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
After five years of releasing his music exclusively on 7″ singles, Atlantic put out the world’s first official Ray Charles album in June 1957: Ray Charles. It didn’t actually have anything new on it; it just compiled a bunch of (out of order) songs from several of those early 45s. Still, Ray Charles is a great place to get a lot of classic singles and it absolutely holds up as an album in its own right. Personally, despite our “no compilations” rule... [read all]
Song of the day
Ray Charles’ 1973 instrumental album Jazz Number II opens with a lengthy, multi-part tune called “Our Suite”. It was co-written by Ray and saxophonist/arranger Roger Neumann. “Our Suite” is notable for its different, unrelated sections and its tight ensemble playing, which leaves room for multiple solos and a range of styles and tempos that are smoothly transitioned between throughout the eight-minute performance. As with much of the LP, Ray’s piano on... [read all]