In the Heat of the Night (Ray Charles song)

Last updated

"In the Heat of the Night" is a 1967 song performed by Ray Charles, composed by Quincy Jones, and written by Marilyn Bergman and Alan Bergman for the film In the Heat of the Night . As Matthew Greenwald of AllMusic states, the song "opens the film and accompanying soundtrack with a slice of real, rural backwoods gospel. Lyrically, one of the key lines is 'In the heat of the night/I'm feeling motherless somehow,' which clearly illustrates the main character's dilemma of being in the wrong place at the wrong time. The main melody is guided by Charles' funky piano work and is buttressed by then-session ace Billy Preston's powerful, soulful organ trills. The underlying sense of drama that is so much a part of the film is reflected perfectly in this song, and the Ray Charles Singers add to this with a stately grace. It's perfect listening for a midsummer night when the temperature is just a bit too hot for comfort." [1]

Released as a single by ABC Records, Charles' version of the song reached #33 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and #21 on the Hot Rhythm & Blues Singles chart. The song was also released on the soundtrack album on United Artists in 1967.

For the 1988–95 television series of the same name, the song was recorded by Bill Champlin.

Related Research Articles

Susanna Hoffs American musician

Susanna Lee Hoffs is an American singer-songwriter. She is best known as a co-founder of the Bangles. Hoffs founded the Bangles in 1981 with Debbi and Vicki Peterson. They released their first full length album All Over the Place on Columbia Records in 1984. Hoffs started a solo career after the Bangles disbanded in 1989. She released her first solo album, When You're a Boy, in 1991. She later formed the faux British 1960s band Ming Tea with Mike Myers and Matthew Sweet. Hoffs has also appeared in a supporting role in several movies.

<i>In the Heat of the Night</i> (film) 1967 film by Norman Jewison

In the Heat of the Night is a 1967 American mystery drama film directed by Norman Jewison. It is based on John Ball's 1965 novel of the same name and tells the story of Virgil Tibbs, a Black police detective from Philadelphia, who becomes involved in a murder investigation in a small town in Mississippi. It stars Sidney Poitier and Rod Steiger, and was produced by Walter Mirisch. The screenplay was written by Stirling Silliphant.

You Dont Know Me (Cindy Walker song) 1956 single by Eddy Arnold & Cindy Walker

"You Don't Know Me" is a song written by Cindy Walker based on a title and storyline given to her by Eddy Arnold in 1955. "You Don't Know Me" was first recorded by Arnold that year and released as a single on April 21, 1956 on RCA Victor. The best-selling version of the song is by Ray Charles, who took it to number 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in 1962, after releasing the song on his number 1 album Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music. The first version of the song to make the Billboard charts was by Jerry Vale in 1956, peaking at number 14 on the pop chart. Arnold's version charted two months later, released as an RCA Victor single, 47-6502, backed with "The Rockin' Mockin' Bird", which reached number 10 on the Billboard country chart. Cash Box magazine, which combined all best-selling versions at one position, included a version by Carmen McRae that never appeared in the Billboard Top 100 Sides listing.

"That's Life" is a popular song written by Dean Kay and Kelly Gordon and first recorded in 1963 by Marion Montgomery. The song has an uplifting message that, despite the ups and downs in life, one should not give up but keep positive, because soon one will be "back on top".

Set You Free This Time 1966 single by the Byrds

"Set You Free This Time" is a song by the American folk rock group the Byrds, written by band member Gene Clark. It was first released in December 1965 on the group's Turn! Turn! Turn! album, and later issued as a single in January 1966.

The Unknown Soldier (song) 1968 single by the Doors

"The Unknown Soldier" is the first single from the Doors' 1968 album Waiting for the Sun and released in March of that year by Elektra Records. An accompanying 16mm publicity film for the song featuring the band was directed and produced by Edward Dephoure and Mark Abramson. The song became the band's fourth Top 40 hit in the US, peaking at number 39 on the Billboard Hot 100, and remained upon the Billboard Hot 100 list for eight weeks.

"I'd Rather Go Blind" is a blues song written by Ellington Jordan and co-credited to Billy Foster and Etta James. It was first recorded by Etta James in 1967, released in 1967, and has subsequently become regarded as a blues and soul classic.

"Let It Rock" is a song written and recorded by rock and roll pioneer Chuck Berry. Chess Records released it as single, which reached number 64 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart in February 1960. Chess later added it to Berry's album Rockin' at the Hops (1960). In 1963, Pye Records released it as a single in the UK, where it reached number six.

Never My Love 1967 single by The Association

"Never My Love" is a pop standard written by American siblings Don and Dick Addrisi, and best known from a hit 1967 recording by The Association. The Addrisi Brothers had two Top 40 hits as recording artists, but their biggest success as songwriters was "Never My Love". Recorded by dozens of notable artists in the decades since, in 1999 the music publishing rights organization Broadcast Music, Inc. (BMI) announced it was the second most-played song on radio and television of the 20th century in the U.S.

Crying Time 1965 single by Ray Charles

"Crying Time" is a song from 1964 written and originally recorded by the American country music artist Buck Owens. It gained greater success in the version recorded by Ray Charles, which won two Grammy Awards in 1967. Numerous other cover versions have been performed and recorded over the intervening years.

Going Up the Country 1968 song by Canned Heat

"Going Up the Country" is a song adapted and recorded by American blues rock band Canned Heat. Called a "rural hippie anthem", it became one of the band's biggest hits and best-known songs. As with their previous single, "On the Road Again", the song was adapted from a 1920s blues song and sung by Alan Wilson.

Twelve Thirty (Young Girls Are Coming to the Canyon) 1967 single by The Mamas & the Papas

"Twelve Thirty" a.k.a. "Twelve-Thirty ", the song's main refrain, is a song by The Mamas & the Papas.

"The Big Bright Green Pleasure Machine" is a 1966 song by Paul Simon released on Simon & Garfunkel's album Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme, and as a B-side of "The Dangling Conversation", which charted at number 25 on Billboard's Hot 100. It is a commentary on advertising.

You Better Run

"You Better Run" is a song by the Young Rascals. Written by group members Eddie Brigati and Felix Cavaliere, it was released as the band's third single in 1966 and reached the top 20 in the United States. This song is noted for its repeated roller coaster musical chords in the bass guitar, going from C to B Flat to C to E Flat to B Flat to C.

Here We Go Again (Ray Charles song) 1967 song by Ray Charles

"Here We Go Again" is a country music standard written by Don Lanier and Red Steagall that first became notable as a rhythm and blues single by Ray Charles from his 1967 album Ray Charles Invites You to Listen. It was record producer by Joe Adams for ABC Records/Tangerine Records. To date, this version of the song has been the biggest commercial success, spending twelve consecutive weeks on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart, peaking at number 15.

"I Go to Sleep" is a song written by Ray Davies, main songwriter for The Kinks, and first released by The Applejacks. It was never recorded by The Kinks, but Ray Davies's demo can be found in reissue bonus tracks of their second studio album Kinda Kinks.

"Cod'ine" is a contemporary folk song by singer-songwriter Buffy Sainte-Marie. Considered one of the earliest anti-drug songs, Sainte-Marie wrote the piece after becoming addicted to codeine which she had been given for a bronchial infection. She recorded it for her debut album, It's My Way! (1964).

"Darlin' Be Home Soon" is a song written by John Sebastian of the Lovin' Spoonful for the soundtrack of the 1966 Francis Ford Coppola film You're a Big Boy Now. It appeared on the Lovin' Spoonful's 1967 soundtrack album You're a Big Boy Now. Sebastian performed his composition at Woodstock; it was the fourth song out of the five he performed at the 1969 music festival in White Lake, New York.

Eddie Hoh American rock drummer

Edward Hoh was an American rock drummer who was active in the 1960s. Although primarily a studio session and touring drummer, Hoh exhibited a degree of originality and showmanship that set him apart and several of his contributions have been singled out for acknowledgment by music critics.

<i>Viva Las Vegas</i> (EP) 1964 EP (soundtrack) by Elvis Presley

Viva Las Vegas is an EP by American singer Elvis Presley, containing four songs from the 1964 motion picture, Viva Las Vegas. It was released by RCA Victor in May 1964 to coincide with the film's premiere. The soundtrack EP made the Billboard Hot 100 at No. 92, the lowest-charting release of Presley's career to this point. RCA had not released a Presley EP single in two years; given that it was a dying format, and given the disappointing chart performance of Viva Las Vegas, the company would only issue two more for the remainder of Presley's career.

References

  1. Matthew Greenwald, Song Review, AllMusic.