But his chord changes are insanely sophisticated, constructed through sheer tenacity and genius. He would hear a chord in his head and play each note individually. He could not read music and could barely play the piano. If so do we get to pick which one we want to remix out of the 11 songs or is it just one, doing something like.Songwriting was a storytelling process Rod had down to a science.
Rod heard entire productions in his head – his demo versions were finished songs. Photograph: Jim McCrary/RedfernsRod sang the melody to me in his horrible voice: “Patti, go ‘Dibby dabba dabba dabby whoo whoo.’” And I had to interpret it. So I worked very quickly.The master tweaker. You have to be able to walk in, sight-read and make whatever product the jingle is plugging sound orgasmic. I used to be a jingle singer. When I went in to the studio the tracks were already recorded.
He was brilliant at defusing situations. Meanwhile, Rod would sit on the side smoking, constantly, giving this dry, magnificent, wisecracking narrative. It was a clash of the titans at first. Nobody yelled at each other but there was tension, because he wouldn’t always do what Quincy told him to. Then engineer Bruce Swedien created a sound nobody had heard before, using synthesisers, which were new then.George was under pressure to have a crossover hit.
He plays Eventim Apollo, London, on 18 and 19 July. Great people, brilliant music, and an all-time classic.George Benson’s new album Walking to New Orleans is out now via Provogue. Eventually, Rod said: “You may have a Piaget but I’ve got all these” and he rolled up his sleeve to reveal a whole armful of cheap Timex watches. He once came into the studio in a tiger onesie complete with a tail and said: “Right let’s go!”George was a dandy, and enjoyed flashing these $50,000 Piaget watches, while Rod would look at him and roll his eyes.
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