(September 20, 2026) For more than a half century, George Benson has shown a special ability to move comfortably between jazz, pop and soul, and one of his greatest early influences was the legendary Nat King Cole.
That admiration was at the center of Benson’s 2013 album Inspiration: A Tribute to Nat King Cole, which has now returned in a newly remastered and expanded edition on Candid Records. The new version adds three recordings from the original sessions: “That Sunday, That Summer,” “Ramblin’ Rose” and “Almost Like Being In Love.” The first two surfaced on a 2021 deluxe edition, but “Almost Like Being In Love” is the performance from those sessions that listeners are now getting the chance to hear for the first time.
The Lerner and Loewe standard was famously recorded by Cole, and Benson approaches it with the easygoing charm, backed by the Henry Mancini Institute Orchestra and an arrangement by Randy Waldman.
It is a welcome addition to an album that already served as a loving tribute to one of the all-time great vocalists. Check out George Benson on “Almost Like Being In Love” below.
