DOWNLOAD BOOKLET HIS INSPIRATION

DOWNLOAD BOOKLET HIS INFLUENCE

By Joël DUFOUR

INSPIRATION FOR A GENIUS

Scope of this release

Probably no one could deny that Ray Charles had been an enormously influential artist during the 20^th century, and beyond (who could imagine a world without him?). Yet it had taken him a long time, a lot of experiences and encounters, to discover and develop the elements of his own unmistakable voice and style. This collection attempts at shedding some light on important artists and songs that nurtured his musical world. Needless to say that, with it, we have no claim at providing the ultimate “explanation” of what “made” this exceptional artist.   

Fortunately, Ray Charles wrote his autobiography, in 1977 (with David Ritz), and it provides many clues – but not the whole picture. More information is to be found through Ray Charles interviews in other books and magazine articles, but let’s admit it: in a few instances, a little guessing also took place in our choice of what rendition to include as the (possible, in this case) inspiration for Ray Charles’ cover of such or such song. For example, our inclusion of Billie Holiday’s 1941 version of Georgia on My Mind does not mean that we have any proof that it was that specific record which inspired Ray to record his own version of this standard, first recorded by its composer, Hoagy Carmichael, in 1930. By the time he recorded the song, in 1960, Ray Charles probably knew quite a few versions of this popular song, no doubt including Billie’s one. He was a staunch fan of hers (“Billie Holiday always destroyed me”) (1).        

Florida

Released at age fifteen from the (segregated) Florida School for the Deaf and Blind, located in St. Augustine, young Ray Charles Robinson (then nicknamed “R.C.”) was a black blind orphan who had to make a living on his own. For him, music was the way.

Before progressively losing his sight (he became totally blind by age seven), the Robinson little boy had been given some informal piano lessons from the owner the Red Wing Cafe, in his hometown of Greenville, Florida, Wylie Pitman. « Mr. Pit », as he was called, not only had a piano but also a jukebox. While, in Greenville, the only radio stations which could be heard played only music made by, and for, white people, Mr. Pit’s jukebox would be blasting boogie from Meade Lux Lewis, Pete Johnson or Albert Ammons, country blues from Tampa Red, Washboard Sam, Arthur Big Boy Crudup or Blind Boy Fuller, or the jazz bands of the time – black (Jimmie Lunceford, Lucky Millinder, Duke Ellington, Count Basie, Jay McShann, Buddy Johnson, Billy Eckstine…) – or white (Benny Goodman, Tommy Dorsey, Glenn Miller, Artie Shaw, Gene Krupa...) And there were the singers: “Al Hibbler singing with Duke, Ella [Fitzgerald] singing with Chick Webb or the Ink Spots – this was music which hit me hard. I also knew all the white singers of the time: Bing Crosby, Dick Haymes, Vaughn Monroe, Tony Martin. Of the whites, only one – Jo Stafford – impressed me much. She had a silky quality to her voice that I liked” (1).

Ray soaked up all this music – and so he did, every Saturday night, when listening at home to the Grand Ole Opry, the “country music” program broadcast from Nashville by the WSM radio station. He used to like listening to such singers as Hank Williams, Jimmie Rodgers, Roy Acuff, Hank Snow or Eddie Arnold. 

It had been a very rebellious little Ray that his mother had taken the to the St. Augustine institution, on October 23, 1937. Yet, upon his release, on October 5, 1945, he was a fully trained piano player, able to read Braille music scores and play the long classical pieces he had to memorize. There he had received lessons on harmony as well. Moreover, in his spare time, he had learnt to play the clarinet by himself, out of fondness for Artie Shaw’s playing. 

Then started for the teenage R.C. Robinson the toughest years of his career when he had to struggle for gigs in Florida (Jacksonville, Orlando, Tampa), alone or as a sideman with any band. This is also when he wrote his first arrangements for the seven-piece orchestra of saxophonist Joe Anderson, and briefly played piano in the all-white country combo “The Florida Playboys”.

By that time, Ray had found his first models: “There was one guy who sang and played the piano in a way that changed my life. He influenced me above all others. This dude did it all for me, and I couldn’t hear him enough. In fact, I followed him for nearly a decade. Musically, I walked in his footsteps until I found a stride of my own. I stole many of his licks. And I got his vocal style down to a T. He was my idol (…) I was also aware of Nat Cole’s popularity in the forties, the fact that everyone loved him, and that he was making big money playing this kind of music (…) His style put together so much of what I loved: jazz improvisation, pretty melodies, hot rhythms, and an occasional taste of the blues.

There were other piano players and singers of that school who were powerful influences on me: Charles Brown, for example, in the early part of my career, especially when I was struggling down in Florida. I made many a dollar doing an imitation of his Drifting Blues. That was a hell of a number” (1).

Seattle

Accordingly, with the help of guitarist Gossie D. McKee [aka G.D. McKee, aka Garcia D. McKee], young R.C. Robinson would mostly concentrate on his imitations of Nat “King” Cole and Charles Brown. But gigs were too scarce in Florida, so Gossie and Ray (both claimed having had the idea first) decided to go as far away from Tampa as possible within the U.S. The busy industrial town of Seattle, WA, seemed to be the right choice. So, in March of 1948, they travelled up North by bus, and they soon blended into the music scene of the big city, forming their McSon trio (Mc for McKee and Son for Robinson) with local bassist Milt Garred, in order to imitate the Nat King Cole and Charles Brown trios.

They proved so successful at it that they soon secured a regular job at the Rocking Chair club for most of the rest of 1948. But Ray also wanted to play jazz, and so he did, in his spare time, jamming here and there, and joining the Bumps Blackwell band, whose young trumpet player and aspiring arranger, Quincy Jones, would become Ray’s lifelong friend, and collaborator on some important music projects. The kind of jazz they favored, and played whenever they could, was the then new “bebop” style. Ray listened to the top piano players: “Everyone was talkin’ ‘bout Bud Powell back then, and he was a fine pianist. But I actually preferred Hank Jones. I like his touch, and I had a great feeling for his solo work. He reminded me of Nat Cole with all that wonderful taste. Phineas Newborn was one of the best young pianists of the period, and of course I still had tremendous admiration for the real master-cats like Oscar Peterson and Erroll Garner” (1).

By that time, Ray had given up playing clarinet in favor of the alto-saxophone “The first alto saxophone player that I loved -– my idol -– was Charlie Parker. And I am not saying that because he was a jazz cat. He did more (on the instrument) … just like Art Tatum for the piano. But, as for saxophone... What’s strange about the saxophone… My true idol – you know I was a clarinet player before I became a saxophone player – and there was a man named Artie Shaw whom I really loved. It’s still true to this day. I don’t know why he stopped playing music, because, to me, he had more feeling than any other clarinet player I ever heard. He could play with so much feeling as to make you cry. Artie Shaw was the one who started me to playing clarinet. And then, in the late forties, the clarinet was no longer the instrument. The saxophone was, so I just switched. It was easy to switch, and I loved Charlie Parker, although I knew I never could do what he did, not even come close. But I liked what he was doing with the instrument.” (2).

The first recording contract

Ray Charles’ first big break would come when Los Angeles record company owner Jack Lauderdale discovered the McSon trio in Seattle. Would ensue a nearly four years association with Lauderdale’s successive record labels (Down Beat, Swing Beat, Swing Time…), his records being successively released as by the Maxin trio, the Maxim trio, and, ultimately, after the trio split, as “Ray Charles”.

Lauderdale took two crucial decisions regarding his new young discovery. The first one was to put him under the guidance of the great blues piano player Lloyd Glenn “Lloyd Glenn was an excellent pianist. A very creative type of guy. And he was what we call an A&R [artists and repertoire] man for that little company I was with, Swing Time. He was the man who coordinated everything. He would find the songs, play me on the piano what the song was like… But I liked him far more than as an A&R man because he was a very talented musician, and he would play things on the piano that I wanted to learn how to do. So, he was very helpful to me.” (2).

We don’t know whether it was Lloyd’s idea, or Ray’s, to record old blues standards such as Leroy Carr’s Blues Before Sunrise or How Long Blues or St. Louis Jimmy’s Going Down Slow, but Ray would record again the latter in 1965 and frequently performed it on stage.

Lowell Fulson

The second critical decision that Jack Lauderdale took regarding Ray Charles was to have him join the 1950 tour of the southern states of another artist of his roster, singer and guitarist Lowell Fulson, who just had a hit record with his version of Everyday I Have the Blues. Ray would play piano behind Lowell and have his own place in the show. This experience, which finally lasted two years, helped young Ray to discover and experience with what would become his own voice and style, which would progressively move toward a much harsher kind of blues.       

Atlantic

Ray Charles’ second big break came in 1952 when Ahmet Ertegun, the boss of the fledging Rhythm & Blues and Jazz New York record company Atlantic bought Ray’s contract from Jack Lauderdale for $ 2,500.

When, after Ray’s first Atlantic session, made under the aegis of usual R&B arranger for the label, Jesse Stone, Ahmet Ertegun gathered Ray and Jesse for a work meeting aimed at choosing songs for Ray’s forthcoming next recording session, he had the good idea of recording the whole process.

The content of that 1953 work tape (which was eventually published in its entirety in the 2004 Pure Genius Rhino CD box set) was revelatory of what songs Ahmet wanted Ray to record, and those that Ray himself wished to record and presented to Ertegun and Stone. Ray wanted to make his own version of Lowell Fulson’s Sinner’s Player, which he had been playing behind Lowell on stage. It was he, too, who had brought Big Maceo’s Worried Life Blues and Walter Davis’s Come Back Baby. While Ray would not record Walter Davis’s song, he would use it as a basis for his own song of the same title. After Atlantic had lost Ray Charles to ABC-Paramount, in 1959, they would include, as “Some Day Baby”, Ray’s version of Big Maceo’s Worried Life Blues from the 1953 work tape in their album The Genius Sings the Blues. Obviously fond of the song, Ray would record it with his band seven years later.

Freelance on his own again

After leaving Lowell Fulson’s band, Ray Charles had joined for a while the touring band of trumpeter and singer Joe Morris, after which he was on his own again, embarking on a lot of the then current multi-artists Rhythm & Blues shows on which not only he had his own spot, but he often would back other artists, such as Big Joe Turner, Pee Wee Crayton or T-Bone Walker (on piano) or Little Walter (on alto-sax). T-Bone particularly fascinated him: “T-Bone Walker impressed the hell out of me. At that time, he was really, really big. He would come in… and the girls would be throwing their drawers and everything… and money (…) You know how he would make the guitar cry and cry.” (3). “I used to love T-Bone Walker and Lightnin’ Hopkins. They were the backbone of the blues, like Bessie Smith.” (4).

New Orleans

In between those “Cavalcade of Stars” tours, as they used to be called, Ray Charles would also play in local clubs, and he would often play the Dew Drop Inn in New Orleans. The club was located in the hotel by the same name, where Ray Charles lived for half of the year of 1953. In August of that year, Ahmet Ertegun came down to record local singer and bandleader Tommy Ridgley for Atlantic, and he managed to have Ray back him on piano and then record two songs for himself as well. By that time, Ray had made an acquaintance with the impressive rising singer and guitarist “Guitar Slim” (Eddie Jones), whose Feelin’ Sad he decided to record –  in a version quite revealing of the impact that the original version had had on him.

After having written the arrangement and played piano on Guitar Slim’s smash hit The Things That I Used to Do, Ray would use Slim’s band to back him for his next Atlantic recording session. The most successful song that came out of that session, Don’t You Know clearly “borrowed” its great riff from Buddy Johnson’s That’s How I Feel.

Gospel

By 1954, Ray Charles had formed (in Dallas) his first seven-piece orchestra, and it already featured two saxophone players who would remain the greatest soloists that Brother Ray ever had, David “Fathead” Newman and Don Wilkerson.

One of the first arrangement that Ray wrote for his own band was an instrumental version of the Clovers’ song One Mint Julep (which he would eventually record six years later).

Then Ray Charles recruited Louisiana trumpet player Renald Richard as his band leader. Here’s Renald’s recollection of the genesis of Ray Charles’ famous first song drenched in gospel music, I’ve Got a Woman:

“We were on a Midwest tour and I always rode in a car with Ray Charles because we would discuss things about the band, and we would sometimes talk about songs. And this particular night we were travelling, and we were listening to some gospel music on the radio. And this tune came up and Ray Charles said: ‘Oh, man, I sure like that groove’… and he said something like: ‘I’ve got a woman’ and I said ‘Yes, she lives across town’. He said ‘She’s good to me’. He said ‘I like that’. He said ‘You write lyrics. You think you can write something with that for me?’ I said ‘Yeah’.” (5).

When Renald could hear an mp3 file of It must be Jesus by the Southern Tones, he said “Yes, I am 90% certain that the song was what Ray and I were listening to when we came up with the idea for I Got A Woman.” (5).

Ray Charles’ first endeavor of infusing his blues with gospel was felt as sacrilegious by most black churches, but it also proved hugely successful, providing him with his fist number 1 record in the R&B charts of the Billboard magazine in January 1955. Ray had found his key to success.

“I became myself. I opened up the floodgates, let myself do things I hadn’t done before, created sounds which, people told me afterward, had never been created before. If I was inventing something new, I wasn’t aware of it. In my mind, I was just bringing out more of me. I started taking gospel lines and turning them into regular songs. (…) None of the spirituals had copyrights. How could they? Black folks had been singing them as far back as anyone could remember. And often my new tunes would be based on three or four gospel numbers – not just one. (…)

Imitating Nat Cole had required a certain calculation on my part. I had to gird myself, I had to fix my voice into position. I loved doing it, but it certainly wasn’t effortless. This new combination of blues and gospel was. It required nothing of me but being true to my very first music. (…)

I knew many of the gospel men and women. Some were friends of mine, others just acquaintances. Among them were the best singers I ever heard in my life. And the very cream of the crop – for me at least – were cats like Ira Tucker of the Dixie Hummingbirds, Archie Brownlee of the Five Blind Boys of Mississippi, and Claude Jeter of the Swan Silvertones. These guys have voices which could shake down your house and smash all the furniture in it. Jesus, could they wail!” (1).

Now, Ray Charles wanted to perfect his new gospel approach to his music by adding to his band a chorus of female voices. He would soon achieve that by turning the Cookies girl group, led by the stunning Margie Hendrix, into what would become his famous Raelets. “I’d always liked the sound of girls’ gospel groups. Albertina Walker [leader of the Caravans] – who had James Cleveland playing piano for her in those days – was a favorite of mine. And the Davis Sisters were also highly satisfying spiritual artists.” (1).

Jazz

“Right in the middle of the rock ‘n’ roll craze, I made my first jazz records. (…)  I heard what West Coast cats like Gerry Mulligan or [Dave] Brubeck or [Stan] Kenton were doing, and it was good music. But my heart was really with the East Coast dudes. They were harder cats and had a grittier sound. I’m talkin’ ‘bout Art Blakey’s band [the Jazz Messengers] or Horace Silver’s or the Max Roach/Clifford Brown outfit. There was more blues in their playing, and my own band, when we did jazz, played more in that mold.” (1).

The Turning Point

One tends to associate Ray Charles’ venture into pop and country music to his switch in labels, from Atlantic to ABC-Paramount, at the end of 1959, but it actually occurred earlier that year, when he was still with Atlantic.

With a program mainly made of standards from Broadway shows, one side with a big jazz band and the other with strings and choir, the album The Genius of Ray Charles was clearly a step into Frank Sinatra territory (the two singers had an admiration for each other, by the way).      

But that album also contained covers of songs by two artists who were important in Ray Charles’ music, Louis Jordan and Percy Mayfield (a few years later, Ray would sign both artists for his Tangerine label).  

Ray Charles was a fan of the famous dynamic small band leader, singer and alto-sax player Louis Jordan, and, starting with this 1959 album, he adopted (for decades) Jordans’ song Let the Good Times Roll as his own introductory song for most of his concerts.

Ray Charles’s friendship with Percy Mayfield dated back to the time when Ray was backing Lowell Fulson on the road (Percy hadn’t had yet his dreadful car crash accident then), and Ray would soon hire Percy to write songs for him, one of them, Hit the Road Jack, turning into a huge hit two years later. Ray Charles recorded 18 of Percy Mayfield’s songs, including two that they wrote together.

Revolution in Country Music

While Ray Charles had recorded his first country song on Atlantic in 1959 (I’m Movin’ On), it was in 1962 that he created his big commotion in the American popular music with his controversial album Modern Sounds in Country & Western Music, so successful that he would record a second volume in a hurry. The latter featured the song You Are My Sunshine which had been a hit in 1940 for country singer Jimmie Davis – who, incidentally, had been twice the governor of the state of Louisiana and who was (in)famous for having declared that he was “at 1,000 percent for segregation.”)

With the mighty help of Margie Hendrix, Ray Charles gave You Are My Sunshine his full treatment of gospel drenched R&B, elevating his rendition of the song to the status of a soul classic, inspiring cover versions by, among others, Ike & Tina Turner, Etta James, Aretha Franklin and Marvin Gaye.

By 1962, Ray Charles had pretty much defined all of the musical territories that he would be roaming through for the rest of his career (except for pure gospel, which he only sporadically, tackled starting in 1976).  

When asked what he considered himself as his greatest achievements in music, Ray Charles would invariably come up with such an answer:

“All I think I’ve done. I have allowed for myself the privilege to perform different kinds of music, like a good utility person. I play a little jazz, I play a little blues, I play a little country music, love songs… but I’m not a specialist. In other words, I am not a blues singer, I am not a jazz singer. I am a singer that sings jazz, I am a singer that sings the blues, you see there’s a difference. You have guys who are country singers, guys who are classical musicians, guys who are strictly this or strictly that. I’m not a specialist in anything, but I know a little bit of almost everything, musically speaking.” (2).

Now, to conclude this attempt at a modest “survey” of Ray Charles’ influences, what about a little discographic mystery?

According to Cedric Hayes & Robert Laughton’s “Gospel Discography” (Eyeball Productions), we have indicated “circa 1953” as recording date for the Gospel All Stars’s Apollo 312 single, both sides of which [“That’s Why I Love Him So”, sung by James Cleveland, and “What Could I Do”, sung by Ella Mitchell] present striking similarities with two songs that Ray Charles recorded on November 30, 1955 and which were released on the Atlantic 1096 single – respectively: Hallelujah I Love Her So and What Would I Do Without You. But… the Ray Charles single entered the Billboard magazine charts on June 16, 1956, while the Gospel All Stars’ single was apparently not reviewed in that same magazine before its April 7, 1958 issue.

In his book “The Gospel Sound” (Limelight Editions), specialist Anthony Heilbut has chosen what to believe: “Cleveland cut Ray Charles’s ‘Hallelujah I Love Her So’, an early acknowledgement that two could play at the same game”.

So maybe those Gospel All Stars tracks are out of place in this compilation, and would rather belong to a “Ray Charles’ influence” collection?

J.D.

© Frémeaux & Associés 2024

(1) Ray Charles & David Ritz: Brother Ray – Ray Charles’ Own Story (The Dial Press, 1978)

(2) Ray Charles interview by Joël Dufour (in Soul Bag magazine #117, March 1989.)

(3) Ray Charles interview by Thomas J. Cullen III (in Blues Review #24, August 1996.)

(4) Lilian Terry – Dizzy, Duke, Brother Ray & Friends (University of Illinois Press, 2017)

(5) Renald Richard interview by Joël Dufour (in Soul Bag magazine #176, September 2004.)

Note: For some of Ray Charles’ songs contained in this compilation, we have used a live version (previously unreleased) instead of his original recording. In this case, we have mentioned the recording date of the original version as well.  

Special thanks to: Michel Brillié, Alain Tomas, Jean-Francis Merle, Michelle Dufour.

Discography

His inspiration

CD1

 1.
I Realize Now – The King Cole Trio – vocal: Nat “King” Cole

 2. I Wonder Who’s Kissing Her Now – Ray Charles

 3.
Travelin’ Blues – Johnny Moore’s Three Blazers – vocal: Charles Brown

 4. Lonely Boy – Ray Charles

 5. This Love of Mine – Tommy Dorsey – vocal: Frank Sinatra

 6. This Love of Mine – Ray Charles

 7. How Long, How Long Blues – Leroy Carr

 8. How Long Blues – Ray Charles [as “Maxim Trio”]

 9. Going Down Slow – St. Louis Jimmy

10. “I’ve Had My Fun” [Going Down Slow] – Ray Charles

11. Sinner’s Prayer – Lowell Fulson

12. Sinner’s Prayer – Ray Charles

13. Feelin’ Sad – Eddie (Guitar Slim) Jones

14. Feelin’ Sad – Ray Charles

15. That’s How I Feel – Buddy Johnson – vocal: Ella Johnson

16. Don’t You Know – Ray Charles

17.
Lord If I Go – The Dixie Hummingbirds – lead vocal: Ira Tucker

18. It Must Be Jesus – Southern Tones – lead vocal: Bob King

19. I’ve Got a Woman* – Ray Charles (live version)

20. Come Back Baby – Walter Davis

21. Come Back Baby – Ray Charles

22.
That’s the Blues – Clyde Hart’s All Stars – vocal:
Rubberlegs Williams

23. A Fool for You – Ray Charles

24.
What Kind Of Man Is This – The Caravans with James Cleveland, lead vocal

25. This Little Light of Mine – The Famous Ward Singers

26. This Little Girl of Mine – Ray Charles

* = previously unreleased live Ray Charles track. 

Discography CD1

(1) (Stanley Cowan, Sidney Miller) Nat “King” Cole-vo,p/Oscar Moore-g/Johnny Miller-b. Los Angeles, March 6, 1944. Capitol 169.

(2) (Joseph E. Howard, Harold Orlob, Will M. Hough, Frank R. Adams) Ray Charles-vo,p/Oscar Moore-g/Johnny Miller (b). Prod. Lloyd Glenn. Los Angeles, November 24. 1949. Swing Time 249

(3) (Charles Brown, Johnny Moore, Edward Williams) Charles Brown-vo,p/Johnny Moore-g/Eddie Williams-b. Los Angeles, 1946. Modern Music 131.  

(4) (Jack Lauderdale, Shifty Henry) Ray Charles-vo,p/Oscar Moore-g/Johnny Miller (b). Prod. Lloyd Glenn. Los Angeles, November 24. 1949. Swing Time 250.

(5) (Sol Parker, Hank Sanicola, Frank Sinatra) Frank Sinatra-lead vo/The Tommy Dorsey Orchestra (ldr): Jimmy Blake, Ziggy Elman, Chuck Peterson, Clarence “Shorty” Sherock-tp/George Arus, Tommy Dorsey, Lowell Martin, Walter Mercurio-tb/Heine Beau, Manny Gershman, Don Lodice, Paul Mason, Hymie Schertzer-saxes/Clark Yocum-g/Joe Bushkin-p/Jack Kellerher-b/Buddy Rich-dm/The Pied Pipers-bgd-vo. New York, May 28, 1941. Victor 27508 

(6) (Sol Parker, Hank Sanicola, Frank Sinatra) Ray Charles-vo,p)/G. D. McKee-g/Milton Garred-b. Prod. Lloyd Glenn. Los Angeles, c. March 1949. Everest LP 292.

(7) (Leroy Carr) Leroy Carr-vo,p/Francis “Scrapper” Black­well-g. Indianapolis, June 19, 1928. Vocalion 1191

(8) (Leroy Carr) Ray Charles-vo,p/G. D. McKee & Tiny Webb-g/Ralph Hamilton-b. Prod. Lloyd Glenn. Los Angeles, November 11. 1949. Down Beat 178.

(9) (James Oden) St. Louis Jimmy (James Oden)-vo/Roosevelt Sykes-p/Leonard Caston-g/b. Chicago, 1947. Bullet 270.

(10) (James Oden) Ray Charles-vo,p/G. D. McKee & Tiny Webb-g/Ralph Hamilton-b. Prod. Lloyd Glenn. Los Angeles, prob. November 1949. Down Beat 215.

(11) (Lowell Fulson) Lowell Fulson-vo,g/Lloyd Glenn-p/Billy Hadnott-b/Bob Harvey-dm. Los Angeles, 1950. Swing Time 237.

(12) (Lowell Fulson) Ray Charles-vo,p/Pinky Williams-as/Freddie Mitchell-ts/Dave McRae-bs/Mickey Baker-g/Lloyd Trotman-b/Connie Kay-dm. Arr. Jesse Stone. Prod. Ahmet Ertegun. New York, May 17, 1953. Atlantic 1021.

(13) (Eddie Jones) Eddie Jones, aka “Guitar Slim”-vo,g/Herman Butler & Calvin Cage-saxes/Huey Smith-p/Hugh Dickson-b/Oscar Moore-dm. Nashville, 1952. J-B 603. 

(14) (Eddie Jones) Ray Charles-vo,p/ with Edgar Blanchard’s band: Auguste “Dimes” Dupont-as/ Warren Hébrard-ts/Edgar Blanchard-g/Frank Fields-b/Alonzo Stewart-dm. Prod. Ahmet Ertegun & Jerry Wexler. New Orleans, August 18, 1953. Atlantic 1008.

(15) (Buddy Johnson) Ella Johnson-vo/Purvis Henson-ts/Buddy Johnson-p/others unk. New York, February 17, 1953. Mercury 70173.

(16) (Ray Charles) Ray Charles-vo,p/with Guitar Slim’s band: Wallace Davenport & Frank Mitchell-tp/Warren Bell & O’Neil Gerald-as/Joe Tillman-ts/Charles Burbank-bs/Lloyd Lambert-b/Oscar Moore-dm. Arr. Ray Charles. Prod. Ahmet Ertegun & Jerry Wexler. New Orleans, December 4, 1953. Atlantic 1037.

(17) (Ira Tucker) William Bobo, James Davis, Paul Owens, Beachey Thompson, Ira Tucker-vo.Solo: William Bobo, Ira Tucker. August 1952. Peacock 1713.   

(18) (Bob King) Bob King-lead vo,g/Rev. W.L. Richardson, Johnny Noble, Franklin Pouncy-vo grp. January 1954.Duke 205.

(19) (Ray Charles, Renald Richard) see personnel and location at the bottom of this list (+). Arr. Ray Charles. Solo: Don Wilkerson (ts). Rec. May 18, 1962.

Ray Charles’s studio version of this song recorded on November 18, 1954 and released on Atlantic 1050.

(20) (Walter Davis) Walter Davis-vo,p. Chicago, July 12, 1940. Bluebird B8510. 

(21) (Ray Charles) Ray Charles-vo,p/Joe Bridgewater & Charles “Clanky” Whitley-tp/Don Wilkerson-ts/David “Fathead”
Newman-bs/Wesley Jackson-g/Jimmy Bell-b/Glenn Brooks-dm. Arr. Ray Charles. Prod. Ahmet Ertegun & Jerry Wexler. Atlanta, November 18, 1954. Atlantic 1050.

(22) (Rubberlegs Williams, Morty Shad) Henry “Rubberlegs” Williams-vo/Dizzy Gillespie-tp/Trummy Young-tb/Charlie Parker-as/Don Byas-ts/Mike Bryan-g/Clyde Hart-p/Al Hall-b/Gordon “Specs” Powell-dm. New York March or April 1945. Continental C-6013

(23) (Ray Charles) Ray Charles-vo,p/Joe Bridgewater & Riley Webb-tp/Don Wilkerson-ts/David Newman-bs/ Roosevelt “Whiskey” Sheffield-b/ William Peeples-dm. Arr. Ray Charles. Prod. Ahmet Ertegun & Jerry Wexler. Miami, April 23, 1955. Atlantic 1063.

(24) (James Cleveland) James Cleveland-lead vo,p/The Caravans: Johneron Davis, Cassietta George, Gloria Griffin, Albertina Walker-vo/unk.org. Chicago, October 5,1954. States S-146.

(25) (unk.) Henrietta Waddy, Clara Ward, Gertrude Ward, Willarene “Willa” Ward Moultrie, Marion Williams-vo/p/org. Soloists: CW,HW,WWM. New York, May 7, 1952. Savoy 4038.

(26) (Ray Charles) Ray Charles-vo,p/Joe Bridgewater & Riley Webb-tp/Don Wilkerson-ts/David Newman-bs/ Roosevelt “Whiskey” Sheffield-b/ William Peeples-dm/Mary Ann Fisher, Davide Newman & Don Wilkerson (background vo). Solo: Don Wilkerson (ts). Arr. Ray Charles. Prod. Ahmet Ertegun & Jerry Wexler. Miami, April 23, 1955. Atlantic 1063.

(+) Ray Charles-vo,p/Marcus Belgrave & Wallace Daven­port-tp/John Hunt (flh)/Henderson Chambers, Leon Comegys, Jim Harbert, Keg Johnson-tb/Hank Crawford-as, band leader/Rudy Powell-as/David Newman & Don Wilkerson-ts/Leroy Cooper-bs/Sonny Forriest-g/Edgar Willis-b/Bruno Carr-dm/ The Raelets (where heard): Gwen Berry, Margie Hendrix, Pat Lyles, Darlene McCrea. Recorded live at the Olympia Theater, Paris, 1962.

 CD2

 1. Blues Hangover – Lloyd Glenn

 2. “A Bit of Soul” [Blues Hangover] – Ray Charles

 3. Hard Way – T- Bone Walker

 4. Mary Ann – Ray Charles

 5.
I’ll Drown in My Tears – Sonny Thompson with Lula Reed, vocal  

 6. Drown in My Own Tears – Ray Charles

 7.
That’s Why I Love Him So – Gospel All Stars – lead vocal: James Cleveland

 8. Hallelujah I Love Her So* – Ray Charles (live version)

 9.
What could I do – Gospel All Stars – lead vocal: Ella Mitchell

10. What Would I Do Without You – Ray Charles

11.
How Jesus Died – The Pilgrim Travelers – lead vocal:
Jesse Whitaker

12. Lonely Avenue – Ray Charles

13.
I Want to Know – Cecil Shaw with the Alpha-Omega Singers

14. I Want to Know – Ray Charles

15. Let That Liar Alone – Golden Gate Jubilee Quartet

16.
I’m Gonna Wait – Swan’s Silvertone Singers – lead vocal: Claude Jeter

17. Leave My Woman Alone – Ray Charles

18. Doodlin’ – Horace Silver & the Jazz Messengers

19. Doodlin’ – Ray Charles

20.
That’s Enough – The Original Gospel Harmonettes – lead vocal: Dorothy Love [Coates] 

21. That’s Enough – Ray Charles

22. I Want a Little Girl – T- Bone Walker

23. I Want a Little Girl – Ray Charles

24.
Yes Indeed – Tommy Dorsey – vocal: Sy Oliver & Jo Stafford

25.
I Never Heard A Man – The Original Five Blind Boys – lead vocal: Archie Brownlee

26. Yes Indeed – Ray Charles

* = previously unreleased live Ray Charles track.

Discography CD2

(1) (Lloyd Glenn) Lloyd Glenn-p/ Billy Hadnott-b/Bob Harvey-dm. Los Angeles, circa September 1950  

(2) (Lloyd Glenn) Ray Charles-p/Joe Bridgewater & Riley Webb-tp/David Newman-as/Don Wilkerson-ts/ Roosevelt “Whiskey” Sheffield-b/ William Peeples-dm. Solo: David Newman (as). Arr. Ray Charles. Prod. Ahmet Ertegun & Jerry Wexler. Miami, April 23, 1955. Atlantic 2094.

(3) (T-Bone Walker, Clarence Grady McDaniel) Aaron “T- Bone” Walker-vo,g with possibly Dave Batholomew’s orchestra. Los Angeles, June 20, 1954. Imperial X5330.

(4) (Ray Charles) Ray Charles-vo,p)/Joe Bridgewater & Joshua “Jack” Willis-tp/Don Wilkerson-ts/Cecil Payne-bs/Paul West-b/Panama Francis-dm. Arr. Ray Charles. Prod. Ahmet Ertegun & Jerry Wexler. New York, November 30, 1955. Atlantic 1085.

(5) (Henry Glover) Lula Reed-vo/Dennis Brooks-as/David “Bubba” Brooks-ts/Chauncey “Lord” Westbrook-g/ Alphonso “Sonny” Thompson-p/Clifford McCray-b/Norman F. John­son-dm. New York, December 14, 1951. King 4527.

(6) (Henry Glover) Ray Charles-vo,p)/Joe Bridgewater & Joshua “Jack” Willis-tp/Don Wilkerson-ts/Cecil Payne-bs/Paul West-b/Panama Francis-dm/fem. choir [“Boo” (high part), unknown (middle part), Mary Ann Fisher (bottom part)]. Arr. Ray Charles. Prod. Ahmet Ertegun & Jerry Wexler. New York, November 30, 1955. Atlantic 1085.

(7) (James Cleveland) James Cleveland-lead vo,p/Dorothy Bates,Imogene Greene,Rose Hines,Ella Mitchell-vo/Herman Stevens-org. Circa 1953 (?). Apollo 312.

(8) (Ray Charles) see personnel and location at the bottom of this list (+). Arr. Ray Charles. Solo: Don Wilkerson (ts). Rec. May 18, 1962.

Ray Charles’s studio version of this song recorded on November 30, 1955 and released on Atlantic 1096.

(9) (James Cleveland) Ella Mitchell-lead vo/ James Cleveland-vo,p/ Dorothy Bates,Imogene Greene,Rose Hines-vo/ Herman Stevens-org. Circa 1953 (?). Apollo 312.

(10) (Ray Charles) Ray Charles-vo,p)/Joe Bridgewater & Joshua “Jack” Willis-tp/Don Wilkerson-ts/Cecil Payne-bs/Paul West-b/Panama Francis-dm. Solo: Don Wilkerson (ts). Arr. Ray Charles. Prod. Ahmet Ertegun & Jerry Wexler. New York, November 30, 1955. Atlantic 1096.

(11) (George McCurn, Jesse Whitaker) James W. Alexander,Keith Barber,George McCurn,Kylo Turner,Jesse Whitaker-vo/Theresa Childs-p/Charles Brown-org/John Harris-b/Albert Bartee-dm. Soloists: Jesse Whitaker, George McCurn. Hollywood, CA, August 4, 1955. Specialty 889.       

(12) (Doc Pomus) Ray Charles-vo,p/Joe Bridgewater & John Hunt-tp/David Newman-ts/Emmett Dennis-bs/ Roosevelt Sheffield-b/William Peeples-dm/The Cookies [Margie Hendrix, Dorothy Jones, Darlene McCrea]-bgd vo. Solo: David Newman (ts). Arr. Ray Charles. Prod. Ahmet Ertegun & Jerry Wexler. New York, May 16, 1956. Atlantic 1108.

(13) (Cecil Shaw) Cecil Shaw-lead vo/the Alpha-Omega Singers-
mass vocal group. Houston, TX, December 1954. Shaw no #.

(14) (Ray Charles) Ray Charles-vo,p/Joe Bridgewater & John Hunt-tp/David Newman-ts/Emmett Dennis-bs/ Roosevelt Sheffield-b/William Peeples-dm/The Cookies [Margie Hendrix, Dorothy Jones, Darlene McCrea]-bgd vo. Arr. Ray Charles. Prod. Ahmet Ertegun & Jerry Wexler. New York, May 16, 1956. Atlantic 1124.

(15) (trad.) Willie Johnson, William Langford, Henry Owens, Orlandus Wilson-vo. New York, August 10, 1938. Bluebird B7835.  

(16) (Claude Jeter) Claude Jeter-lead vo/Henry Bossard, John Myles, Roosevelt Payne-vo/ Solomon Womack-vo/g. Cincinnati, June 13, 1949. King 4308.

(17) (Ray Charles) Ray Charles-vo,p/Joe Bridgewater & John Hunt-tp/David Newman-ts/Emmett Dennis-bs/Roosevelt Sheffield-b/William Peeples-dm/The Cookies [Mary Ann Fisher, Margie Hendrix, Dorothy Jones, Darlene McCrea]-bgd vo. Arr. Ray Charles. Prod. Ahmet Ertegun & Jerry Wexler. New York, May 16, 1956. Atlantic 1108.

(18) (Horace Silver) Horace Silver-p/Kenny Dorham-tp/Hank Mobley-ts/Doug Watkins-b/Art Blakey-dm. Hackensack, NJ, November 13, 1954. Blue Note BLP 1518.

(19) (Horace Silver) Ray Charles-p/Joe Bridgewater & John Hunt-tp/David Newman-ts/Emmett Dennis-bs/Roosevelt Sheffield-b/William Peeples-dm. Solo: John Hunt (tp), David Newman (ts). Arr. Quincy Jones. Prod. Nesuhi Ertegun & Jerry Wexler. New York, November 26, 1956. Atlantic LP 1259.

(20) (Dorothy Love Coates) Dorothy Love Coates-lead vo/ Odessa Edwards, Vera Kolb, Mildred Miller, Willie Mae Newberry Garth-vo/Herbert Pickard-org/Evelyn Starks-p. Los Angeles, January 20, 1956. Specialty 904. 

(21) (Ray Charles) Ray Charles-vo,p/Joe Bridgewater & Lee “Ricci” Harper-tp/David Newman-ts/Emmett Dennis-bs/Edgar Willis-b/William Peeples-dm/Mary Ann Fisher & the Raelets [Margie Hendrix, Pat Lyles, Darlene McCrea]-bgd vo. Solo: David Newman (ts). Arr. Ray Charles. Prod. Ahmet Ertegun & Jerry Wexler. New York, May 26, 1957. Atlantic 2022.

(22) (Murray Mencher, William Moll) T-Bone Walker-vo & g/Jack Trainor-tp/Bumps Myers-ts/Willard McDaniel-p/Billy Hadnott-b/Oscar Lee Bradley-dm. Los Angeles, December 29, 1947.Back & White 125.

(23) (Murray Mencher, William Moll) Ray Charles-vo,p/Joe Bridgewater & Lee “Ricci” Harper-tp/David Newman-ts/Emmett Dennis-bs/Edgar Willis-b/William Peeples-dm. Arr. Ray Charles. Prod. Ahmet Ertegun & Jerry Wexler. New York, May 26, 1957. Atlantic 1154.

(24) (Sy Oliver) Sy Oliver & Jo Stafford-vo/Tommy Dorsey-tb/Jimmy Blake, Ziggy Elman,Ray Linn,Chuck Peterson-tp/
George Arus,Les Jenkins,Lowell Martin-tb/Johnny Mince, Freddie Stulce-as/Don Lodice,Paul Mason-ts/Heinie Beau-bs/Clark Yocum-g/Joe Bushkin-p/Sid Weiss-b/Buddy Rich-dm. Solo: Tommy Dorsey. New York, February 17, 1941. Victor 27421.

(25) (Lloyd Woodard) Archie Brownlee-lead vo/Lawrence Abrams,John T. Clinkscales, Lloyd Woodard-vo/Wayne Ben­nett-g/Ronald Hall-p/dm. Chicago May 2^nd, 1956. Vee-Jay 194.    

(26) (Sy Oliver) Ray Charles-vo,org,p/Marcus Belgrave & Lee Harper-tp/David Newman-ts/Hank Crawford-bs/Edgar Willis-b/Richie Goldberg-dm/Mary Ann Fisher & the Cookies [Margie Hendrix, Dorothy Jones, Darlene McCrea] (bgd vo). Solo: David Newman (ts). Arr. Ray Charles. Prod. Ahmet Ertegun & Jerry Wexler. New York, February 17, 1958. Atlantic 1180.

(+) Ray Charles-vo,p/Marcus Belgrave & Wallace Daven­port-tp/John Hunt (flh)/Henderson Chambers, Leon Comegys, Jim Harbert, Keg Johnson-tb/Hank Crawford-as, band leader/Rudy Powell-as/David Newman & Don Wilkerson-ts/Leroy Cooper-bs/Sonny Forriest-g/Edgar Willis-b/Bruno Carr-dm/ The Raelets (where heard): Gwen Berry, Margie Hendrix, Pat Lyles, Darlene McCrea. Recorded live at the Olympia Theater, Paris, 1962.

CD3

 1. Warming Up A Riff – Charlie Parker’s All Stars

 2. The Spirit-Feel – Ray Charles

 3. Now`s The Time – Charley Parker’s Ree Boppers    

 4.  X-Ray Blues – Ray Charles & Milt Jackson

 5. Early in the Mornin’ – Louis Jordan & his Tympany Five

 6. Early in the Mornin’ – Ray Charles

 7. Come Rain or Come Shine – Dinah Shore

 8. Come Rain or Come Shine* (1^st version) – Ray Charles (live version)

 9. Let the Good Times Roll – Louis Jordan & his Tympany Five

10. Let the Good Times Roll* – Ray Charles (live version)

11. Two Years of Torture – Percy Mayfield, with Monroe Tucker and his orchestra

12. Two Years of Torture – Ray Charles

13. Alexander’s Ragtime Band – Louis Armstrong   

14. Alexander’s Ragtime Band* – Ray Charles (live version)

15. I’m Moving On – Hank Snow and his Rainbow Ranch Boys

16. I’m Movin’ On – Ray Charles

17. Georgia on My Mind – Billie Holiday

18. Georgia on My Mind* – Ray Charles (live version)

19. I Wonder – Cecil Gant

20. I Wonder – Ray Charles

* = previously unreleased live Ray Charles track. 

Discography CD3

(1) (Charlie Parker) Miles Davis-tp/Charlie Parker-as/”Hen Gates”(Dizzy Gillespie)-p/Curley Russell-b/Max Roach-dm.New York, November 26, 1945. Savoy 45-302.

(2) (Milt Jackson) Ray Charles-as/Marcus Belgrave & John Hunt-tp/David Newman-ts/Hank Crawford-bs/Edgar Willis-b/Teagle Fleming-dm). Solo: JH, DN, MB, HC, RC. Arr. Ray Charles. Prod. Zenas Sears. Atlanta, May 28, 1959. Atlantic LP 8039.

(3) (Charlie Parker) Charlie Parker-as/Miles Davis-tp/”Hen Gates”(Dizzy Gillespie)-p/Curley Russell-b/Max Roach-dm.New York, November 26, 1945. Savoy 573.

(4) (Ray Charles) Ray Charles-p,as,el-p/Milt Jackson-vb/Kenny Burrell-g/Percy Heath-b/Art Taylor-dm. Ray Charles successively plays piano, alto sax and electric piano. Prod. Nesuhi Ertegun. New York, April 10, 1958. Atlantic LP 1360.

(5) (Leo Hickman, Louis Jordan, Dallas Bartley) Louis Jordan-vo,as/Aaron Izenhall-tp/Eddie Johnson-ts/Carl Hogan-g/”Wild” Bill Davis-p/Dallas Batley-b/”Chris Columbus”(Joe Morris)-dm.New York, April 23, 1947.Decca 25155.

(6) (Leo Hickman, Louis Jordan, Dallas Bartley) Ray Charles-vo,el-p/Marcus Belgrave & Lee Harper-tp/David Newman-ts/Hank Crawford-bs/Edgar Willis-b/Milton Turner-dm/Mongo Santamaria-cga/the Raelets: Gwen Berry, Margie Hendrix, Pat Lyles, Darlene McCrea-bgd vo. Solo: David Newman (ts). Arr. Ray Charles. Prod. Ahmet Ertegun & Jerry Wexler. New York, October 28, 1958. Atlantic LP 8052.

(7) (Johnny Mercer, Harold Arlen) Dinah Shore (vo) with orchestra directed by Sonny Burke. New York, 1946. Columbia 36971.

(8) (Johnny Mercer, Harold Arlen) see personnel and location at the bottom of this list (+). Arr. Quincy Jones. Solo: Don Wilkerson (ts). Rec. May 18, 1962.

Ray Charles’s studio version of this song recorded on May 6, 1959 and released on Atlantic LP 1312.

(9) (Sam Theard, Fleecie Moore) Louis Jordan-vo,as/Aaron Izenhall-tp/Josh Jackson-ts/Carl Hogan-g/“Wild” Bill Davis-p/Jesse “Po” Simpkins-b/Eddie Byrd-dm.New York, June 26, 1946. Decca 23741.

(10) (Sam Theard, Fleecie Moore) see personnel and location at the bottom of this list (+). Arr. Quincy Jones. Solo: David Newman (ts). Rec. 1^st concert of  May 19, 1962.

Ray Charles’s studio version of this song recorded on June 23, 1959 and released on Atlantic LP 1312.

(11) (Percy Mayfield) Percy Mayfield-vo/Vernon “Geechie” Smith-tp/Marshall Royal-as/Maxwell Davis-ts/Floyd Tur­ham-bs/Charles “Chuck” Norris-g/Willard McDaniel-p/Roy Hamilton-b/Henry Williams-dm. Los Angeles, 1949. Recorded in Hollywood 111.

(12) (Percy Mayfield) Ray Charles-vo,p/with orchestra dir. by Quincy Jones: Marcus Belgrave, John Hunt, Joe Newman, Clark Terry, Eugene “Snooky” Young-tp/Al Grey, Quentin Jackson, Melba Liston, Thomas Mitchell-tb/Marshall Royal, Frank Wess-as/Paul Gonsalves, Billy Mitchell, David Newman-ts/Hank Crawford, Charlie Fowlkes-bs/Freddie Green-g/Eddie Jones, Edgar Willis-b/Teagle Fleming, Charlie Persip-dm. Solo: Paul Gonsalves (ts). Arr. John Acea. Prod. Nesuhi Ertegun & Jerry Wexler. New York, June 23, 1959. Atlantic LP 1312.

(13) (Irving Berlin) Louis Armstrong-vo,lead tp/Henry “Red” Allen,Louis Bacon,Shelton Hemphill-tp/J.C. Higginbotham, George Matthews, George Washington-tb/Pete Clark,Charlie Holmes-as/Bingie Madison,Albert Nicholas-cl,ts/Luis Rus­sell-p/Lee Blair-g/Pops Foster-b/Paul Barbarin-dm. New York, July 7, 1937. Decca 1408.

(14) (Irving Berlin) see personnel and location at the bottom of this list (+). Arr. Ralph Burns. Solo: Marcus Belgrave (tp). Rec. 1^st concert of   May 19, 1962.

Ray Charles’s studio version of this song recorded on June 23, 1959 and released on Atlantic LP 1312.

(15) (Hank Snow) Hank Snow-vo,g/Tommy Waden-fiddle/Joseph Talbot III-steel-g/Ernie Newton-b. Nashville, March 28, 1950. RCA Victor 21-0328.

(16) (Hank Snow) Ray Charles-vo,el-p/Marcus Belgrave & John Hunt-tp; David Newman-ts/Hank Crawford-bs/Charley Macey-pedal steel g/Edgar Willis-b/Teagle Fleming-dm/Jerry Wexler-tamb/the Raelets [Gwen Berry, Margie Hendrix, Pat Lyles, Darlene McCrea]. Arr. Ray Charles. Prod. Ahmet Ertegun & Jerry Wexler. New York, June 26, 1959. Atlantic 2043.

(17) (Hoagy Carmichael, Stuart Gorrell) Billie Holiday-vo/Shad Collins-tp/Eddie Barfield,Leslie Johnakins-as/Lester Young-ts/John Collins-g/Eddie Heywood-p/Ted Sturgis-b/Kenny Clarke-dm.New York, March 21, 1941. Okeh 6134.

(18) (Hoagy Carmichael, Stuart Gorrell) see personnel and location at the bottom of this list (+). Arr. Quincy Jones. Solo: David Newman (fl). Rec. May 18, 1962.

Ray Charles’s studio version of this song recorded on March 29, 1960 and released on ABC-Paramount LP 335.

(19) (Cecil Gant) Cecil Gant-celeste/g/b.Nashville, 1947.
Bullet 272

(20) (Cecil Gant) Ray Charles-vo, el-p/Martin Banks & John
Hunt-tp/Hank Crawford-as/David Newman-ts/Leroy Cooper-bs/Edgar Willis-b/Milt Turner-dm/the Raelets including Margie Hendrix. Arr. Ray Charles. Prod. Sid Feller. New York, April 27, 1960. ABC-Paramount 10141.

(+) Ray Charles-vo,p/Marcus Belgrave & Wallace Davenport-tp/John Hunt (flh)/Henderson Chambers, Leon Comegys, Jim Harbert, Keg Johnson-tb/Hank Crawford-as, band leader/Rudy Powell-as/David Newman & Don Wilkerson-ts/Leroy Cooper-bs/Sonny Forriest-g/Edgar Willis-b/Bruno Carr-dm/ The Raelets (where heard): Gwen Berry, Margie Hendrix, Pat Lyles, Darlene McCrea. Recorded live at the Olympia Theater, Paris, 1962.