Benson's next recording was It's Uptown with the George Benson Quartet with Lonnie Smith on organ and Ronnie Cuber on baritone sax. This album showcases Benson's talent in constructing swinging bebop lines at blistering tempos. Benson followed it up with "The George Benson Cookbook," also with Lonnie Smith and Ronnie Cuber.
One of his major hits is the song "This Masquerade", which is included in the top-selling album Breezin' . This album represents a shift to more commercially oriented music which brought Benson a wider audience but alienated some jazz fans. Other singles that have made the Billboard Hot 100 charts include "On Broadway" (1978), "Love Ballad" (1979), "Give Me The Night" (1980) and "Turn Your Love Around" (1982).
Benson continues to play outstanding jazz guitar, as evidenced on recordings such as Jimmy Smith's Off the Top, Benson's own live album Par Excellence, and Tenderly, on which Benson is accompanied by McCoy Tyner on piano.
For his contribution to the recording industry, George Benson has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 7055 Hollywood Blvd.
Lately
George Benson Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
With no vivid reason here to find
Yet the thought of losing you's been hanging 'round my mind
Far more frequently you're wearing perfume
With you say no special place to go
But when I ask will you be coming back soon
You don't know, never know
Well, I'm a man of many wishes
But what I really feel my eyes won't let me hide
'Cause they always start to cry
'Cause this time could mean goodbye
Lately I've been staring in the mirror
Very slowly picking me apart
Trying to tell myself I have no reason with your heart
Just the other night while you were sleeping
I vaguely heard you whisper someone's name
But when I ask you of the thoughts your keeping
You just say nothing's changed
Well, I'm a man of many wishes
I hope my premonition misses
But what I really feel my eyes won't let me hide
'Cause they always start to cry
'Cause this time could mean goodbye, goodbye
Oh, I'm a man of many wishes
I hope my premonition misses
But what I really feel my eyes won't let me hide
'Cause they always start to cry
'Cause this time could mean goodbye
The lyrics of George Benson's song Lately are about a man who is having a strange feeling that something isn't right in his relationship. He is worried that he may lose his partner and this thought is occupying his mind more frequently. He has noticed that his partner has been wearing perfume more often than usual and when he asks if she will be coming back soon, she doesn't give a sure answer. The man is trying to tell himself that he has no reason to be worried about losing his partner, but he can't deny the feelings that are starting to well up inside of him.
The second verse of the song is about the man searching for signs of what might be going wrong in his relationship. He is staring in the mirror, trying to pick apart his own faults and reassure himself that he is not the reason why his partner might be pulling away. During one night when she is sleeping, he hears her whisper someone's name, but when he confronts her about it, she says that nothing has changed. The song ends with the man admitting that he is a man of many wishes, and although he hopes his premonition is wrong, he can't hide the fact that he is starting to cry because he believes that this time could mean goodbye.
One interpretation of the song is that it is about the fear of losing someone you love. The man is plagued with doubts and fears that his partner might be slipping away and he is haunted by the thought of being alone. Another interpretation is that the song is about the difficulty of communication in relationships. The woman is unwilling or unable to communicate her true feelings to the man, leaving him feeling confused and uncertain about the future of their relationship.
Line by Line Meaning
Lately, I have had the strangest feeling
I've been feeling really weird lately
With no vivid reason here to find
I can't pinpoint exactly why I feel this way
Yet the thought of losing you's been hanging 'round my mind
But I can't help but think about losing you
Far more frequently you're wearing perfume
I've noticed you've been wearing perfume more often than usual
With you say no special place to go
Even though you say you're not going anywhere special
But when I ask will you be coming back soon
But when I ask if you'll be back soon
You don't know, never know
You never seem to know the answer
Well, I'm a man of many wishes
I'm someone who has a lot of hopes and dreams
Hope my premonition misses
I hope my gut feeling is wrong
But what I really feel my eyes won't let me hide
But deep down I know I can't hide my true emotions
'Cause they always start to cry
Because I always start to cry
'Cause this time could mean goodbye
Because this could be the end of our relationship
Lately I've been staring in the mirror
I've been spending a lot of time analyzing myself in the mirror
Very slowly picking me apart
I've been breaking myself down bit by bit
Trying to tell myself I have no reason with your heart
Trying to convince myself that there's no problem with our relationship
Just the other night while you were sleeping
The other night, while you were asleep
I vaguely heard you whisper someone's name
I heard you say someone's name, but couldn't hear it clearly
But when I ask you of the thoughts your keeping
But when I ask you what you're thinking
You just say nothing's changed
You just say that everything is fine
Oh, I'm a man of many wishes
As I said earlier, I have many dreams and aspirations
I hope my premonition misses
I really hope I'm wrong about this feeling I have
But what I really feel my eyes won't let me hide
But my true emotions are hard to keep hidden
'Cause they always start to cry
My emotions always end up making me cry
'Cause this time could mean goodbye
Because this feeling could lead to the end of our relationship
Lyrics © DistroKid, BMG Rights Management, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Peermusic Publishing, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Stevie Wonder
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Vi Blu
This performance is out of this world. So sweet, so clean, so pure, so intense. It's fantastic.
Bo Reed
What a guitarist he is..every note clean and has a point..there has never been anyone better. A once in a lifetime player for us all to enjoy. He has plenty of music out there that i never get tired of listening to. Just an outright gift from God. You can never run of superlatives describing this gifted man, thanks so much George i started playing years ago listening to your recordings it so inspired me and im sure countless other guitarist have taken inspiration as well. Pure mastery personified......thanks.
Bo Reed
@GizmetDora Lopez Agreed.
GizmetDora Lopez
@Bo Reed You're absolutely right! And to think God gave him a double blessing --- one of the most gorgeous tenor voice of recent times! I am not a general lover of the guitar, but GB has several guitar renditions I absolutely love, consequently I pretty much have all of his music --- vocal and instrumental, and two DVDs [concerts] as well.
Gustavo L1ma
Ótimo comentário 🇧🇷🇧🇷
Bo Reed
@Norman Spurgeon Freaking awesome! 👍
Norman Spurgeon
I heard George with Earl Klugh,at the Jazz Workshop in '74,in Boston. I was 10 feet off the ground for a week. Just a giant in the room.
Eni Akpodiete
A guitar virtuoso being backed being backed by no less a piano legend than Joe Sample in the performance of a song written by yet another legend can only deliver sheer and sublime listening pleasure.
Juliana Burgos
Joe Sample...idem idem!
Evaldo Dias
Que coisa linda Deus o abençoe George Bensom