George Benson Quotes

• The greatest teacher is just going out and playing.

  George Benson

  Funny, Inspiring, Teacher

  22 Copy quote

• The melody is the most important thing that must stay in the minds of the people who listen to you. No matter how many notes you play, you can't let them forget what the song is.

  George Benson

  Song, Play, People

  35 Copy quote

• I have been doing music all my life so everyday when I get up I expect music will be part of it.

  George Benson

  Music, Everyday, Jazz

  "George Benson Interview From The Noise11.com Archives". Interview with Paul Cashmere, www.noise11.com. April 23, 2016.

  45 Copy quote

• Larry Carlton is an incredibly versatile guitarist who has been a major force for guitar for many years. He is easily recognizable - all you have to do is hear him once and from that point on you'll be a fan, just like me. It gives me great pleasure to extend congratulations to Larry on his 2011 George Benson Lifetime Achievement Award. Congratulations !

  George Benson

  Congratulations, Years, Awards

  47 Copy quote

• I spent a lot of time teaching myself theory and harmony so I could be free to express myself on the instrument.

  George Benson

  Teaching, Harmony, Theory

  "The Guitar Handbook". Book by Ralph Denyer, 1992.

  24 Copy quote

• The less one remembers about the day before, the more the new day will be unfettered by triviality.

  George Benson

  Memories, New Day, Remember

  20 Copy quote

• Never give up on a good thing, never give up, never give up!

  George Benson

  Giving Up, Giving, Never Giving Up

  23 Copy quote

• As my career has progressed, I've had the pleasure of playing with the baddest jazz cats on the planet. But that doesn't change my desire to entertain folks. That's really who I am.

  George Benson

  Change, Cat, Who I Am

  25 Copy quote

• Love songs are one of the great essences of life, the only thing thats lasting.

  George Benson

  Song, Essence, Essence Of Life

  21 Copy quote

• The first time I tried to sing along with my guitar, everybody in the studio booed. They all said it wouldn't work.

  George Benson

  Guitar, Firsts, Said

  14 Copy quote

• No matter what they take from me, they can't take away my dignity.

  George Benson

  Inspirational, Matter, Dignity

  Song: The Greatest Love of All

  8 Copy quote

• You might not feel like playing pretty all the time. Instead, you might want to play something nasty....you might want to play something out of context with the tune. It might be a note that creates so much tension it becomes unpleasant, but you want it to sound that way.

  George Benson

  Play, Sound, Tunes

  17 Copy quote

• The greatest guitar player in the world today for me is Paco de Lucia, who is actually Spanish.

  George Benson

  Player, Guitar, World

  Interview with Paul Cashmere, www.noise11.com. April 23, 2016.

  18 Copy quote

• Of course we've lost so many superstars who've made jazz what it is. We've lost so many musicians who created new things and changed the way we think about music and who took jazz to a new level. So jazz is suffering from that. But we still have a lot of incredible people playing jazz in the world. We have a lot of people leading the way.

  George Benson

  Change, Music, Thinking

  18 Copy quote

• I listen to other guitar players, yeah. It gives me new concepts and shows me where the instrument is going for the future and it is going some places. There are some musicians who are really putting out a good vibe with new theories. I try and keep up.

  George Benson

  Player, Guitar, Giving

  "George Benson Interview From The Noise11.com Archives". Interview with Paul Cashmere, www.noise11.com. April 23, 2016.

  13 Copy quote

• Lenny Breau dazzled me with his extraordinary guitar playing... I wish the world had the opportunity to experience his artistry.

  George Benson

  Music, Opportunity, Guitar

  15 Copy quote

• People who love jazz musicians love us when we play what we want to play and we're starving. But as soon as you commercialize your sound like Wes Montgomery did, the jazz fans and the critics are down on you!

  George Benson

  Music, Play, People

  4 Copy quote

• My whole career from the early 70s on has been mind-blowing. I didn't imagine in my life that I would ever be considered a guitar player first of all because I started off as a singer.

  George Benson

  Player, Guitar, Careers

  Interview with Edina Patsy, www.noise11.com. April 23, 2016.

  11 Copy quote

• I've had the pleasure of playing with the baddest Jazz cats on the planet.

  George Benson

  Music, Cat, Jazz

  4 Copy quote

• Guitar gigs were everywhere in the '50s, and I started diddling around so I could keep working. Playing honky-tonk, simple stuff. I took a few gigs with an organ band that put me out front.

  George Benson

  Simple, Guitar, Band

  6 Copy quote

• There is no finer guitarist than Kenny Burrell

  George Benson

  Music, Kenny, Guitarist

  5 Copy quote

• I like Simon Cowell - look at how many great artists have come out of the U.K. because of him.

  George Benson

  Artist, Looks, Great Art

  4 Copy quote

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