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
When Ray Charles released My World in March 1993, a return to conventional form after detouring into synthesizer-led R&B on Would You Believe?, compact discs had pretty well taken over the music marketplace. Indeed, nearly all of those who bought My World did so on CD — the vinyl version was only released in Germany (as Warner 7599-26735-1). My World was the final vinyl of Ray’s life; his last two albums, Strong Love Affair (1996) and Thanks For... [read all]
Song of the day
Ray Charles released a version of Sy Oliver’s song “Yes Indeed” as the A-side of a single in April 1958, with “I Had A Dream” as the B-side. “Yes Indeed” also lent its name to an October 1958 compilation album with a new exclamation mark: Yes Indeed! (and later with a different cover and additional punctuation: Yes Indeed!!). Sy Oliver wrote “Yes Indeed” which was first recorded by Tommy Dorsey’s swing orchestra in 1941... [read all]