George Benson Live in Singapore 2013!

40 years on and you’ll be expecting notes to slip and slide, articulation to be compromised, showmanship to be somewhat sloppy like the stars of yesteryears. No, not George Benson. He is legend.

Last night, the concert at the Kallang Theatre was phenomenal!  I was entertained and mostly I was impressed by his vocal versatility and resilience. George Benson and his 6-piece band was magic and it was evident in how the crowd cheered and stood up to boogie woogie.

Watching him sing familiar favourites like  In Your Eyes,  Turn Your Love Around, Kisses in the Moonlight, Give Me The Night live is so much better than staying at home and listening to my CD.

For years I’ve heard his voice over the radio. My favourite song? Nothing’s Gonna Change My Love For You which he sang with so much gusto and rigor. It’s like his voice never aged a day.

Unfortunately, he didn’t play his ukelele as I had hoped. His first instrument because his hands were too small for a real guitar.  But he did impress the audience with his guitar glissando though, adlibing as he went along.  Truly a master of improvisations.

Then, as a way of introducing his latest album Inspiration: A Tribute to Nat King Cole he sang Unforgettable – A song he made his own with his smooth, unrelenting vocals which evoked beautiful memories of the “King” himself.

To top it all off, George belted out On Broadway, which was welcomed with the standing ovation of an auditorium full of satisfied show-goers.