Ray Charles Robinson was an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. He is regarded as one of the most iconic and influential musicians in history, and was often referred to by contemporaries as "The Genius". Among friends and fellow musicians he preferred being called "Brother Ray". Charles was blinded during childhood, possibly due to glaucoma.
The Raelettes were an American girl group formed in 1958 to provide backing vocals for Ray Charles. They were reformed from the group The Cookies. Between 1966 and 1973, the Raelettes recorded on Tangerine Records as a separate act produced and accompanied by Charles.
"You Really Got Me" is a song by the English rock band the Kinks, written by frontman Ray Davies. The song, originally performed in a more blues-oriented style, was inspired by artists such as Lead Belly and Big Bill Broonzy. Two versions were recorded, with the second performance used for the final single. Lead guitarist Dave Davies performs the song’s famous guitar solo. Although it was long rumoured that future Led Zeppelin guitarist Jimmy Page had performed the song's guitar solo, this has been debunked by Page himself.
"What'd I Say" is an American rhythm and blues song by Ray Charles, released in 1959. As a single divided into two parts, it was one of the first soul songs. The composition was improvised one evening late in 1958 when Charles, his orchestra, and backup singers had played their entire set list at a show and still had time left; the response from many audiences was so enthusiastic that Charles announced to his producer that he was going to record it.
"The Tears of a Clown" is a song written by Hank Cosby, Smokey Robinson, and Stevie Wonder and originally recorded by Smokey Robinson & the Miracles for the Tamla Records label subsidiary of Motown, first appearing on the 1967 album Make It Happen. The track was re-released in the United Kingdom as a single in July 1970, and it became a number-one hit on the UK Singles Chart for the week ending September 12, 1970. Subsequently, Motown released a partially re-recorded and completely remixed version as a single in the United States as well, where it quickly became a number-one hit on both the Billboard Hot 100 and R&B Singles charts.
"Mama Told Me Not to Come", also written as "Mama Told Me (Not to Come)", is a song by American singer-songwriter Randy Newman written for Eric Burdon's first solo album in 1966. Three Dog Night's 1970 cover topped the US pop singles chart. Tom Jones and Stereophonics' version also reached No. 4 on the UK Singles Chart in 2000.
"Hit the Road Jack" is a song written by the rhythm and blues singer Percy Mayfield and recorded by Ray Charles. The song was a US number 1 hit in 1961, and won a Grammy Award for Best Rhythm and Blues Recording, becoming one of Charles' signature songs.
Silver Throat: Bill Cosby Sings (1967) is the sixth album by Bill Cosby.
"Call It Stormy Monday (But Tuesday Is Just as Bad)" (commonly referred to as "Stormy Monday") is a song written and recorded by American blues electric guitar pioneer T-Bone Walker. It is a slow twelve-bar blues performed in the West Coast blues-style that features Walker's smooth, plaintive vocal and distinctive guitar work. As well as becoming a record chart hit in 1948, it inspired B.B. King and others to take up the electric guitar. "Stormy Monday" became Walker's best-known and most-recorded song.
The Genius Hits the Road is a 1960 album by Ray Charles. The concept album focuses on songs written about various parts of the United States. It peaked at number nine on the pop album charts and produced a US #1 single, "Georgia on My Mind".
"Wang Dang Doodle" is a blues song written by Willie Dixon. Music critic Mike Rowe calls it a party song in an urban style with its massive, rolling, exciting beat. It was first recorded by Howlin' Wolf in 1960 and released by Chess Records in 1961. In 1965, Dixon and Leonard Chess persuaded Koko Taylor to record it for Checker Records, a Chess subsidiary. Taylor's rendition quickly became a hit, reaching number thirteen on the Billboard R&B chart and number 58 on the pop chart. "Wang Dang Doodle" became a blues standard and has been recorded by various artists. Taylor's version was added to the United States National Recording Registry in 2023.
"I'm Moving On" is a 1950 country standard written by Hank Snow. It was a success in the record charts and has been recorded by numerous musicians in a variety of styles.
"Boom Boom" is a song written by American blues singer and guitarist John Lee Hooker and recorded October 26, 1961. Although it became a blues standard, music critic Charles Shaar Murray calls it "the greatest pop song he ever wrote". "Boom Boom" was both an American R&B and pop chart success in 1962 and a UK top-twenty hit in 1992.
"Drown in My Own Tears", originally credited as "I'll Drown in My Tears", is a song written by Henry Glover. It is best known in the version released as a single in 1956 by Ray Charles on the Atlantic record label.
In Person is a live album recorded by Ray Charles on May 28, 1959 on a rainy night in Atlanta, Georgia at Morris Brown College's Herndon Stadium. All tracks from this album together with those from Ray Charles at Newport were also released on the 1987 Atlantic compilation CD, Ray Charles Live.
"Farther Up the Road" or "Further on Up the Road" is a blues song first recorded in 1957 by Bobby "Blue" Bland. It is an early influential Texas shuffle and features guitar playing that represents the transition from the 1940s blues style to the 1960s blues-rock style.
"Driving Wheel", also called "Drivin' Wheel" or "Driving Wheel Blues", is blues song first recorded by Roosevelt Sykes in 1936. It was an influential early blues composition and has been recorded by numerous artists, including Junior Parker and Al Green, whose renditions were hits on the record charts.
"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 produced 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.
Marjorie Hendrix was an American rhythm and blues singer and founding member of the Raelettes, who were the backing singers for Ray Charles, the father of her child, Charles Wayne Hendrix.
