Shindig! was a fast-paced, teenage music TV show that featured major rock and roll artists and was televised for a live audience. At the time it arguably was the most fun and music-packed teenage show in the U.S. Shindig! aired from September 1964 through January 1966 and began as a half hour program, expanded to an hour and retracted back to a half hour before going off the air on 8 January 1966. Ray was a guest on the show that aired on 19 May 1965, directed by Dean Whitmore. He looked as if he had gained some weight during his (rehab-)sabatical.
Billy Preston sat in for Ray during rehearsals - the first time they (kind of) worked together professionally (see Billy's testimonial clip here). At Shindig the music and vocal tracks were often recorded one or two days before the episode was taped. The performers then rehearsed numerous times to make sure that their acts looked live. In some cases - as with Ray's, I guess - the vocals were live.
Ad in Billboard, 15 October 1966.
Opening medley (song excerpts): The Righteous Brothers: This Little Girl of Mine. Donna Loren, Bobby Sherman: Sticks and Stones. The Blossoms: Guess Who. The Wellingtons: Hit the Road Jack. Ray Charles: I Can't Stop Loving You. (End of medley). Ray Charles: I've Got A Woman, Georgia. The Righteous Brothers: Bring It on Home To Me, Sticks and Stones. Donna Loren: Cycle Set, Into My Heart. Dinah Lee: You Don't Talk about Love, Oh, Boy! Bobby Sherman: Hey Little Girl, Well Alright. The Zombies: It's Alright with Me, Summertime. George Soulé: I Love The Way You Love. Joe Williams: I'm Sticking with You Baby. Glen Campbell: I Guess I'm Dumb. Ray Peterson: House Without Windows. The Wellingtons: Little Old Lady from Pasadena. The Shindogs: Hippy Hippy Shake. Finale: Ray Charles: What'd I Say (with the Righteous Brothers and The Blossoms). Source here.
"If it's really something good that was not on the record, that's okay, because when I perform I can make the performance of the song better than the record was."
The Genie
Ray Charles at the Apollo (Apr. or maybe Oct. 1959), working on his Wurlitzer. Photo by Alex Harsley.
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About
The Ray Charles Video Museum is a research project, documenting live performances by The Genius.
This blog is above all aMediagraphy. It's also a discography (or, more correctly, a trackography), aggregating all tunes that Ray sang and/or played - including the "canon" of 700 tracks listed on the official Ray Charles website, but also identifying the songs that have never been officially released, and e.g. the recordings of other artists, where Ray backed them on piano. Thirdly, this blog has evolved into a multimedia Chronology (click the years in the panel al the top of this page) of Ray's productive live.
I also try to do some justice to the more than 1,000 great musicians and singers who contributed to Ray's career (1, 2).
The Quotes page lists the wisest, craziest and funniest things that the Genius ever said. If you want to read more about Brother Ray, go here.
The availability of the streaming video and audio content on this blog is constantly under pressure. Some rights owners still think that sharing these videos damages their sales. I'm keeping disfunctional clips as placeholders - to show that the footage exists, and to replace them when new uploads appear on the Web.
The articles in this blog are continuously updated and improved. Your help is more than welcome.
The Bishop seduces the world with his voice
Sweat strangles mute eyes
As insinuations gush out through a hydrant of sorrow
Dreams, a world never seen
Mounded on Africa's anvil, tempered down home
Documented in cries and wails
Screaming to be ignored, crooning to be heard
Throbbing from the gutter
On Saturday night
Silver offering only,
The Right Reverend's Back in Town
Don't it make you feel all right?
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