george benson Archives - ContemporaryJazz.com https://contemporaryjazz.com/category/george-benson Celebrating 30 Years Online! Tue, 19 May 2026 22:08:05 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=7.0 https://i0.wp.com/contemporaryjazz.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/cropped-ContemporaryJazz-mascot-logo-favicon-512x512-1.png?fit=32%2C32&ssl=1 george benson Archives - ContemporaryJazz.com https://contemporaryjazz.com/category/george-benson 32 32 124780169 Stanley Jordan Tops the Top Jazz Albums – August 3, 1985 https://contemporaryjazz.com/stanley-jordan-tops-jazz-albums-august-3-1985 https://contemporaryjazz.com/stanley-jordan-tops-jazz-albums-august-3-1985#respond Mon, 28 Jul 2025 00:50:14 +0000 https://contemporaryjazz.com/?p=4619 ContemporaryJazz.com is looking back at the Billboard Jazz Chart from 40 years ago. This was published before the magazine split the chart into Top Contemporary Jazz Albums and Top Jazz Albums. There was quite a mix of artists on this chart: Sade to Maynard Ferguson to Yellowjackets to George Winston. Magic Touch, the debut recording […]

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]]> ContemporaryJazz.com is looking back at the Billboard Jazz Chart from 40 years ago. This was published before the magazine split the chart into Top Contemporary Jazz Albums and Top Jazz Albums. There was quite a mix of artists on this chart: Sade to Maynard Ferguson to Yellowjackets to George Winston.

Magic Touch, the debut recording from Stanley Jordan was spending its 11th week at the top of the chart on August 3, 1985. It would dominate the chart for a record 51 weeks. It was one of those rare instrumental recordings that went outside of jazz circles – Magic Touch was certified gold in the U.S., marking over 500,000 sales! It introduced the world to Jordan’s groundbreaking two-handed tapping technique, allowing him to perform melody, chords, and bass lines simultaneously on a single instrument.

The album features inventive takes on jazz standards like “’Round Midnight” and “A Child Is Born,” fresh interpretations of pop songs like “Eleanor Rigby” and “The Lady in My Life,” and Jordan’s own original compositions—all performed with dazzling precision and musicality.

Here are the top 15 recordings from the August 3, 1985 Billboard Top Jazz Chart:

Top Jazz Albums
Week of August 3, 1985

# Artist Album
1 Stanley Jordan Magic Touch ▶
2 George Howard Dancing in the Sun ▶
3 Dave Grusin & Lee Ritenour Harlequin ▶
4 Miles Davis You’re Under Arrest ▶
5 Rare Silk American Eyes ▶
6 Earl Klugh Soda Fountain Shuffle ▶
7 George Benson 20/20 ▶
8 Spyro Gyra Alternating Currents ▶
9 Andreas Vollenweider White Winds ▶
10 Michael Franks Skin Dive ▶
11 David Sanborn Straight to the Heart ▶
12 Sade Diamond Life ▶
13 Kenny G Gravity ▶
14 Maynard Ferguson Live from San Francisco ▶
15 Wynton Marsalis Hot House Flowers ▶

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]]> https://contemporaryjazz.com/stanley-jordan-tops-jazz-albums-august-3-1985/feed 0 4619 George Benson in session https://contemporaryjazz.com/george-benson-in-session https://contemporaryjazz.com/george-benson-in-session#comments Sun, 07 Aug 2016 02:36:41 +0000 http://www.contemporaryjazz.com/?p=2577 I’m pruning my large CD library, archiving some discs and preparing to give away or sell others. I’m grabbing information off of those enhanced discs which were seemingly popular around 2000. I uploaded this clip of George Benson, Joe Sample and Christian McBride from a session from Absolute Benson, a good George Benson recording from […]

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]]> I’m pruning my large CD library, archiving some discs and preparing to give away or sell others. I’m grabbing information off of those enhanced discs which were seemingly popular around 2000. I uploaded this clip of George Benson, Joe Sample and Christian McBride from a session from Absolute Benson, a good George Benson recording from the year 2000.

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]]> https://contemporaryjazz.com/george-benson-in-session/feed 1 2577 George Benson Autobiography https://contemporaryjazz.com/george-benson-autobiography https://contemporaryjazz.com/george-benson-autobiography#respond Tue, 17 Jun 2014 14:19:04 +0000 http://www.contemporaryjazz.com/?p=2374 I’m looking forward to reading this. Labeling Benson as the “first true (and truly successful) jazz/soul crossover artist” does make you think. Usually, I’m skeptical of definitive statements like that but I can’t find a better example when you factor in the chart success he had. I wish some sort of box set or ultimate […]

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]]> Benson The George Benson AutobiographyI’m looking forward to reading this. Labeling Benson as the “first true (and truly successful) jazz/soul crossover artist” does make you think. Usually, I’m skeptical of definitive statements like that but I can’t find a better example when you factor in the chart success he had. I wish some sort of box set or ultimate collection of his music would come out at the same time as the book.

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