“I Wake Up Crying”
Song by Ray Charles
The Bacharach-David R&B song “I Wake Up Crying” was released by Ray Charles in September 1964 as the B-side of the “Smack Dab In The Middle” single (ABC 10588). The A-side was taken from the album Have A Smile With Me, but “I Wake Up Crying” was only available on the single. The song was originally a minor hit for Chuck Jackson in 1961.
Whereas the Have A Smile LP was meant to show the lighter side of Ray as a contrast to the previous Sweet And Sour Tears LP, on which every song was about crying and tears and weeping, here we have the first and only single from that purportedly light-hearted album going back to the world of sorrow on its B-side. “I Wake Up Crying”, in fact, may have been left over from the sessions for the Tears album. At any rate, it sure was hard for Ray to get away from the blues.
Musically, “I Wake Up Crying” is fairly simple; most of it bounces between two chords, and it’s distinguished both by a simple brass riff that repeats throughout (giving the song whatever “groove” it may be said to possess) and a low, honking saxophone bleat. The low sax is a nice touch by producer Sid Feller, because Ray’s vocal line is in a higher register so they offset one another very well.
A middle section does in fact give the song a little more shape, but mostly it’s that almost-grooving, slow-to-mid-tempo pace – the music and the singing, together – that gives “I Wake Up Crying” a feel of relentlessness, an itchy kind of moping.
“I Wake Up Crying” is a pretty good choice for a Ray Charles B-side: it’s well done, and definitely worth listening to, but not quite dynamic or interesting enough to earn a place on an LP. Ray Charles fans who want to fully understand his talent and his choices are definitely encouraged to locate a copy of the 45 and give it a listen. The “Smack Dab In The Middle” single was a pretty big seller and locating good copies of the single is easy.
Single releases
“Smack Dab In The Middle”
b/w
“I Wake Up Crying”
Listen to “I Wake Up Crying”
Get your own “I Wake Up Crying” on 45 or MP3 from Amazon. Or get the out-of-print complete ABC singles 5xCD box set.