Ray Charles

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Essential Albums

  • Modern Sounds In Country and Western Music, Vols. 1 & 2
    Modern Sounds In Country and Western Music, Vols. 1 & 2
    Modern Sounds In Country and Western Music, Vols. 1 & 2

    2009

  • What'd I Say
    What'd I Say
    What'd I Say

    Released in 1959, What’d I Say brings together singles and forgotten B-sides from Ray Charles’ electric 1950s run—and marks the dawn of the singer’s crossover era. By the late 1950s, Charles’ unforced groove and instantly recognizable voice had coalesced into a seductive signature sound, but full-on pop stardom had eluded him. That would change with “What’d I Say,” a simmering, salacious track that’s carried by a jangling, Latin-tinged groove and a spicy call-and-response. A sensation on stage, “What’d I Say” retains its bright, live energy in its studio version—which became a smash on the US charts, and remains one of Charles’ most beloved hits. The other tracks collected on What’d I Say cover a wide swath of Charles’ favored sounds; his roots in boogie-woogie, gospel, and jazz are laid out side by side, synthesized more often than not. He’s joined here by a familiar cast of star instrumentalists—including saxophonist David “Fathead” Newman and trumpet player Marcus Belgrave—who add to the fluid, timeless quality of each track, and help expand Charles’ classic Southern blues into every possible musical direction. From the unhurried love song “That’s Enough” to the jazzy instrumental jam “Rockhouse, Pts. 1 & 2” to his improbably hip-swiveling rendition of the traditional Scottish folk song “My Bonnie,” What’d I Say spotlights Charles at the height of his powers—with his gently loping orchestra’s flawless, earthy big-band sounds supporting him all the way through.

  • The Genius of Ray Charles
    The Genius of Ray Charles
    The Genius of Ray Charles

    With 1959’s The Genius of Ray Charles, the maestro produced a cinematic expansion of his rollicking, heartrending R&B. In the first half, big-band arrangements transform “’Deed I Do” and “Let the Good Times Roll” from beat-up pickup trucks into shiny, new Cadillacs. In the second half, a string orchestra elevates ballads like “Don’t Let the Sun Catch You Crying” and “Am I Blue” into luxurious expressions of loss and loneliness. Through it all, Ray’s voice channels the rough-hewn emotion that was often lacking in an era of candy-flavored crooners.

  • Ray Charles
    Ray Charles
    Ray Charles

    Released in 1957, Ray Charles is technically the singer’s debut album—even though it arrived a full four years after Charles’ boogie-woogie hit “Mess Around” introduced him to millions of listeners. The fact that his music career took off just as LPs were becoming popular obscures how long Charles had already been working—both as a recording artist and, before that, as a fixture on the South’s Chitlin’ Circuit. Ray Charles collects 14 tracks from the singer’s early years—many of them hits, and all of them essential. Because the songs here span a few years, Ray Charles traces the ways the singer was refining his gospel-meets-jazz R&B sound. “I Got A Woman,” the 1954 single that became Charles’ first R&B No. 1 hit—and the tune that, decades later, would anchor Kanye West and Jamie Foxx’s “Gold Digger”—is notably looser than “Mess Around,” with Charles expanding the familiar blues template into an easy groove, as well as an ecstatic vocal showcase. “Come Back” and “A Fool For You,” meanwhile, established Charles as a superlative interpreter of ballads: On the stage, his tempos would stretch and lag into almost avant-garde territory, while his croons were punctuated with expressive growls and precise vibrato—and marked by improvisatory, expansive phrasing that brought Sunday morning into Saturday night. Elsewhere on Ray Charles, the urbane spoken word of “Greenbacks” showcased the singer’s humorous side, while “Mary Ann”—with its easy rhythmic shifts and lush, big-band sound—proved his ability to traverse jazz and pop worlds. And the bright piano licks of “Hallelujah I Love Her So”—which Charles penned himself—hinted at his pop star future. Given the road-tested nature of these tracks, it’s no surprise that Ray Charles remains a compelling front-to-back listen, chock full of songs that would remain signatures well into the singer’s decades-long career.

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About Ray Charles

Ray Charles changed popular music in the U.S., drafting the blueprint for soul music in the 1950s and exerting a massive influence on the R&B and rock that came in its wake. Born in Albany, GA, in 1930, he spent most of his childhood in Greenville, FL, where he began losing his sight at age five, going fully blind by age seven. But by then he was already a talented pianist, playing boogie-woogie and absorbing the gospel and rural blues that surrounded him. When he set out on his own in the late ’40s, his music was clearly modeled after the sleek R&B of early Nat “King” Cole and Charles Brown. In 1952 he signed with Atlantic Records, where he infused his sound with churchy fervor, a heavier blues feel, and more passionate singing. He masterfully exploited his rich baritone to fleck his inventive phrasing with cracks and sighs, overshadowing the jazz-informed brilliance of his piano playing. His music was marked by exquisite tension, the profane battling the holy, but his lyrics addressed more earthly concerns, as on his 1959 hit “What'd I Say,” where his moans and grunts were brazenly sexual. Charles moved to ABC-Paramount later that year and explored his broad interests more freely, making jazz records with singer Betty Carter, cutting the string-drenched standard “Georgia on My Mind,” and diving headfirst into country music. He spent the ensuing decades tackling pop standards, show tunes, and country, returning to the country charts in the early 1980s. His cameo in the 1980 film The Blues Brothers and his role as a Diet Pepsi pitchman cemented his iconic status. Charles toured until his death in 2004; soon after, the acclaimed biopic Ray, with Jamie Foxx, introduced his legend to a new generation.

FROM
Albany, GA, United States
BORN
September 23, 1930
GENRE
R&B/Soul

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