Eddie Benitez

Eddie Benitez was born in Puerto Rico and spent his early years in Europe where his father’s work had brought the family. Living in Europe provided Eddie with a remarkable teacher at a very young age when his father arranged for a year of private lessons from the renowned classical guitarist Andres Segovia. From that point on, Eddie was self-taught and developed his own, unmistakable style of guitar playing. Eddie’s family returned to the U.S. in the late 60s and settled in Brooklyn, New York., setting the stage for the start of Eddie’s extraordinary musical career. He formed his first band at 12 and began playing and winning Battles of the Band in Brooklyn. That got him noticed and signed with the premier Latin Jazz label, Fania Records. In the summer of 1976 Eddie was launched onto the world stage with his debut concert at Madison Square Garden in front of 20,000 fans as part of the Fania All Stars. He was just 14 years old. His first album Nightlife, was released that same year and promptly went gold. Another gold record followed with his second release, Essence of Life. Eddie was 15 years old with two gold records — winning recognition as an astonishing young talent. In 1983, Eddie signed with the innovative label, Island Records. He has performed with legendary stars such as “Father of Smooth Jazz”—George Benson, Barry White, Celia Cruz, Tito Puente, Mongo Santamaria and many others, throughout his career.
Brilliance, Illness & Miracles — Though Eddie’s star rose early and quickly, in 1985, the unthinkable happened — his performing career ground to a sudden halt when at the age of 23 he was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma. The diagnosis was grim when Eddie experienced a miraculous and complete healing from the cancer. His recovery baffled the medical community, but Eddie himself is clear that it was a divine healing that occurred during a spiritual vision. This experience transformed Eddie’s life, and afterwards he took time off to reflect on life and spirituality. He returned to the music world and wrote music over the years for many dance acts in the mid-80s through the early 90s. Ultimately he returned to writing and performing his own music. With the 2008 release of Lovers Never Say Goodbye, Eddie is now enjoying the acclaim of a whole new generation of fans in addition to his long-time, loyal audience around the globe.
New Era — 2009 brings a new era for Eddie Benitez’s music as Visions of Angels, his latest CD, is released with NuGroove Records