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
Is Crying Time the best album of Ray Charles’ career? One could make a strong case that it is. Crying Time was released in January 1966, and was the first album that Ray made after spending several weeks at a facility in Los Angeles, kicking heroin cold turkey. It was the culmination of years of drug busts, erratic behavior, and finally some soul searching over his wounded pride. But one worry above all nagged at Ray, demanding an answer: Heroin, heroin, what to do about heroin? –... [read all]
Song of the day
Ray Charles recorded Big Maceo Merriweather’s “Worried Life Blues” twice in the early years of his career: once in a solo session for Atlantic Records in 1953 (unreleased until 1961), and again for his second ABC Records single in 1960. “Worried Life Blues” vs. “Someday Baby Blues” Big Maceo first recorded “Worried Life Blues” in 1941, playing piano and singing on the song that took its main recurring line – “someday, baby, I ain’t... [read all]