The cost of that versatility was credibility with purists who viewed jazz as a sacred language that should not be translated for mass consumption. When Benson released Breezin' in 1976, an album that blended jazz, R&B, and pop into a sound that radio programmers loved, the jazz establishment accused him of selling out his roots and abandoning the tradition. The album went triple platinum and won three Grammys anyway, with the title track becoming one of the most recognizable guitar recordings of the decade. The success gave Benson the freedom to do whatever he wanted in the studio, and he used that freedom to record some of the most enduring crossover jazz of the era.

Give Me the Night is the one. Produced by Quincy Jones in 1980, the song is a perfect fusion of jazz harmony with pop production that still sounds fresh decades later. Benson's guitar solo is economical and precise -- he does not play a single unnecessary note. His vocal sits on top of the Quincy Jones arrangement like he is having the time of his life.

Ten Grammys and a National Endowment for the Arts Jazz Master award later, he had the ability to play a jazz festival and a pop arena in the same week without changing his approach. He never apologized for his success, and the guitar kept smiling through every note.