Ray Charles Essentials

Editors’ Notes From the ‘50s to the early ‘00s, Ray Charles' deep, dynamic voice towered over pop music, threading country and blues while pioneering the sound that became soul. With "Georgia on My Mind," he combined and transcended all three, dusting off an old tune with forlorn, gentle cries and tinkling piano that found both sweetness and loneliness in the same notes. On "What'd I Say, Pt. 1," however, he blasts conga rhythms from two pianos—one electric—kicking off the kind of reckless boogie that could make you forget about Georgia for good. This was the essence of funk, a decade ahead of history.