Give Me the Night (album)

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[1]
The Rolling Stone Jazz Record Guide	[2]

Released in the summer of 1980, Give Me The Night was produced by Quincy Jones and released on Jones's start-up label Qwest Records, in conjunction with Warner Bros. Records. It charted at number one on both the Top Soul Albums and Jazz Albums Chart as well as number three on the Billboard Pop Albums charts.

The album's success was due mainly to its lead single, also titled "Give Me the Night," which rose all the way to the number one single on the Soul Singles chart. Another selection on the album, "Moody´s Mood," was recorded with R&B singer Patti Austin. Certified Platinum by the RIAA,[3] Give Me The Night was the only album Quincy Jones produced for Benson.

This album won Benson three Grammy Awards in 1981; Best Male R&B Vocal Performance, while "Moody's Mood" received Best Jazz Vocal Performance, Male and "Off Broadway" received Best R&B Instrumental Performance.
Quincy Jones and Jerry Hey also won the Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Arrangement for the song "Dinorah, Dinorah."

1. "Love X Love" (Rod Temperton) – 4:45
2. "Off Broadway" (Temperton) – 5:23
3. "Moody's Mood" (Eddie Jefferson, James Moody) – 3:24 (featuring Patti Austin)
4. "Give Me the Night" (Temperton) – 5:01
5. "What's on Your Mind" (Glen Ballard, Kerry Chater) – 4:02
6. "Dinorah, Dinorah" (Ivan Lins, Vitor Martins) – 3:39
7. "Love Dance" (Ivan Lins, Gilson Peranzzetta, Paul Williams) – 3:18
8. "Star of a Story (X)" (Temperton) – 4:42 (originally recorded as "The Star of a Story" by Heatwave, of which Temperton was a member, in 1978)
9. "Midnight Love Affair" (David "Hawk" Wolinski) – 3:31
10. "Turn Out the Lamplight" (Temperton) – 4:43

• George Benson – lead vocals, backing vocals (1, 3, 4, 5, 7-10), guitar (1-5, 8, 9, 10), lead guitar (6), scat (6)
• Lee Ritenour – guitar (2, 4, 5, 8, 9), acoustic guitar (7), rhythm arrangements (7), electric guitar (10)
• Greg Phillinganes – keyboards (1, 2, 3, 10), synthesizers (2, 3), Fender Rhodes (6)
• Michael Boddicker – synthesizers (4, 5, 8)
• Herbie Hancock – electric piano (4), synthesizers (6, 7, 9), synthesizer programming (6, 8, 9), Fender Rhodes (7, 8)
• Richard Tee – synthesizer bass (4), electric piano (5), synthesizers (8, 9, 10)
• Clare Fischer – Yamaha CS30 (6), acoustic piano (6), Fender Rhodes (6)
• George Duke – keyboards (9)
• Louis Johnson – bass guitar (1, 2, 6, 10)
• Abraham Laboriel – bass guitar (1, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8)
• John Robinson – drums (1-6, 8, 10)
• Carlos Vega – drums (7, 9)
• Paulinho Da Costa – percussion (1, 2, 4, 5-8, 10)
• Kim Hutchcroft – saxophone and flute (1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 9)
• Larry Williams – saxophone and flute (1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 9)
• Jerry Hey – trumpet (1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 9), horn arrangements (1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 9), string arrangements (1, 2, 4, 5, 6)
• David Foster – string arrangements (1)
• Quincy Jones – rhythm arrangements (2-10), vocal arrangements (5, 8, 9), synthesizer arrangements (8)
• Rod Temperton – rhythm arrangements (2, 4), vocal arrangements (4)
• Marty Paich – string arrangements and conductor (3, 8)
• Sid Sharp – concertmaster (1-6, 8)
• Patti Austin – backing vocals (1, 4, 6, 8, 10), lead vocals (3, 7)
• Tom Bahler– backing vocals (1, 4, 8, 10), BGV arrangements (10)
• Jocelyn Brown – backing vocals (1, 4, 8)
• Jim Gilstrap – backing vocals (1, 4, 8)
• Diva Gray – backing vocals (1, 4, 8)
• Michael McDonald – backing vocals (Uncredited)

• Producer, Liner Notes – Quincy Jones
• Recorded and Mixed by Bruce Swedien
• Assistant Engineers – Sheridan Eldridge, Ralph Osbourne and Mark Sackett.
• Recorded at Kendun Recorders (Burbank, CA) and Cherokee Studios (Los Angeles, CA).
• Mixed at Kendun Recorders
• Mastered by Jim Sintetos and Kent Duncan at Kendun Recorders.
• Art Direction – Richard Seireeni
• Illustration – Paul Jasmin
• Cover Photography – Norman Seeff
• Sleeve Photography – Peter Brill
• Typography – Anderson Typographics
• Management – Ken Fritz and Dennis Turner at Ken Fritz Management.

• George Benson-Give Me The Night at Discogs