“Deed I Do”

Ray Charles released two very different takes of the classic song “Deed I Do”, both in the 1950s for Atlantic. One was an instrumental jazz version done with vibraphonist Milt Jackson on the album Soul Brothers. Slow, cool, and long, this “Deed I Do” unfolds on its own time and finds room for its various solos that dance around over the solid bedrock of the rhythm section. “Deed I Do” only appeared on the stereo version of Soul Brothers; the mono replaced it with “Bag’s Guitar Blues”.

Then on his landmark 1959 LP The Genius Of Ray Charles, Ray added a big and brassy vocal version, as loud as the jazz one is restrained. Both types of “Deed I Do” are excellent and well worth seeking out, though for very different reasons.

Listen to “Deed I Do”

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