Official Ray Charles Web Site | Rock and Roll Hall of Fame: Ray Charles |
September 23, 1930 to June 10, 2004.
Ray Charles was the musician most responsible for developing soul music. Singers like Sam Cooke and Jackie Wilson also did a great deal to pioneer the form, but Charles did even more to devise a new form of Black pop by merging '50s R&B with gospel-powered vocals, adding plenty of flavor from contemporary jazz, blues, and (in the '60s) country. Then there is his singing -- his style is among the most emotional and easily identifiable of any 20th-century performer, up there with the likes of Elvis and Billie Holiday. He's also a superb keyboard player, arranger, and bandleader. The brilliance of his 1950s and 1960s work, however, can't obscure the fact that he's made few classic tracks since the mid-'60s, though he's recorded often and tours to this day.
Blind since the age of six (from glaucoma), Charles studied composition and learned many instruments at the St. Augustine School for the Deaf and the Blind. His parents had died by his early teens, and he worked as a musician in Florida for a while before using his savings to move to Seattle in 1947. By the late '40s, he was recording in a smooth pop/R&B style derivative of Nat "King" Cole and Charles Brown. He got his first Top Ten R&B hit with "Baby, Let Me Hold Your Hand" in 1951. Charles' first recordings have come in for their fair share of criticism, as they are much milder and less original than the classics that would follow, although they're actually fairly enjoyable, showing strong hints of the skills that were to flower in a few years.
In the early '50s, Charles' sound started to toughen as he toured with Lowell Fulson, went to New Orleans to work with Guitar Slim (playing piano on and arranging Slim's huge R&B hit, "The Things That I Used to Do"), and got a band together for R&B star Ruth Brown. It was at Atlantic Records that Ray truly found his voice, consolidating the gains of recent years and then some with "I Got a Woman," a number two R&B hit in 1955. This is the song most frequently singled out as his pivotal performance, on which Charles first truly let go with his unmistakable gospelish moan, backed by a tight, bouncy horn-driven arrangement.
Throughout the '50s, Charles ran off a series of R&B hits that, although they weren't called "soul" at the time, did a lot to pave the way for soul by presenting a form of R&B that was sophisticated without sacrificing any emotional grit. "This Little Girl of Mine," "Drown in My Own Tears," "Hallelujah I Love Her So," "Lonely Avenue," and "The Right Time" were all big hits. But Charles didn't really capture the pop audience until "What'd I Say," which caught the fervor of the church with its pleading vocals, as well as the spirit of rock & roll with its classic electric piano line. It was his first Top Ten pop hit, and one of his final Atlantic singles, as he left the label at the end of the '50s for ABC.
One of the chief attractions of the ABC deal for Charles was a much greater degree of artistic control of his recordings. He put it to good use on early-'60s hits like "Unchain My Heart" and "Hit the Road Jack," which solidified his pop stardom with only a modicum of polish attached to the R&B he had perfected at Atlantic. In 1962, he surprised the pop world by turning his attention to country & western music, topping the charts with the "I Can't Stop Loving You" single, and making a hugely popular album (in an era in which R&B/soul LPs rarely scored high on the charts) with Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music. Perhaps it shouldn't have been so surprising; Charles had always been eclectic, recording quite a bit of straight jazz at Atlantic, with noted jazz musicians like David "Fathead" Newman and Milt Jackson.
Charles remained extremely popular through the mid-'60s, scoring big hits like "Busted," "You Are My Sunshine," "Take These Chains from My Heart," and "Crying Time," although his momentum was slowed by a 1965 bust for heroin. This led to a year-long absence from performing, but he picked up where he left off with "Let's Go Get Stoned" in 1966. Yet by this time Charles was focusing increasingly less on rock and soul, in favor of pop tunes, often with string arrangements, that seemed aimed more at the easy-listening audience than anyone else. Charles' influence on the rock mainstream was as apparent as ever; Joe Cocker and Steve Winwood in particular owe a great deal of their style to him, and echoes of his phrasing can be heard more subtly in the work of greats like Van Morrison.
One approaches sweeping criticism of Charles with hesitation; he's an American institution, after all, and his vocal powers have barely diminished over the years. The fact remains, though, that his work since the late '60s on record has been very disappointing. Millions of listeners yearned for a return to the all-out soul of his 1955-1965 classics, but Charles had actually never been committed to soul above all else. Like Aretha Franklin and Elvis Presley, his focus is more upon all-around pop than many realize; his love of jazz, country, and pop standards is evident, even if his more earthy offerings are the ones that truly broke ground and will stand the test of time. He's dented the charts (sometimes the country ones) occasionally, and can command devoted international concert audiences whenever he feels like it. For good or ill, he's ensured his imprint upon the American mass consciousness in the 1990s by singing several ads for Diet Pepsi. The CD era has seen several excellent packages that focus on various chronological/thematic phases of the legend's career.
--Richie Unterberger, All Music Guide
01. Dawn Ray 02. The Man I Love 03. Music, Music, Music 04. Black Coffee 05. The Ray 06. I Surrender, Dear 07. Hornful Soul |
08. Ain't Misbehavin' 09. Joy Ride 10. Sweet Sixteen Bars 11. Doodlin' 12. There's No You 13. Undecided |
01. Alabamy Bound 02. Georgia on My Mind 03. Basin Street Blues 04. Mississippi Mud 05. Moonlight in Vermont 06. New York's My Home 07. California, Here I Come 08. Moon over Miami 09. Deep in the Heart of Texas 10. Carry Me Back to Old Virginny |
11. Blue Hawaii 12. Chattanooga Choo Choo 13. Sentimental Journey 14. Hit the Road Jack 15. Blue Moon of Kentucky 16. Rainy Night in Georgia 17. I'm Movin' On 18. Swanee River Rock (Talkin' 'Bout That River) 19. Lonely Avenue |
01. The Genius After Hours 02. Ain't Misbehavin' 03. Dawn Ray 04. Joy Ride |
05. Hornful Soul 06. The Man I Love 07. Charlesville 08. Music, Music, Music |
01. The Sun's Gonna Shine Again 02. Some Day Baby 03. Feeling Sad 04. I Wonder Who 05. Lonely Avenue 06. Leave My Woman Alone 07. Swanee River Rock |
08. That's Enough 09. Talking 'Bout You 10. Tell All The World About You 11. The Right Time 12. Let The Good Times Roll 13. I'm Movin' On 14. I Believe To My soul |
01. The Right Time 02. ln a Little Spanish Town 03. I Got a Woman 04. Blues Waltz |
05. Hot Rod 06. Talkin' 'Bout You 07. Sherry 08. A Fool for You |
01. What Would I Do Without You? 02. It's All Right 03. I Want To Know 04. Yes, Indeed! 05. Get on the Right Track Baby 06. Talkin' 'Bout You 07. Swanee River Rock (Talkin' 'Bout That River) |
08. Lonely Avenue 09. Blackjack 10. The Sun's Gonna Shine Again 11. I Had a Dream 12. I Want a Little Girl 13. Heartbreaker 14. Leave My Woman Alone |
01. How Long Blues 02. Cosmic Ray 03. The Genius After Hours 04. Charlesville 05. Bags of Blues 06. 'Deed I Do 07. Blue Funk |
08. Soul Brothers 09. Bag's Guitar Blues 10. Soul Meeting 11. Hallelujah, I Love Her So 12. Blue Genius 13. X-Ray Blues 14. Love on My Mind |
01. Let the Good Times Roll 02. It Had to Be You 03. Alexander's Ragtime Band 04. Two Years of Torture 05. When Your Lover Has Gone 06. 'Deed I Do |
07. Just for a Thrill 08. You Won't Let Me Go 09. Tell Me You'll Wait for Me 10. Don't Let the Sun Catch You Crying 11. Am I Blue 12. Come Rain or Come Shine |
01. The Right Time 02. What'd I Say 03. Yes Indeed! 04. The Spirit-Feel 05. Frenesi 06. Drown In My Own Tears 07. Tell The Truth |
01. From the Heart 02. I've Got News for You 03. Moanin' 04. Let's Go 05. One Mint Julep 06. I'm Gonna Move to the Outskirts of Town 07. Stompin' Room Only 08. Mister C. 09. Strike up the Band 10. Birth of the Blues |
11. Golden Boy 12. Booty-Butt 13. This Here 14. I Remember Clifford 15. Sidewinder 16. Bluesette 17. Pas-Se-O-Ne Blues 18. Zig Zag 19. Angel City 20. Se�or Blues |
01. Hard Times (No One Knows Better Than I) 02. Weird Beard 03. Willow Weep for Me 04. Bill for Bennie |
05. Sweet Eyes 06. Fathead 07. Mean to Me 08. Tin Tin Deo |
01. Ev'ry Time We Say Goodbye 02. You and I 03. Intro: Goodbye/We'll Be Together Again 04. People Will Say We're in Love 05. Cocktails for Two 06. Side by Side 07. Baby, It's Cold Outside 08. Together 09. For All We Know 10. Takes Two to Tango 11. Alone Together 12. Just You, Just Me |
13. Hard Hearted Hannah 14. Nancy 15. Margie 16. Ruby 17. Rosetta 18. Stella by Starlight 19. Cherry 20. Josephine 21. Candy 22. Marie 23. Diane 24. Sweet Georgia Brown |
01. You and I 02. Intro: Goodbye/We'll Be Together Again 03. People Will Say We're in Love 04. Cocktails for Two 05. Side by Side 06. Baby, It's Cold Outside 07. Together 08. For All We Know 09. Takes Two to Tango 10. Alone Together 11. Just You, Just Me 12. Hard Headed Hannah |
13. Nancy 14. Margie 15. Ruby 16. Rosetta 17. Stella by Starlight 18. Cherry 19. Josephine 20. Candy 21. Marie 22. Diane 23. Sweet Georgia Brown |
01. Hallelujah, I Love Her So 02. Blue Genius 03. X-Ray Blues |
04. Soul Meeting 05. Love on My Mind 06. Bags of Blues |
01. Bye Bye Love 02. You Don't Know Me 03. Half as Much 04. I Love You So Much It Hurts 05. Just a Little Lovin' (Will Go a Long Way) 06. Born to Lose 07. Worried Mind 08. It Makes No Difference Now |
09. You Win Again 10. Careless Love 11. I Can't Stop Loving You 12. Hey, Good Lookin' 13. You Are My Sunshine 14. Here We Go Again 15. That Lucky Old Sun |
01. Hit the Road Jack 02. Hallelujah, I Love Her So 03. Mess Around 04. Let's Go Get Stoned 05. Don't Let the Sun Catch You Crying 06. What'd I Say |
07. Georgia on My Mind 08. I Got a Woman 09. Drown in My Own Tears 10. Night Time Is the Right Time 11. Eleanor Rigby 12. I Can't Stop Loving You |
01. Cry 02. Guess I'll Hang My Tears Out to Dry 03. A Tear Fell 04. No One to Cry To 05. You've Got Me Crying Again 06. After My Laughter Come Tears 07. Teardrops from My Eyes 08. Don't Cry Baby 09. Cry Me a River 10. Baby Don't You Cry |
11. Willow Weep for Me 12. I Cried for You 13. My Heart Cries for You 14. I Wake up Crying 15. Drown in My Own Tears 16. Teardrops in My Heart 17. Crying Time 18. No Use Crying 19. Tired of My Tears |
01. Hot Rod 02. Blues Waltz 03. In a Little Spanish Town 04. Sherry 05. The Right Time 06. A Fool for You 07. I Got a Woman 08. Talkin' 'Bout You |
09. Swanee River Rock 10. Yes, Indeed! 11. The Right Time 12. Frenesi 13. The Spirit-Feel 14. Tell the Truth 15. Drown in My Own Tears 16. What'd I Say |
01. Ain't That Fine 02. Honey, Honey 03. Ray Charles Blues 04. Don't Put All Your Dreams In One Basket 05. St. Pete Florida Blues 06. You Always Miss The Water 07. Sentimental Blues |
08. Jack, She's On The Ball
09. Can Anyone Ask For More? 10. Let's Have A Ball 11. If I Give You My Love 12. Sitting On Top Of The World 13. I've Had My Fun 14. Rockin' Chair Blues |
01. Some Enchanted Evening 02. Blues In The Night 03. Just Because 04. What'll I Do |
05. One Of These Days 06. Love Me Or Set Me Free 07. Drift Away 08. (turn out the light and)Love Me Tonight |
01. C.C. Rider 02. I Wonder Who's Kissing Her Now? 03. Going Down Slow 04. Lovin' the Girls 05. Kissa Me Baby 06. All Alone Again |
07. Sitting on Top of the World 08. Tell Me Baby 09. Baby Let Me Hold Your Hand 10. Hey Now 11. All to Myself Alone 12. Walkin' and Talkin' |
01. What Child Is This? 02. The Little Drummer Boy 03. Santa Claus Is Coming to Town 04. This Time of the Year 05. Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer 06. That Spirit of Christmas |
07. All I Want for Christmas 08. Christmas in My Heart 09. Winter Wonderland 10. Christmas Time 11. Baby, It's Cold Outside |
01. Leave My Woman Alone 02. My Bonnie 03. That's Enough 04. Drown in My Own Tears 05. A Fool for You 06. Hallelujah, I Love Her So 07. This Little Girl of Mine 08. Mary Ann 09. I Got a Woman 10. Yes, Indeed! 11. Swanee River Rock (Talkin' 'Bout That River) |
12. Lonely Avenue 13. I Had a Dream 14. Early in the Morning 15. The Right Time 16. I'm Movin' On 17. What Kind of Man Are You 18. I Want to Know 19. What'd I Say, Pt. 1 20. What'd I Say, Pt. 2 21. Jumpin' in the Morning |
01. Nothing Like a Hundred Miles 02. I Wish I'd Never Loved You at All 03. Too Hard to Love You 04. Now I Don't Believe That Anymore 05. Let's Call the Whole Thing Off |
06. Stranger in My Hometown 07. Over the Top 08. I'd Walk a Little More for You 09. If That's What'cha Want 10. Save the Bones for Henry Jones |
01. Georgia on My Mind 02. Hit the Road Jack 03. Unchain My Heart 04. Ruby 05. Don't Set Me Free 06. Baby, It's Cold Outside 07. Born to Lose 08. Night Time Is the Right Time 09. A Fool for You |
10. I Can't Stop Loving You 11. You Don't Know Me 12. Take These Chains from My Heart 13. Busted 14. Your Cheatin' Heart 15. What'd I Say 16. I Got a Woman 17. I'm Movin' On 18. Swanee River Rock (Talkin' 'Bout That River) |
01. Going Down Slow 02. Now She's Gone 03. Rockin' Chair Blues 04. Can Anyone Ask for More? 05. Let's Have a Ball |
06. This Love of Mine 07. Sitting on Top of the World 08. Blues Is My Middle Name 09. I Wonder Who's Kissing Her Now? 10. C C Rider |
01. I'll Take Care of You 02. Your Love Keeps Me Satisfied 03. Ellie, My Love 04. I Can't Get Enough 05. Let's Get Back to Where We Left Off |
06. Child Support & Alimony 07. Fresh Out of Tears 08. Living Without You 09. Where're the Stairs? 10. Leave Him! |
01. My World 02. A Song for You 03. None of Us Are Free 04. So Help Me God 05. Let Me Take Over |
06. One Drop of Love 07. If I Could 08. Love Has a Mind of Its Own 09. I'll Be There 10. Still Crazy After All These Years |
01. Tell Me Baby 02. Kiss Me Baby 03. A Sentimental Blues 04. What'd I Say 05. I'm Going Down to the River |
06. Blues Is My Middle Name 07. Can't You See Darling 08. Georgia on My Mind 09. Sittin' on Top of the World 10. Ain't That Fine |
01. Eleanor Rigby 02. Let's Go Get Stoned 03. Soul Segue: Cryin' Time/You Are My Sunshine 04. Esther Phillips Guest Medley: Monolog |
05. The Girl I Used to Know 06. Ode to Billie Joe 07. I Won't Leave 'Til I Get What I Come For |
01. All She Wants to Do Is Love Me 02. Say No More 03. No Time to Waste Time 04. Angelina 05. Tell Me What You Want Me to Do 06. Strong Love Affair |
07. Everybody's Handsome Child 08. Out of My Life 09. The Fever 10 Separate Ways 11. I Need a Good Woman Bad 12. If You Give Me Your Heart |
01. Band Intro 02. Strike up the Band 03. One Mint Julep 04. I Got a Woman 05. Georgia on My Mind 06. Margie 07. The Danger Zone 08. Hallelujah, I Love Her So 09. Come Rain or Come Shine |
10. Hide nor Hair 11. Alexander's Ragtime Band 12. I Believe to My Soul 13. Hit the Road Jack 14. The Right Time 15. Bye Bye Love 16. Unchain My Heart 17. What'd I Say |
01. Tell Me Baby 02. Kiss Me Baby 03. A Sentimental Blues 04. What'd I Say 05. I'm Going Down to the River 06. Blues Is My Middle Name 07. Can't You See Darling 08. Georgia on My Mind 09. Sittin' on Top of the World 10. Ain't That Fine |
11. She's on the Ball 12. Don't Put All Your Dreams in One Basket 13. This Love of Mine 14. Baby Won't You Please Come Home 15. Talkin' 'Bout You 16. You Be My Baby 17. Leave My Woman Alone 18. I'm Movin' On 19. Heartbreaker 20. I Got a Woman |
01. Baby Won't You Please Come Home 02. She's on the Ball 03. Honey Honey 04. Ain't That Fine 05. How Long? 06. I Found My Baby There 07. You Never Miss the Water 08. The Snow Is Falling 09. Tell Me Baby 10. Blues Before Sunrise 11. Some Day (Blues Is My Middle Name) 12. Baby Let Me Hold Your Hand 13. Kissa Me Baby 14. See See Rider 15. A Sentimental Blues 16. Don't Put All Your Dreams in One Basket 17. Why Did You Go? 18. Can't You See Me Darling? 19. This Love of Mine 20. Goin' Down Slow |
21. Confession Blues 22. I Love You, I Love You 23. What Have I Done? 24. Alone in This City 25. Th' Ego Song 26. Late in the Evening Blues 27. Sitting on Top of the World 28. If I Give You My Love 29. Rockin' Chair Blues 30. Let's Have a Ball 31. Can Anyone Ask for More 32. Back Home 33. Guitar Blues 34. Walkin' and Talkin' 35. I'm Wondering and Wondering 36. Let Me Hear You Call My Name 37. Misery in My Heart 38. Lonely Boy 39. Hey Now 40. I Wonder Who's Kissing Her Now? |
01. Night Time Is the Right Time 02. Talkin' 'Bout You 03. A Fool for You 04. Swanee River Rock (Talkin' 'Bout That River) 05. The Spirit-Feel 06. Yes, Indeed! 07. What'd I Say 08. Come Rain or Come Shine 09. Hit the Road Jack 10. The Danger Zone 11. Bye Bye Love 12. Georgia on My Mind 13. One Mint Julep 14. I Believe to My Soul 15. Unchain My Heart |
16. Baby Don't You Cry 17. Hallelujah, I Love Her So 18. You Don't Know Me 19. I Got a Woman 20. Hide nor Hair 21. Margie 22. Don't Set Me Free 23. Let the Good Times Roll 24. Busted 25. Don't Let Her Know 26. Then We'll Be Home 27. I Can't Stop Loving You 28. Feel So Bad 29. Living for the City |
01. I've Got A Woman 02. A Fool For You 03. Drown In My Own Tears 04. Hallelujah I Love Her So 05. (Night Time Is) The Right Time 06. What'd I Say Parts I & II 07. Sticks And Stones 08. Georgia On My Mind |
09. One Mint Julep 10. Hit The Road Jack 11. Unchain My Heart 12. I Can't Stop Loving You 13. You Are My Sunshine 14. Busted 15. Let's Go Get Stoned 16. Seven Spanish Angels (With Willie Nelson) |
01. It Should've Been Me 02. Greenbacks 03. Lonely Avenue 04. This Little Girl Of Mine 05. Come Back Baby 06. Hide 'Nor Hair 07. Born To Lose 08. You Don't Know Me |
09. Take These Chains From My Heart 10. Crying Time 11. Don't Set Me Free 12. Together Again 13. Here We Go Again 14. Yesterday 15. Eleanor Rigby 16. We Didn't See A Thing - With George Jones, Featuring Chet Atkins |