Breezin' (Vinyl LP)

George Benson, Breezin

While Breezin' might have been legendary guitarist George Benson's fifteenth studio effort, it was Benson's first full-length for Warner Bros. Records. He announced his arrival with a decided splash, as the record was a smash that rocked the radio and charts across multiple genres. It was America's bicentennial, and the country was in a celebratory mood; the most popular album of the year was Peter Frampton's pioneering Frampton Comes Alive! George Benson's cool jazz-fusion sound crossed over pretty much everywhere, enough that Breezin' had enough muscle to wrestle away that #1 spot on the Billboard album chart for two weeks during the summer. The weeks of July 31 and August 7, to be exact.

The album's centerpiece single, a cover of Leon Russell's "This Masquerade," powered the album, soaring all the way to #10 on the Hot 100 for the week of August 28, 1976. It's a tune that's also been recorded by Helen Reddy (1972) and the Carpenters (1973). Of the various versions of the song that exist, only Benson's take hit the charts. The week "This Masquerade" reached #10, the #1 song in America was Elton John and Kiki Dee's "Don't Go Breakin' My Heart."

Breezin' is marked by another significant cover: the title track, written by none less than R&B legend, Bobby Womack. Womack worked with Hungarian jazz artist Gabor Szabo, who released the original version in 1971. Benson's version of the laid back classic climbed to #13 on the Adult Contemporary chart for the week of November 19, 1976.

The album was a huge hit with the Grammys, scoring nominations for a slew of awards, including Album of the Year. Benson took home the prizes for Best Pop Instrumental Performance and Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical. "This Masquerade" won the Grammy for Record of the Year. It also earned a nomination in the Song of the Year category.

Condition
Media: Mint (M)
Sleeve: Mint (M)

Our Grading Standards
We grade all vinyl using the Goldmine standard:
Mint (M): Perfect, unplayed condition.
Near Mint (NM): Nearly perfect with minimal signs of handling.
Very Good Plus (VG+): Shows light signs of play but plays with minimal surface noise. The most common grade for collectable vinyl.
Very Good (VG): Noticeable marks and some surface noise, but still an enjoyable listen.
Good (G): Heavy wear — for collectors only.

All records are graded visually and by play. Media and sleeve are graded separately.

About Peckham Soul

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We're a specialist vintage vinyl shop with roots in Peckham, London. From our Swedish store we ship across Europe and the EU. Every record in our collection is individually sourced, inspected, and graded. We stock soul, funk, jazz, reggae, punk, indie, psych and beyond — always original pressings, always honestly described.

Shipping & Returns
We ship carefully packed in rigid mailers to protect your record in transit. If a record arrives not as described, we'll sort it — no hassle.