I miss Ray Charles. Anyone ever meet him? What's your FAVORITE Ray Recording?

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by Steve Hoffman, Jul 15, 2007.

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  1. John B Good

    John B Good Forum Hall Of Fame

    Location:
    NS, Canada
    I only know half a dozen of the Rhino cds (I had a couple of LPs long, long ago), but it has long struck me that his arranging was the best, there doesn't seem to be contending or inappropiate instruments and what I call noisy messes. Great sound!

    I'm guessing this has something to do with his hearing being better than that of many other performers :D

    Plus great song writing, and choice selecting of others' songs.

    He had great taste.

    In later years, his vocalisations didn't please me much, and the style of most recording of the 1980s-90s leaves me cold.

    I attended an outdoor concert he gave in Ottawa a few years ago, but the sound was atrocious.

    Hard to choose a favorite song, but right now, That Lucky Old Sun is in my head.
     
  2. Steve G

    Steve G Senior Member

    Location:
    los angeles
    I don't think I ever met him, but I was an extra in a movie he was in once, and I sat around outside of his trailer listening to him practice on a synthesizer

    -s
     
  3. Mike Dow

    Mike Dow I kind of like the music

    Location:
    Bangor, Maine
    I have so many favorites but one track in particular has been playing in my head since I saw this thread..."One Mint Julip" from Genius Plus Soul Equals Jazz.
     
  4. Doug Sclar

    Doug Sclar Forum Legend

    Location:
    The OC
    I only saw Ray once and did get to meet him. This was May 8, 1987 and Ray was performing on the Joan Rivers Show on Fox. My friend, Thom Wilson was doing the sound for that show and he invited me down. I was also surprised to discover another old friend, Ralph Humphries was filling in with the band on drums. I hadn't seen either Thom or Ralph in almost 10 years, so I had a great time catching up.

    Of course Ray was great too. :D

    To answer the other question, my favorite Ray recordings were probably 'Georgia', 'Hit The Road Jack', and 'I Can't Stop Loving You', but I've never heard anything by Ray that I didn't like.
     
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  5. Grant

    Grant Life is a rock, but the radio rolled me!

    I like almost anything he did for Atlantic, and some of his ABC-Paramount stuff like Hit The Road Jack.

    My favorite album is his Greatest Hits Live.
     
  6. Mark

    Mark I Am Gort, Hear Me Roar Staff

    Picking my favorite Ray Charles recording would be like picking my favorite Steve Hoffman recording.

    Can I pick all of 'em?

    Thanks, Steve, for adding to the recording legacy of a man who was "soul."
     
  7. tim_neely

    tim_neely Forum Hall Of Fame

    Location:
    Central VA
    I never met the man, but that voice made me feel as if I had on many occasions. His music spoke to me.

    There are great recordings from all phases of his career. I'd have to say my favorite is the stereo version of "What'd I Say." I first heard it on a compilation LP called Rock Begins, which was issued on Atco in 1970 I think; it was also the first place I heard the original versions of "Sh-Boom" by the Chords and "Shake, Rattle and Roll" by Joe Turner. My favorite place for "What'd I Say," though, is the Atlantic album The Great Hits of Ray Charles Recorded on 8-Track Stereo.

    Runners-up:
    -- I also like his version of "You Don't Know Me"; it's my favorite of his 1960s C&W recordings.
    -- "Seven Spanish Angels," his #1 country duet with Willie Nelson, is special, too.
    -- His second version of "America the Beautiful," the one he recorded in 1976 for the CrossOver label, is tremendous, too; I like it better than the ABC/TRC version from 1972, maybe because he'd been singing it longer and had a greater "feel" for it by '76.
    -- I can't forget how joyful it was to hear him back on the radio in the early 1990s with a definitive version of Leon Russell's "A Song for You."
    -- And, of course, "Hit the Road Jack." The first time I heard this song was on a radio station in Morehead City, North Carolina in 1973. The record sounded as if it had a scratch or crack in it, but I still got the gist of that amazing song. The next year, I was back in the area on vacation, and my dad and I wandered into a flea market in Beaufort, N.C., Morehead City's next-door neighbor. I found a few records there, and I swear that one of them was that same cracked/scratched 45 of "Hit the Road Jack" that I'd heard on the radio the year before! When I got it home, I was able to push the crack together so that the record didn't skip... I've long since upgraded that single, but I still have that cracked 45 hidden away; ah, the memories...
     
  8. john lennonist

    john lennonist There ONCE was a NOTE, PURE and EASY...

    Three fav's that pop instantly into my head:

    Making Whoopee (which I first discovered on the SH-mastered "Live" DCC CD)... hilarious!

    Busted

    and, most apropos when thinking about Brother Ray now:

    That Lucky Old Sun
     
  9. BillyBuck

    BillyBuck Forum Resident

    Location:
    California
    I saw Ray at the Warner Theater in Fresno, CA sometime in the '80s. They had a little bar set up in the lobby and it was one of my first experiences with gin and tonics in a public setting. My buddy and I led the pre-show crowd through several rounds of foot-stomping "go Ray" cheers.

    After the show I had luckily sobered up and stood outside the stage door talking to one of the Raylettes, who it also turned out was a studio singer who'd guested on Stevie Wonder's "Secret Life of Plants." Bonus!

    Just then, Mr. Charles came by with his assistant and I got to shake the man's hand just before he boarded the tour bus. Seconds later, a stage hand came by carrying a rolled-up carpet remnant that had been under Ray's chair and keyboard on stage. One of the corners had been cut and fell to the sidewalk. Somehow I managed to maintain my cachet of cool while talking to these very hip musicians and still snap up the hunk of carpet like a teenage girl going for Mickey Dolenz' cufflink. Or at least I thought I kept my cool--that might have been the booze talking.

    Also turned out that his assistant was a guy who'd been with him for decades and in fact was a minor celebrity himself, having appeared in the Sinatra movie "The Manchurian Candidate."

    Still have the piece of carpet.
     
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  10. crisscross

    crisscross New Member

    Location:
    portland, oregon
    Something's Wrong
    Let's Go Get Stoned
    I Want A Little Girl
    Don't Let The Sun Catch You Cryin'
    Come Rain Or Come Shine
    I Don't Need No Doctor
    I'm Gonna Move To The Outskirts of Town
    You Don't Know Me (from the live ABC album)
    I Believe To My Soul
    Funny But I Still Love You
    How Deep Is The Ocean
    My Baby (I Love Her, Yes I Do)
    She Knows (live radio broadcast)
     
  11. crisscross

    crisscross New Member

    Location:
    portland, oregon
    forgot one...

    No Use Crying
     
  12. jriems

    jriems Audio Ojiisan

    No "Brushes With Greatness" for me, I'm afraid, when it comes to Ray, but my favorite from him is definitely America the Beautiful. The passion and emotion in his rendition epitomize what my country means to me in a way no other version has.

    Also, as a relative newbie to these forums, imagine my surprise and delight to find out that the Ray Charles Greatest Hits CDs I've owned for years were remastered by none other than Steve Hoffman.

    Apparently, it's no fluke that I've been drawn here along with the rest of you. :wave:
     
  13. fredhammersmith

    fredhammersmith Forum Resident

    Location:
    Montreal, Quebec
    I have 2 Ray Charles compilations.
    One is called: 41 Greatest-Hits 1959-1972, by Frémeaux & Associés (French specialists of jazz re-editions).
    Compiled and remastered by Ray Charles and a certain Steve Hoffman.
    This is my hop-la-vie album. Luv it. Especially the 1st CD.
     
  14. dgsinner

    dgsinner New Member

    Location:
    Far East
    Lately my favorite Ray track is "I'm Movin' On" from '59 or so -- great 'on the train' rhythm on that one. Same one the Rolling Stones covered live six years later...

    Dale
     
  15. DaleH

    DaleH Forum Resident

    Location:
    Southeast
    I'm a huge fan, but the closest I ever came was missing him by a day in Vegas.:(

    Ray Charles Live- ABC500 is my favorite recording. So much fun. At Newport and the rest of the Atlantic stuff is vital.:thumbsup:
     
  16. Cousin It

    Cousin It Senior Member

    Location:
    Sydney, Australia
    You Don't Know Me
    Ruby
    Born To Lose
    What'd I Say
    Lonely Avenue
    I Don't Need No Doctor
     
  17. Well Steve, it was "big hair 80s". ;)

    I never had the honor of seeing the man play live, but "What'd I Say" is probably my all time favorite Ray Charles track. I also have a real soft spot for "I Can't Stop Loving You".
     
  18. Greatest Hits

    Greatest Hits Just Another Compilation

    I don't think too much has changed... well, maybe a little less dark now.:D
     
  19. -Alan

    -Alan Senior Member

    Location:
    Connecticut, USA
  20. This will sound totally lame, but my favorite recording of him is his duet with Kermit on It's Not Easy Being Green. This was my first exposure to Ray as a kid so it holds a special place.
     
  21. Voltron

    Voltron Member

    Location:
    San Francisco
    Another ditto for this record. I have been loving my vinyl edition, although I am still looking for an original issue.

    And members should check out the video of Steve's talk that you can find in the Off Topic forum. He tells some great Ray stories, including the one about picking out a Walkman at The Good Guys. Great stuff!
     
  22. Greatest Hits

    Greatest Hits Just Another Compilation

    :righton: :wave: :righton: :wave: :righton: :wave:
     
  23. Doug Hess Jr.

    Doug Hess Jr. Senior Member

    Location:
    Belpre, Ohio
    I've always liked his version of "Georgia" and "In The Heat of the Night"
     
  24. McLover

    McLover Senior Member

    Hi,

    I have met Ray and the band. Have even recorded him for a series of broadcast concerts for NPR. I love the Atlantic, Impulse, and ABC-Paramount years best. The early DCC CD of "Genius + Soul = Jazz" on DCC is superb and a window into his superb road band.
     
  25. Claudio Dirani

    Claudio Dirani A Fly On Apple's Wall

    Location:
    São Paulo, Brazil
    I do miss him, too. And it was quite sad to watch Ray. I did burst in tears in the end. A musician hard to be equalled due his creativity, spirtitual strenght and capacity. Hard to pick one song. I'd like to mention Ruby, a beautiful ballad.
     
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