Inspiration: A Tribute to Nat King Cole

Inspiration: A Tribute to Nat King Cole
Inspiration: A Tribute to Nat King Cole
Studio album by George Benson
Released	June 4, 2013
Genre	Jazz
Length	40:50
Label	Concord Jazz
Producer	John Burk, Randy Waldman
George Benson chronology
Singles from Inspiration: A Tribute to Nat King Cole
	"Unforgettable (feat. Wynton Marsalis)"; Released: 2013; "When I Fall in Love (feat. Idina Menzel)"; Released: 2014;

Inspiration: A Tribute to Nat King Cole is a studio album by George Benson. The album was released by Concord Jazz on June 4, 2013.^[1] It peaked at #89 on the Billboard album chart.

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	^[2]
USA Today	^[3]

Inspiration: A Tribute to Nat King Cole has received very positive reception from music critics. Steve Leggett of Allmusic affirmed that "it all adds up to a sweet and very impressive album, full of warmth and heart, and it swings where it should."^[2] At USA Today, Steve Jones praised it for "his smooth vocals [that] make this homage unforgettable."^[3]

Formats

Vinyl LP
Regular CD
Best Buy Edition CD (incl. 2 Bonus Tracks)
Japanese Edition CD (incl. Bonus Track)
QVC Edition (Regular CD + 6-track Bonus Disc)
HD Tracks (High Definition Music Downloads)
iTunes (incl. Bonus Track)

Track listing

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Mona Lisa" (as Lil' Georgie Benson)		0:57
2.	"Just One of Those Things"	Cole Porter	2:42
3.	"Unforgettable"	Irving Gordon	5:05
4.	"Walkin' My Baby"	Roy Turk, Fred E. Ahlert	2:43
5.	"When I Fall in Love"	Victor Young, Edward Heyman	4:04
6.	"Route 66"	Bobby Troup	3:50
7.	"Nature Boy"	Eden Ahbez	2:40
8.	"Ballerina"	Carl Sigman, Bob Russell	2:46
9.	"Smile"	Charlie Chaplin, John Turner, Geoffrey Parsons	3:22
10.	"Straighten Up and Fly Right"	Nat King Cole, Irving Mills	3:06
11.	"Too Young"	Sidney Lippman, Sylvia Dee	3:28
12.	"I'm Gonna Sit Right Down and Write Myself a Letter"	Joe Young, Fred E. Ahlert	3:05
13.	"Mona Lisa"	Jay Livingston, Ray Evans	3:02

Best Buy bonus tracks
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
14.	"That Sunday, That Summer"	George David Weiss, Joe Sherman	3:02
15.	"Ramblin' Rose"	Noel Sherman, Joe Sherman	2:46

Japanese bonus track
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
14.	"Almost Like Being in Love"	Alan Jay Lerner, Frederick Loewe	2:15

iTunes bonus track
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
14.	"Mona Lisa (Calypso Version)"	Jay Livingston, Ray Evans	2:45

Personnel

George Benson – vocals, guitar
Lil' Georgie Benson (age 8) – vocals (1), ukulele (1)
Tim May – guitar
Mike O'Neill – baritone guitar (15), banjo (15)
Randy Waldman – acoustic piano, conductor, arrangements (2, 3, 6, 9, 10, 14, 15), string arrangements (4), backing vocals (10)
Chuck Berghofer – bass
Gregg Field – drums
Michael Fisher – percussion
Sheila E. – percussion (3)
Wynton Marsalis – trumpet (3)
Till Brönner – trumpet (9)
Nelson Riddle – original arrangements (2, 7, 8, 11, 12, 13), horn arrangements (4)
Idina Menzel – vocals (5)
Alvin Chea – backing vocals (9, 10, 14, 15)
Janey Clewer – backing vocals (9, 10, 14, 15)
Don Shelton – backing vocals (9, 10)
Chris Papastephanou – backing vocals (10)
Judith Hill – vocals (11)

Henry Mancini Institute Orchestra

Shelton Berg – dean of music
Terence Blanchard – artistic director
Scott Flavin – artistic coordinator
Stephen Guerra – managing director

Brass and Woodwinds

Cassandra Eisenreich – flute
Neil Carson and Kevin McKeown – alto saxophone
Derek Smith – baritone saxophone
Mark Small and Alex Weitz – tenor saxophone
Major Bailey, Chris Gagne, Kendall Moore and Stephen Szabadi – trombone
Chris Burbank, Ryan Chapman, Jared Hall and Gilbert Paz – trumpet
Jon Anderson – French horn

Strings

Steffen Zeichner – concertmaster and violin soloist
Rachel Hershey, Jeff Kipperman and Yen-Ling Lin – bass
Joy Adams, Sarah Gongaware, Cecilia Huerta, Andrew Kromholz and Chia-Li Yu – cello
Christina Hardister – harp
Marcela Fernandez, Lauren Miller, Robyn Savitzky and Kathryn Severing – viola
Victor Colmenares, Tomas Cotik, Adam Diderrich, Michelle Godbee, Patricia Jancova, Michelle Mlacker, Karin O'Keefe, Jonah Osawa, Rob Patrignani, Zack Piper, James Reynolds, Katrina Schaeffer, Arianne Urban, Abby Young and Steffen Zeichner – violin

Production

Producers – John Burk and Randy Waldman
Recording and Mix Engineers – Seth Presant and Al Schmitt
Assistant Engineers – Chad Jolly, Chris Owens and Shinnosuke Miyazawa.
Recorded at The Village Studios (Los Angeles, California).
Orchestra recorded by Dave Polar at The Hit Factory Criteria (Miami, Florida).
Trumpet on Track 3 recorded by Jeff Jones
Additional piano recording by Randy Waldman at Randini Studio (Studio City, California).
Mastered by Paul Blakemore at CMG Mastering (Cleveland, Ohio).
Music Preparation – Brian Benison and Junko Tamura
A&R Administration – Mary Hogan
Creative Director – Larissa Collins
Art Direction, Design and Photography – Greg Allan at Omnivore Creative.
Management – Stephanie Gonzalez at Apropos Management.

Release history

List of release dates, showing country, record label, and format
Region	Date	Label	Format
Germany	May 31, 2013	Concord	CD, Digital download
United Kingdom	June 3, 2013
France	June 3, 2013
United States	June 4, 2013
Japan	June 5, 2013
Germany	June 14, 2013		LP record
United Kingdom	June 17, 2013
United States	June 25, 2013
Japan	June 25, 2013

References

^ "George Benson Releases Heartfelt Homage to Nat King Cole Titled Inspiration: A Tribute to Nat King Cole June 4, 2013". Jazzcorner.com. Retrieved 2013-04-27.
^ ^a ^b Leggett, Steve (June 3, 2013). "Inspiration: A Tribute to Nat King Cole - George Benson : Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards". Allmusic. Retrieved June 4, 2013.
^ ^a ^b Jones, Steve (June 3, 2013). "Listen up: Rimes, Benson serve up four-star tunes". USA Today. Retrieved June 4, 2013.

[1] "George Benson Releases Heartfelt Homage to Nat King Cole Titled Inspiration: A Tribute to Nat King Cole June 4, 2013". Jazzcorner.com. Retrieved 2013-04-27.

[am-2] Leggett, Steve (June 3, 2013). "Inspiration: A Tribute to Nat King Cole - George Benson : Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards". Allmusic. Retrieved June 4, 2013.

[usa-3] Jones, Steve (June 3, 2013). "Listen up: Rimes, Benson serve up four-star tunes". USA Today. Retrieved June 4, 2013.

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v t e George Benson
Discography
Studio albums	The New Boss Guitar of George Benson It's Uptown The George Benson Cookbook Giblet Gravy Shape of Things to Come Goodies Tell It Like It Is The Other Side of Abbey Road Beyond the Blue Horizon White Rabbit Body Talk Bad Benson Good King Bad Benson & Farrell Breezin' In Flight Livin' Inside Your Love Give Me the Night In Your Eyes Pacific Fire I Got a Woman and Some Blues 20/20 While the City Sleeps... Collaboration Twice the Love Big Boss Band That's Right Standing Together Absolute Benson Irreplaceable Givin' It Up Songs and Stories Guitar Man Inspiration: A Tribute to Nat King Cole Walking to New Orleans
Live albums	In Concert-Carnegie Hall Weekend in L.A.
Compilations	Space The George Benson Collection The Greatest Hits of All The Very Best of George Benson: The Greatest Hits of All The Essential George Benson
Singles	"This Masquerade" (1976) "Breezin'" (1976) "The Greatest Love of All" (1977) "On Broadway" (1978) "Love Ballad" (1979) "Give Me the Night" (1980) "Love X Love" (1980) "What's on Your Mind" (1980) "Never Give Up on a Good Thing" (1981) "Turn Your Love Around" (1981) "Inside Love (So Personal)" (1983) "Lady Love Me (One More Time)" (1983) "Feel Like Makin' Love" (1983) "In Your Eyes" (1983) "Nothing's Gonna Change My Love for You" (1985) "Shiver" (1986) "Teaser" (1986) "Let's Do It Again" (1988)

v t e Nat King Cole
Discography
Studio albums	The King Cole Trio Nat King Cole at the Piano King Cole for Kids Penthouse Serenade Nat King Cole Sings for Two in Love The Piano Style of Nat King Cole After Midnight Just One of Those Things Love Is the Thing Cole Español St. Louis Blues The Very Thought of You To Whom It May Concern Welcome to the Club A Mis Amigos Tell Me All About Yourself Every Time I Feel the Spirit Wild Is Love The Magic of Christmas The Nat King Cole Story The Touch of Your Lips Nat King Cole Sings/George Shearing Plays Ramblin' Rose Dear Lonely Hearts More Cole Español Those Lazy-Hazy-Crazy Days of Summer Where Did Everyone Go? Nat King Cole Sings My Fair Lady Let's Face the Music! I Don't Want to Be Hurt Anymore L-O-V-E
Compilation albums	Harvest of Hits Top Pops Unforgettable 10th Anniversary Album Ballads of the Day This Is Nat King Cole The Beautiful Ballads 20 Golden Greats For Sentimental Reasons Love Songs
Tribute albums	All for You: A Dedication to the Nat King Cole Trio Dear Mr. Cole Inspiration: A Tribute to Nat King Cole The Nat King Cole Songbook P.S. Mr. Cole A Tribute to the Great Nat "King" Cole With Respect to Nat You're Lookin' at Me (A Collection of Nat King Cole Songs) Nat King Cole & Me
Songs	"That Ain't Right "All for You" "Straighten Up and Fly Right" "Gee, Baby, Ain't I Good to You" "It's Only a Paper Moon" "The Frim-Fram Sauce" "(Get Your Kicks on) Route 66" "(I Love You) For Sentimental Reasons" "The Christmas Song (Merry Christmas to You)" "What'll I Do" "Nature Boy" "Put 'em in a Box, Tie 'em with a Ribbon, and Throw 'em in the Deep Blue Sea" "Don't Blame Me" "For You My Love" "I Almost Lost My Mind" "Mona Lisa" "Orange Colored Sky" "Frosty the Snowman" "Too Young" "Red Sails in the Sunset" "Unforgettable" "Somewhere Along the Way" "Walkin' My Baby Back Home" "Because You're Mine" "Pretend" "I Am in Love" "Lover, Come Back to Me" "Answer Me, My Love" "Tenderly" "Smile" "Darling, Je Vous Aime Beaucoup" "A Blossom Fell" "That's All There Is to That" "Night Lights" "To the Ends of the Earth" "Ballerina" "When I Fall in Love" "Stardust" "Send for Me" "Looking Back" "Acércate Más (Come Closer to Me)" "Non Dimenticar" "You Made Me Love You" "Just as Much as Ever" "Let There Be Love" "Ramblin' Rose" "Those Lazy-Hazy-Crazy Days of Summer" "That Sunday, That Summer" "People" "L-O-V-E" "Let's Face the Music and Dance"
Family	Maria Cole (wife) Carole Cole (daughter) Natalie Cole (daughter) Eddie Cole (brother) Ike Cole (brother) Freddy Cole (brother) Lionel Cole (nephew)