At Last: "Dreams Do Come True: George Benson Meets Robert Farnon" Arrives in June

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Earlier this year, George Benson announced his return to Warner Music Group, bringing him back to the home of such classic albums as the multi-platinum Breezin' and platinum In Flight and Give Me the Night. On June 14, the superstar guitarist-singer will debut a previously unreleased album from 1989 in CD, vinyl, and digital formats. Dreams Do Come True: When George Benson Meets Robert Farnon paired Benson with the Canadian composer-conductor-arranger whose most famous clients include Frank Sinatra (Sinatra Sings Songs from Great Britain), Tony Bennett (Snowfall: The Tony Bennett Christmas Album), and Lena Horne (Lena: A New Album).

Benson, on guitar and vocals, joined Farnon and his orchestra for a selection of classic standards from the first chapter of The Great American Songbook (Joseph Kosma, Jacques Prevert, and Johnny Mercer's "Autumn Leaves," Mack Gordon and Harry Warren's "At Last," Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart's "My Romance," Paul James and Kay Swift's "Can't We Be Friends") and the next chapter (the Paul Mauriat-popularized "Love Is Blue," Leon Russell's "A Song for You," The Beatles' "Yesterday"). All were rendered in Farnon's trademark lush style.

Upon the conclusion of recording, the busy Benson decided to postpone the album's release - which ultimately led to the tapes going missing. After over three decades, they were rediscovered in Benson's archives. The artist comments in the press release, "After finding this long-lost treasure of music, I employed my genius friend, Randy Waldman, to help me bring it back to life. Mission accomplished." Waldman added overdubs and choral arrangements to fulfill Benson's original vision for it; Farnon passed away in 2005 at the age of 87. The album also is a testament to work of its original engineer Al Schmitt, who died in 2021, age 91.

The complete Dreams Do Come True: When George Benson Meets Robert Farnon arrives in stores from Rhino on June 21. You'll find the track listing and pre-order links below. As an Amazon affiliate, we earn from qualifying purchases.

Dreams Do Come True: When George Benson Meets Robert Farnon (Rhino, 2024) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)

At Last
A Song For You
Pretend You're Happy
A Long Time Ago
Love Is Blue
My Romance
Autumn Leaves
Can't We Be Friends
My Prayer
Yesterday
One Goodbye

Joe Marchese

JOE MARCHESE (Editor) joined The Second Disc shortly after its launch in early 2010, and has since penned daily news and reviews about classic music of all genres. In 2015, Joe formed the Second Disc Records label. Celebrating the great songwriters, producers and artists who created the sound of American popular song, Second Disc Records, in conjunction with Real Gone Music, has released newly-curated collections produced by Joe from iconic artists such as Johnny Mathis, Bobby Darin, Laura Nyro, Melissa Manchester, Chet Atkins, and many others. He has contributed liner notes to reissues from a diverse array of artists, among them Nat "King" Cole, Paul Williams, Lesley Gore, Dusty Springfield, B.J. Thomas, The 5th Dimension, Burt Bacharach, The Mamas and the Papas, Carpenters, Perry Como, Rod McKuen, Doris Day, Jackie DeShannon, and Andy Williams, and has compiled releases for talents including Robert Goulet and Keith Allison of Paul Revere and the Raiders. Over the past two decades, Joe has also worked in a variety of capacities on and off Broadway as well as at some of the premier theatres in the U.S., including Lincoln Center Theater, George Street Playhouse, Paper Mill Playhouse, Long Wharf Theatre, and the York Theatre Company. He has felt privileged to work on productions alongside artists such as the late Jack Klugman, Eli Wallach, Arthur Laurents, Betty Comden and Adolph Green. In 2009, Joe began contributing theatre and music reviews to the print publication The Sondheim Review, and in 2012, he joined the staff of The Digital Bits as a regular contributor writing about film and television on DVD and Blu-ray. Joe currently resides in the suburbs of New York City.