Over the course of his fifty-year career; George Benson has performed for hundreds of millions of fans around the world; received ten Grammy Awards; and recorded with some of the most revered musicians of his era. In 2011; he earned a National Endowment of the Arts Jazz Masters Award. And he has finally decided to tell his story.Benson: The Autobiography follows the musicians remarkable rise from the ghettos of Pittsburgh to the stages of Dubai; and everywhere in between. His tales of scuffling on the road with jazz legend Brother Jack McDuff; navigating his way through the recording studio with Miles Davis; and emerging as the first true (and truly successful) jazz/soul crossover artist will enthrall devotees of both music history and pop culture.An open and truthful raconteur; Benson discusses his near-arrest for domestic abuse; the tragic illnesses that afflicted his family; the secret lives of his musical cohorts; and racisms effect on his life and art. His long-awaited book allows readers to meet one of the most beloved; prolific; and bestselling musicians of any era.
2014-01-01 2014-03-13File Name: B00IZAU7PK
Review
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful. Buy This Book!By Christopher J. BoyleFull disclosure: Irsquo;ve been a fan of Drew Friedmanrsquo;s singular talent since 1979. As an art school classmate; Drew was a standout. His unique artistic vision was already apparent then; the sophistication of his viewpoint self-evident. He was already miles ahead of the vast majority of his fellow students. After graduation; I continued to seek out Drewrsquo;s work; whether they be various comic strips in National Lampoon and Spy magazines; DVD artwork for a Plan 9 From Outer Space soundtrack or Golden Throats collection (actors and other celebrities odd interpretations of pop songs); Illustrations for a seminal Larry Fine biography or two autobiographical tomes penned by legendary broadcaster Howard Stern; not to mention the collections of Drewrsquo;s own work.Drew is one of the great Illustrators of our time. That is not hyperbole. Drew has pioneered what I consider to be a unique amalgam of portraiture and caricature. Touches and details that reward careful observers include poses; gestures and expressions that can be as informative as any biographical data; and a finely honed talent for placing his subjects in evocative settings that further informs our understanding of the subject.Flourishes that I really love here include the starlit Ohio sky beyond the window of young dreamers Joe Schuster and Jerry Siegel in the cover portrait; the happy (non) accident of placing one of the worlds finest calligraphers: Ira Schnapp; seated before his logo design for Worldrsquo;s Finest comics; Bob Bolling rather inexplicably sketching in a rainstorm; faithful dog at his side; Roy Krenkelrsquo;s commanding pose and penetrating gaze and the original Superman balloon floating high above 33rd Street one Thanksgiving morning; an extremely self-satisfied Jack Liebowitz in the foreground.I canrsquo;t recommend this book enough. For that matter; I canrsquo;t recommend ANY Drew Friedman book enoughhellip;collect lsquo;em all!4 of 4 people found the following review helpful. Best Art Book of 2016By john wendlerldquo;More Heroes of the Comicsrdquo; is a major accomplishment. And you donrsquo;t need to have any knowledge; or even interest about comic books; to fully appreciate this collection of portraits .This work is technically masterful; but is not photo-realism.The artwork delights visual motifs and rhythms created in a framework of the commonplace: the bent slat in a venetian blind echoed by a crooked tooth; a moribund plant leaf seen in the shadow of a shirt fold. Itrsquo;s not satirical; though there is a palpable sense of amusement and delight. An extraordinary nose is a source of wonder in itrsquo;s own right. Allow yourself time to linger on each page. Patricia Highsmithrsquo;s portrait at first seems impish; but becomes something disquieting. The look in her eye is predatory and slightly askew; theirs something fierce and feline about her hair and claw-like shirt collar; Her arms are like balustrades on brink of collapse; her bunched shirt sags like a weight pulling her downward. Victor Fox is like a bullying gangster in Coen Bros. flick; a bright pink sore on his lip pricks the balloon of his inflated ego. Friedman applies his skill and imagination into expressing the truth he sees in his subjects. Itrsquo;s clear how much he enjoys drawing these people. This is the best art book of 2016. A quick note regarding the digital editions: Ive seen both the Kindle and and Google Books versions of the book. While there is some increase in detail clarity in these editions; the print version has the best overall presentation of the portraits overall composition and is the one Id recommend.1 of 1 people found the following review helpful. Comics; Lamps and Shemp. Donrsquo;t ask; just buy it!By David BurdAlthough Drew Friedmanrsquo;s More Heroes of the Comics is ostensibly a collection of individual portraits; it can be seen as a portrait of the early comics industry as a whole. You wonrsquo;t find groups of artists; writers and editors laughing and enjoying the company of their talented co-workers. Instead; each portrait shows the solitary existence of comics creators in dark basements and lonely attics virtually chained to their drab brown drawing boards crafting tales of excitement and adventure in the least exciting environments possible. This makes it even more remarkable that these men (as well as a few women) were able to do what they did.You can also view the book as a catalog of classic drafting tables and artistrsquo;s lamps. In most of the amazingly well-rendered portraits you can see the furniture and lighting fixtures that comics artists preferred. The majority of the drafting tables are the reliable Hamilton model that was the standard for decades or the similar Keuffel Esser 1925 model. The lamps are about evenly divided between the Luxo model L-1 incandescent type (designed by Jac Jacobsen); or the Dazor model 2124 fluorescent lamp. For lovers of vintage desks and lamps; this book is a must-have.Of course; no four-color fan or comics historian should be without it either. If you have the first volume; buy the second. If you donrsquo;t already have it; has a package deal on both.While the focus is on the art there are a few paragraphs on each facing page with fascinating biographical information about each comics hero. Fans of Drewrsquo;s work will delight in finding mentions of Abe Vigoda; Jerry Lewis and Shemp that Drew has deftly integrated into the text. See if you can find them all. Itrsquo;s a fun game!
