The music of the genius
Ray Charles
The latest
Ray Charles was commissioned to perform the theme song for the 1967 movie In The Heat Of The Night. The result was the first song on the soundtrack LP, and a single was released on ABC Records as well. But fans will need both discs, for they are two completely different versions of “In The Heat Of The Night”. The Movie In The Heat Of The Night The movie starred Sidney Poitier and Rod Steiger. The film, a pissed-off and in-your-face exploration of race in America, won five... [read all]
Ray Charles and Ginie Line duet on the French-language "Ensemble" from 2002. It was released in France as a CD single and the duo performed it live on TV.
"A Bit Of Soul" is a Ray Charles tune recorded in 1955 and released in 1961. Split into two halves, it shows Ray's versatility with a unique arrangement.
"The Sun's Gonna Shine Again" finds Ray Charles in an unconvincingly hopeful mood. It was the A-side of an Atlantic single in 1953, his second-ever.
"Mississippi Mud" is a fun, jaunty singalong that Ray Charles covered on his first album for ABC Records, The Genius Hits The Road, in 1960.
Album of the day
By the time Ray Charles released his second true studio album for Atlantic, June 1958’s Soul Brothers (Atlantic 1279), a pattern was emerging. Soul Brothers is an instrumental jazz collaboration with vibraphonist Milt Jackson; Ray would release R&B singles for the popular market, and use his full-length albums to explore his fascination with (and mastery of) modern jazz. (In fact, the ever-explorative Ray would abandon the R&B-singles/jazz-LPs approach after this album.) After... [read all]
Song of the day
Ray Charles recorded his own version of Don Gibson’s final number one hit, the sweet and cheerful country pie “Woman Sensuous Woman”, on his 1984 LP Do I Ever Cross Your Mind. Don Gibson always loomed large in Ray’s career; it was a 1962 cover of Gibson’s “I Can’t Stop Loving You” that propelled Ray to superstardom, and he would continue to keep an eye on Gibson and record his songs when the mood struck him in ensuing years. Its titled rendered “Woman... [read all]