This Masquerade - George Benson/Leon Russell (1976) 4/12/22

One of the most talented and prolific session musicians of all time was Leon Russell.

I say that with great confidence because over the course of his 60-year career (1956-2016), Leon recorded at least 31 albums and 430 songs in just about every genre you can imagine: rock, country, gospel, bluegrass, rhythm & blues, southern rock, folk, jazz, surf music and more.

And I won't even TRY to list the people he worked with. Name ANY artist from the rock era, and Leon most likely either sang, played piano (or another instrument) on their records, wrote them a song, or all three!

His recordings earned six gold records, he received two Grammy Awards from seven nominations, and in 2011, he was inducted into both the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the Songwriters Hall of Fame!

One of his songs: 1970's "A Song for You," has been recorded by more than 200 artists and was inducted to into the "Grammy Hall of Fame" in 2018. You can check out Leon''s version below. (Plus a bonus version!)

But today, we're highlighting his "Great Song of 1976," a song recorded by more than 75 artists...but made famous by jazz musician George Benson.

"This Masquerade" was a triple-charter in the US: #3 on the R&B Chart, #6 on the Adult Contemporary Chart and #10 on the Hot 100. In Canada,

it reached #8 on both the Top 40 and AC Charts.

It also won the Grammy for Record of the Year, and was nominated for "Song of the Year" and "Best Pop Vocal Performance-Male."

Whew!

There's really no doubt that Leon Russell was GREAT musician and songwriter...and there's no doubt that George Benson's version of Leon's "This Masquerade" was a "Great Song of the '70s!

"This Masquerade" (1976):

"A Song For You" (1970): Original Leon Russell version:

"A Song For You" (2006): Herbie Hancock/Christina Aguilera--#11 on the Smooth Jazz Chart.