“Never Had Enough Of Nothing Yet”
Song by Ray Charles
Sometimes the B-side doesn’t really match the A-side. It’s just the nature of 7″ vinyl singles. So you’ll forgive Ray Charles’ raucous “Never Had Enough Of Nothing Yet” for backing his rendition of The Beatles’ gentle “Yesterday” on this single from 1967, won’t you? Especially seeing as how the song is a super hell of a fun one, and was an elusive non-LP B-side to boot.
“Never Had Enough Of Nothing Yet” was written by Jimmy Holiday, a singer and songwriter from Mississippi who began his career in the early 1960s. You may know him from his most famous song, “Put A Little Love In Your Heart”. Ray also recorded versions of several other Jimmy Holiday songs, including “I Chose To Sing The Blues”, “That’s A Lie”, and “All I Ever Need Is You” from the great 1971 LP Volcanic Action Of My Soul.
Music-wise, “Never Had Enough Of Nothing Yet” sports a classic mid-60s R&B sound. Rhythmic bursts, throaty vocals (as always), and an appealing nervous energy shoot the song along its brief two-minutes-and-thirty-seconds length. Both Ray the vocalist and the backing Raelets employ a casual, conversational tone in their singing. It’s not a grand showbiz performance, it’s direct person-to-person communication: him to you.
The Music and Lyrics of “Never Had Enough Of Nothing Yet”
Ray’s lines consist of enumerating the good things he has in his life – money, friends, love. “I got a job, and uh, I like my job,” he bellows with a cheerful, “could be worse” attitude. But the hook comes at the end of each stanza, when he confesses that he doesn’t actually have enough of any of these things (yet). Yeah, he’s got some money, but there are ten bill collectors lined up outside his door. And he’s got female attention, but, well… Ray could always use more lovin’.
The Raelets (who go uncredited on the single’s pared-down label) sing their lines in exaggerated questioning tones of voice, like casual bystanders who just want to clarify that they heard correctly:
Ray: I ain’t never had enough of nothing yet!
Raelets: You ain’t never had enough… of nothing yet?!
There it is, then: the connection between Scottish psych-folkie Donovan (see “Little Boy In Corduroy”, also from 1967) and Ray Charles that scientists have been seeking for decades. It was right there all along! And the technique is a nice update of the usual “supportive women” role the Raelets traditionally took. Just a twist to make it fun and memorable.
The tight mono mix on “Never Had Enough Of Nothing Yet” solidifies the pat-a-pat-a drums, the sleek and superb brass, all the singers, and the skittery guitar into a single, trebly, echoey whole. The main ingredient in the sound, though, is the groovy 1960s organ, something of an unusual choice for Ray. If Ray Charles had been commissioned to record a song for Austin Powers, it may very well sound like this: mod, fun, and (to use a word that appears on nearly every page of this website) soulful.
This single, then, has something for everyone: a tender Beatles ballad on one side, and something too fun for words on the B-side. This one is definitely worth tracking down and playing on a regular basis.
Single releases
Listen to “Never Had Enough Of Nothing Yet”
Get your own “Never Had Enough Of Nothing Yet” on 45 or MP3 from Amazon. Or get the out-of-print complete ABC singles 5xCD box set.