Pre-Release
- 15 NOV 2024
- 13 Songs
- True Genius · 2021
- The Best of Ray Charles: The Atlantic Years · 1956
- Live In Stockholm 1972 · 2022
- Live In Stockholm 1972 · 2022
- Live In Stockholm 1972 · 2022
- Live In Stockholm 1972 · 2022
- Live In Stockholm 1972 · 2022
- Live In Stockholm 1972 · 2022
- Live In Stockholm 1972 · 2022
- Live In Stockholm 1972 · 2022
Essential Albums
- 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 recognisable 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’ favoured sounds; his roots in boogie-woogie, gospel and jazz are laid out side by side, synthesised 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.
- 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-flavoured crooners.
- 2021
- 2021
- 2021
- 2021
- 2021
- 2021
Artist Playlists
- Cool jazz and finger-snapping blues thrive in his back pages.
- The jazz pianists and jump blues singers who inspired The Genius.
Singles & EPs
Live Albums
- 2021
More To Hear
- Writer Tom Roland helps highlight Ray's 1962 country album.
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 Georgia in 1930, he spent most of his childhood in Florida, 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 modelled 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 fervour, 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.
- HOMETOWN
- Albany, GA, United States
- BORN
- 23 September 1930
- GENRE
- R&B/Soul