Guitarist, singer-songwriter George Benson began his musical journey by enjoying a short singing career as a child radio performer as Little George Benson. This month, Hit Parade breaks down what Yacht Rock was and how it took over the charts four decades ago-from the perfectionism of “Peg,” to the bounce of “What a Fool Believes,” to the epic smoothness of “Africa. George Benson: A brief history of the Grammy Award-winner. Whatever you call it, this music really did command the charts at the turn of the ’80s: from Steely Dan to George Benson, Michael McDonald to Kenny Loggins, Toto to … Michael Jackson?! Believe it: Even Thriller is partially a Yacht Rock album. Now over fifty years later, Olaf de Shield and Fran Jaré have put together a tribute. The inventors of the genre name weren’t thinking about boats … well, unless the song was Christopher Cross’s “Sailing.” Yacht Rock was meant to signify deluxe, yuppified, “smooth” music suitable for playing on luxury nautical craft. George had recorded extensively with Lonnie Smith as well as organists Jack McDuff and Jimmy Smith, but by the time Benson’s GRAMMY award-winning album Breezin’ was released, the Hammond B3 organ had given way to the electric piano and synthesizer. About a quarter-century later, this sound was given a name: Yacht Rock. In the late ’70s and early ’80s, a scene and a sound cropped up on the West Coast: polished, perfectionist studio musicians who generated sleek, jazzy, R&B-flavored music. As of August 2021, it’s available for non-subscribers. own blues heroes, Jed Potts and Sandy Tweeddale, have been roaming.
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The post George Benson, Steve Perry and more pay tribute to late recording legend Al Schmitt appeared first on | All Things Guitar.This episode was released in August 2020 exclusively for Slate Plus listeners. nights with Jools Holland and George Benson. RIP to Al Schmitt, a true genius of sound. Posted by Tower of Power on Tuesday, April 27, 2021 We in Tower of Power send our heartfelt condolences to the wife and family of our beloved engineer and friend Al… Al was an industry giant and a great engineer who worked with some of the greatest artists ever, and I’m honored to have worked with him on my Gershwin album.Love & Mercy, Brian /5CdvdTgocr Other tributes, from Brian Wilson, Tower Of Power, Alan Parsons and more, below: One of My biggest heroes in my life passed last night at 91.Al Schmitt was an amazing recording Engineer and Mixer. That music track Al recorded is on my Traces LP.” “Al and Patrick gave me an ‘end of day’ stereo board mix and some weeks later at Patrick’s home, he and his composer assistant Jason Lee and I used that stereo music track to write and record October In New York. I was told Patrick had just written the composition and simply wanted to record it,” Perry wrote in a tweet. I asked if there were any words to these amazing strings I was listening to. “I was hanging at one of Al’s sessions, and I met composer Patrick Williams. Steve Perry, former frontman of Journey, credited Schmitt for helping one of his solo tunes, October In New York, come together. Gonna miss you bad Al Schmitt! Loved you since 1977 and there will never be another.Much Love and God Bless.Today sounds a lot less good. “Gonna miss you bad Al Schmitt! Loved you since 1977 and there will never be another,” he wrote. Toto guitarist Steve Lukather remembered Schmitt in a tweet earlier today (28 April). Posted by George Benson on Tuesday, April 27, 2021 I will forever be grateful for a lifetime of great memories and fantastic music we made together.
I will forever be grateful for a lifetime of great memories and fantastic music we made together.” On Facebook, the jazz guitar legend wrote, “The world lost a musical genius today. Schmitt, who won 10 Grammy Awards across his over-six-decade career, has engineered records for the likes of George Benson, Toto, Steely Dan, Henry Mancini, Ray Charles and Quincy Jones.īenson’s triple-platinum Breezin’ was recorded by Schmitt in 1976. Some of the biggest names in music have taken to social media to mourn the loss of legendary recording engineer Al Schmitt, who died on Monday (26 April). George Benson, Steve Perry and more pay tribute to late recording legend Al Schmitt