Classics In The Key Of G

Classics in the Key of G is the first cover album and ninth album by saxophonist Kenny G. It was released by Arista Records on June 28, 1999, and reached number 1 on the Contemporary Jazz Albums chart, number 13 on the Internet Albums chart, number 17 on the Billboard 200 and number 27 on the R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart. The cover version of Louis Armstrong's "What a Wonderful World" combined Kenny G's saxophone playing with Armstrong's archived vocals. The single reached number 22 on the US Adult Contemporary chart in September 1999. Music critics were horrified at the presumption of Kenny G equating himself with the iconic jazz giant, appropriating his legacy in the manner of white musicians adapting and commercializing the work of black musicians, which has happened for many years in the United States. Jazz guitarist Pat Metheny was appalled, writing a lengthy diatribe on his website, later deleted, saying that the combination of Kenny G and Amstrong was "musical necrophilia". Metheny's views were shared widely among jazz circles. In his defense, Kenny G said that his fans "have no idea about Armstrong" which gave him the idea of educating them. From Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Classic...) under Creative Commons Attribution CC-BY-SA 3.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/...)