Photo: Raúl Ranz / CC BY 2.0 (source: Wikimedia Commons)
My Take
George Benson is one of those rare musicians who genuinely succeeded at everything he touched, and I think that versatility is actually underappreciated. He came up as a straight-ahead jazz guitarist — a child prodigy from Pittsburgh playing ukulele at seven — and by the 1960s he was holding his own alongside the heavyweights. Then "Breezin'" dropped in 1976 and the man basically crossed over to mainstream pop stardom without abandoning his chops, which almost nobody pulls off cleanly. His scat-guitar unison lines are something you can't fake; they're technically wild and somehow still feel effortlessly cool. He's a Grammy winner many times over, has his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, and he's still out there performing well into his eighties. Legends do that.
1. Profile
- Name (English)
- George Benson
- Name (Japanese)
- ジョージ・ベンソン
- Reading
- じょーじ・べんそん
- Born
- March 22, 1943 (age 83)
- Zodiac / Chinese zodiac
- Aries / Goat
- Origin
- Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States
- Occupation
- guitarist / singer / songwriter / jazz musician / composer
2. Background
- High school
- Schenley High School
Awards & achievements
- star on Hollywood Walk of Fame
- NEA Jazz Masters
- 2021 New Jersey Hall of Fame
4. Personality
Motto
Private
6. Links
Frequently asked questions
When was George Benson born?
Born March 22, 1943 (age 83).
Where is George Benson from?
George Benson is from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States.
What does George Benson do?
George Benson works as guitarist, singer, songwriter, jazz musician, composer.
Guitarist — see all → · Singer — see all → · More people from United States →
7. About this entry
Tags
- Last updated
- 2026-06-02
Facts are limited to publicly available information up to 2024; non-public or unconfirmed items are omitted. English text is machine-assisted (facts translated by Sonnet, "My Take" written by Opus 4.8). The Japanese page is the source of record.