“Tell The Truth”
Song by Ray Charles
Margie Hendricks unleashes one of her most beloved impassioned singing performances ever on Ray Charles’ famous 1959 live song “Tell The Truth”. The most famous version comes from the LP In Person, recorded in Atlanta on May 29, 1959, with Ray (and the other Raelets) adding vocal support for Margie in the spotlight.
“Tell The Truth” was in fact written by guitarist Lowman Pauling (a.k.a. Pete Pauling) whose band The “5” Royales first released the song on a single in June 1958. The “5” Royales (the quotes being a part of their name) toured with Ray, and had a guitar-led rock ‘n’ roll sound that closely resembles what The Beatles would do a few years later in their formative years.
Ray’s version is restructured to add drama with some exciting stop-start moments led by his tight brass section. The main star is Margie, but the saxophone solo and the deliriously zesty band provide the underlying perfection.
Margie Hendricks, Ray’s lover, legendary Raelet leader, and an artist that Ray would defend as an equal of no less than Aretha Franklin, was a fiery, gritty singer who could lay waste to a whole room on a good night. And she had many good nights traveling and singing with Ray and his band; “Tell The Truth” from In Person captures such a night.
There was also a studio version of “Tell The Truth” recorded, but it wasn’t released at the time. The live version, apart from the May 1960 live album, was used as the B-side to the “Sweet Sixteen Bars” single put out by Atlantic (2068) in July 1960. This version cuts the brief spoken intro by Ray in which he welcomes Margie to the microphone. (Some sources, such as Mike Evans’ The Birth Of Soul, say this 45 features the studio version but this is incorrect.)
The “Tell The Truth” tape glitch
One curiosity about “Tell The Truth” that doesn’t seem to have bothered anyone at the time is a tape glitch at about 1:45, on the line “if I thought that it would do any good”. The sound is garbled on the words “do any good”. The performance was evidently judged good enough to overlook this, and the song made it to both the LP and the single with the imperfection intact.
Recorded at the last minute with a single microphone by a local radio station who merely wanted something to play on the radio to entice people to attend a second Ray show the following night, “Tell The Truth” is a rare and invaluable glimpse into Ray Charles and his band’s live prowess at the top of their game, and when they didn’t even realize they were being recorded.
With “(The Night Time Is) The Right Time”, “Tell The Truth” is a testament to the greatness of Margie Hendricks and the vitality that their rocky, too-public relationship (Ray was married with children at the time, and Margie was far from being his only other lover) that manifested itself in the music.
Single releases
“Sweet Sixteen Bars”
b/w
“Tell The Truth”
Listen to “Tell The Truth”
The recommended place to hear “Tell The Truth” is a copy of the Ray Charles In Person LP, or the 1973 double LP Ray Charles Live which is a repackaging of Ray Charles At Newport and Ray Charles In Person.
Get your own “Tell The Truth” on 45 or MP3 from Amazon. Or get the complete Atlantic recordings 7xCD box set.