Bobby Womack

Others know the Bobby Womack story better than me, but I'll chip in with this. He wrote and recorded Breezin' with Gabor Szabo (which, as a single, was a minor US hit, reaching 101 in the charts), and which features on Szabo's 1971 album, High Contrast. The producer was Tommy LiPuma, who, in 1976, recorded it again as the title track of George Benson's breakthrough album.



Personnel on this first version: Szabo on amplified acoustic, Womack on electric; Phil Upchurch on bass; Jim Keltner on drums; Carmelo Garcia on percussion; strings arranged by Rene Hall. (Rene Hall was himself a serious guitarist, playing with Little Richard and Larry Williams, and responsible for the solo in Richie Valens' version of La Bamba. He went on to add strings to Marvin Gaye tunes including What's Going On, Let's Get It On etc)