Kenneth Gorelick began his career as a musician when he acquired his first ever professional job as saxophone soloist for Barry White's Love Unlimited Orchestra in 1973 at the age of 17.

In 1982, Kenny G signed with Arista Records as a solo artist.He received success quite early on, with both G Force and Gravity, his second and third studio albums respectively, achieving platinum status in the United States. These sales were topped by his fourth studio album, Duotones, which shifted over five million copies in the U.S. alone. His sixth studio album, Breathless, became the number one best selling instrumental album ever, with over 15 million copies sold, of which 12 million were in the U.S. He broke another record when his first holiday album, Miracles, sold over 13 million copies, making it the most successful Christmas album to date.