“Stranger In My Own Hometown”

Side 2 of Ray Charles’ fantastic 1988 album Just Between Us kicks off with “Stranger In My Own Hometown”, a sizzling R&B number written by Percy Mayfield and featuring guest blues guitarist Kenny Carr.

(Note: “Stranger In My Home Town” is not to be confused with Ray’s 1963 song “A Stranger In Town”.)

The song “Stranger In My Own Hometown” dates from 1964, when Percy Mayfield released it as a single with Ray’s unmistakable piano additions enlivening the track. Elvis Presley recorded a famous version in 1969.

In 1988, it was Ray’s turn to return to this song he knew well and whose clean, uncomplicated rhythm and blues feel was perfect for the textured and confident Just Between Us album. Kenny Carr’s bright, clear guitar notes and Ray’s own electric piano (plus stringent trumpets arranged by Ray himself) combine for an endless variety of multicolored spires and spikes that add grit to the song’s otherwise smooth flow.

The structure of “Stranger In My Own Hometown” itself follows the usual I-IV-V blues pattern, and the lyrics lament the singer’s being rebuffed by people in the town he once considered home:

Now I don’t mistreat nobody
They’re a liar if they say I do
And I realize that there’s some here that like me
But they’re so very, very few

He responds with defiance: “You can’t keep a good man down,” Ray reckons, and vows to continue fighting for himself even in the face of the mysterious turncoats he is encountering.

The crisp, self-assured pace of “Stranger In My Own Hometown” and the perfect mix of instruments and performances pop out from every note of this performance. It’s yet another moment of real excellence on a masterful and engaging record.

Listen to “Stranger In My Own Hometown”

Get your own “Stranger In My Own Hometown” on LP, CD or MP3 from Amazon.