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
Producer	John Burk
George Benson chronology
Guitar Man (2011) Inspiration: A Tribute to Nat King Cole (2013)
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, ukulele (on track 1)
• Randy Waldman - piano
• Tim May - guitar
• Michael O'Neill - baritone guitar, banjo on "Ramblin' Rose"
• Chuck Berghofer - bass
• Gregg Field - drums
• Michael Fisher - percussion
• Sheila E. - percussion on "Unforgettable"
• Janey Clewer, Alvin Chea, Don Chelton - background vocals on "Straighten Up and Fly Right", "Smile", "That Sunday, That Summer" and "Ramblin' Rose"
• Chris Papastephanou, Randy Waldman - background vocals on "Straighten Up and Fly Right"

Special guests

• Wynton Marsalis - trumpet on "Unforgettable"
• Idina Menzel - vocals on "When I Fall in Love"
• Till Brönner - trumpet on "Smile"
• Judith Hill - vocals on "Too Young"

Henry Mancini Institute Orchestra

• Trumpets - Ryan Chapman, Chris Burbank, Gilbert Paz, Jared Hall
• Trombones - Chris Gagne, Kendall Moore, Stephen Szabadi, Major Bailey
• Alto Saxophones - Neil Carson, Kevin McKeown
• Tenor Saxophones - Mark Small, Alex Weitz
• Baritone Saxophone - Derek Smith
• Flute - Cassandra Eisenreich
• French Horn - Jon Anderson
• Violin - Steffen Zeichner (Concertmaster & Soloist), Abby Young, Adam Diderrich, Karin O'Keefe, Zack Piper, Michelle Godbee, Patricia Jancova, Tomas Cotik, Victor Colmenares, James Reynolds, Jonah Osawa, * Rob Patrignani, Arianne Urban, Michelle Mlacker, Katrina Schaeffer
• Viola - Robyn Savitzky, Kathryn Severing, Marcela Fernandez, Lauren Miller
• Cello - Joy Adams, Cecilia Huerta, Andrew Kromholz, Chia-Li Yu, Sarah Gongaware
• Bass - Rachel Hershey, Jeff Kipperman, Yen-Ling Lin
• Harp - Christina Hardister
• Dean - Shelton Berg
• Artistic Director - Terence Blanchard
• Artistic Coordinator - Scott Flavin
• Managing Director - Stephen Guerra

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
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

References

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.
2. Leggett, Steve (June 3, 2013). "Inspiration: A Tribute to Nat King Cole - George Benson : Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards". Allmusic. Retrieved June 4, 2013.
3. Jones, Steve (June 3, 2013). "Listen up: Rimes, Benson serve up four-star tunes". USA Today. Retrieved June 4, 2013.