“You’ll Never Miss The Water (Until The Well’s Gone Dry)”
Song by Maxim Trio
“You’ll Never Miss The Water (Until The Well’s Gone Dry)” was one of Ray Charles’ earliest songs. It was the B-side of “A Sentimental Blues” and was only released as a 78 rpm record, in November 1949 on the Swing Time label. The artist credit is Maxim Trio, a mistaken rendering of their real name, McSon Trio. Ray Charles was the pianist and singer in the trio, and is credited as such (i.e., twice) on the record’s label. This was the group’s third record.
Both sides of this record were written by a Rod Andre. “You’ll Never Miss The Water (Until The Well’s Gone Dry)” is a slow and restrained tune, a warning to men not to take their women for granted. It begins with Ray’s piano in the intro, before the two guitars and one bass come in.
For three minutes the song inches forward, and what you most notice about it are Ray’s warm, smiling vocals (in his Nat Cole croon) and the ever-sliding notes of the guitars. As credited on the record’s label, the performers on “You’ll Never Miss The Water (Until The Well’s Gone Dry)” are:
- G. D. McKee and Mitchell Webb: Guitar
- Ralph Hamilton: Bass
- Ray Charles: Piano
(Ray’s vocal credit is elsewhere on the label.) It isn’t hard to see that this so-called “trio” used four people on this song. The A-side featured the same guys. The presence of Mitchell Webb, the fourth and a non-member, was a surprise foisted upon the band by their label when they arrived at the studio. Gossie McKee was forced to play rhythm behind Webb’s lead notes.
One thing that’s always been fun to do with these early Ray Charles/Maxim Trio 78s is to detect, with the benefit of hindsight, developments in Ray’s playing and/or singing (or choice of material) that would find fuller flower later in his career at Atlantic and then ABC Records. There is a notable example on “You’ll Never Miss The Water (Until The Well’s Gone Dry)” in regards to his piano playing, and it comes towards the end of the performance.
Having glided along so smoothly for two and half minutes, Ray opts for a sudden piano solo. But it’s a highly unusual one: a jarring stab of loud notes, destroying the atmosphere. It’s daring and emotional; Ray sounds frustrated and wants his atonal piano notes to demand attention. It’s like the soul of a southern preacher jumped into his finger tips all of a sudden, to stir the listener from his or her reverie and make sure they’re paying close attention.
“You’ll Never Miss The Water (Until The Well’s Gone Dry)”, like most of Ray’s pre-Atlantic recordings, has been added to zillions of compilations over the decades and is easy to find. Original copies of the 78 are much rarer, though may not necessarily cost an arm and a leg if you do see one for sale. Note that the Down Beat label changed to Swing Beat, and then Swing Time, and there was also a brief period where the logo simply said “Swing Records”. Variations of this label on these names may exist for this and other early Ray 78s.
Single releases
“A Sentimental Blues”
by Maxim Trio
b/w
“You’ll Never Miss The Water (Until The Well’s Gone Dry)”
by Maxim Trio
Listen to “You’ll Never Miss The Water (Until The Well’s Gone Dry)”
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