches saga, but that of a determined young musician driven by ambition and professionalism to succeed on his own terms. Benson, a self-taught artist influenced by legend Charlie Christian, made his debut at age seven in 1950 in his native Pittsburgh, becoming a draw in local nightclubs and recording four sides for RCA Victor before 15. When the guitarist finally gets with the big boys, he falls under the spell of Brother Jack McDuff, a rowdy, soulful organist with an eye for talent, before signing with Columbia Records, later with the CTI label. One of the more interesting sections concerns his role of sideman to Miles Davis, jazz's Prince of Darkness, and the brilliant chaos of recording with the master trumpeter. Benson exceeded all his expectations when he had a string of smash albums and popular road shows in the late 70s, produced by the legendary Quincy Jones: "Breezing," "On Broadway," and "Give Me The Night." This inspiring memoir of a self-made jazz star is a story of hard work, endurance, and resilience in a quest to reach the top.
