Ray Charles Is In Town - Chronology 1986

1986

"Recording studio, NYC", photo by David McGough.

Baby Grand peaks at #75 on Pop chart.

The Pages Of My Mind peaks at #34 on Country Chart, Dixie Moon at #66.

From The Pages Of My Mind peaks at #16 on Country Album Chart.

January 1986

Release of the album From The Pages Of My Mind.

4 January 1986

With Tony Bennett recording at the Larabee Studios in Los Angeles ("This will be Bennett’s first album in 10 years & his first collaboration with Ray Charles. The Columbia release, due in April, will be sold in compact disc, cassette, and album simultaneously, an unusual marketing strategy"). See this.

Recording with Tony Bennett. Photos by Barbara Crownover.

Recording with Phil Ramone, 1986 - possibly for the Tony Bennett album, or for Baby Grand with Billy Joel..

18 January 1986

Finishes production of new series of Pioneer commercials. See this.

23 January 1986

Profiled in documentary (part 2 of 2; air date; part 1 not yet found). See this.

Inducted at first Rock & Roll Hall of Fame ceremonies at Waldorf-Astoria Hotel, New York. See  this and this.

Photo by Lynn Goldsmith.

  

Photo by  Lynn Goldsmith.

Photo by  Lynn Goldsmith.

7 February 1986
Honored at second annual Top Hat award dinner, Sheraton Premiere in Universal City.

15 February 1986
Ray honored at 3d Abbual Salute to Children Banquet in Compton. Ray couldn't attend, but engaged in a video taping in which he was interviewed; at the end he played and sang a few bars of : In The Garden. Ray Jr. accepted the price in his father's regard.

24 February 1986

Ray Charles & Fats Domino Seen With Mafia Bosses (news item; footage from 23 January). See this.

25 February 1986

Concert at unknown location.

4 – 5 March 1986

On Easter Seals Telethon. See this.

8 March 1986

Yellowstone Superpops Series at Louisville Gardens, Louisville KY.

9 and 10 March 1986

Nationwide Easter Seal Telethon. See this.

10 March 1986
Atlanta Hilton and Towers, Atlanta GA.

18 March 1986

On The Tonight Show. See this and  this.

19 March 1986

Photo by Sam Emerson.

Picture offered on Ebay: "Ray Charles During a Recording Session at the Studio Candid Photo".

4 April 1986

On Ebony/Jet Showcase; with Kim Fields, Maurice White and Mother McClaney; hosted by Greg Gumbelo and Deborah Crable. See this.

7 April 1986
On WWE WrestleMania 2, at Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum in New York City NY. See this.


15 April 1986
Honored by Florida Senate. See this. 


26 April 1986
Benefit Pops '86, fund-raiser for American Cancer Society at Westchester County Center in White Plains; with New Orchestra of Westchester.

28 April 1986
Receives community award at Freddie Jet's Pied Piper, Los Angeles.

May 1986

Ray visited a local dentist (free of charge) before a concert in Tyler (TX) which was cancelled because the promotor failed to pay out the guarantee.
.
Early May 1986
Salute in honor of Gertrude Gipsom (editor Los Angeles Sentinel) at Freddie Jet's Pied Piper night club, LA.


June 1986
Release of the single The Pages of My Mind / Slip Away.
Pepsi radio campaign. See this.

5 June 1986
Concert in Wilmington canceled by Ray Charles ("At the last minute Ray got this TV show and decided to do that. This is legitimate rescheduling of the concert.")
Taping of Fats & Friends, at Storyville Jazz Hall, New Orleans LA. See this.

First aired on July 25 (ad from TV Guide).

7 and 8 June 1986

At the Harbor Festival in Norfolk.

Norfolk Harbor Festival and Portsmouth Seawall Festival, Richmond (the latter canceled: “Because of a schedule conflict, [Ray Charles] has postponed his Richmond Symphony Pops date for two weeks...”); see 15 November.

11 June 1986
Concert in Portland.







Interviewed By Rona Elliot For NBC News On Stage.


12 June 1986
Brady Street Theatre, Tulsa OK.

Contract.

13 June 1986
Concert at Brogden Hall, New Hanover canceled at last moment (promoter fails to pay out). Read story here.


17 June 1986
At The 2nd André Previn Music Festival at Royal Festival Hall in London. See this. Photo here.

 

20 June 1986
Billy Bob's Texas, Fort Worth TX.

22 June 1986
Ray Charles "[...] kicks up his heels as he performs at the first of a series of 'Rhythm and Zoos' concerts" at Audubon Zoo's Hibernia Bank Pavilion in Chicago, New Orleans LA (with The Radiators).

Wire photo.

23 June 1986
Crazy Horse Steak House, Santa Ana CA.

28 June 1986
Honky Tonk Jazz festival, VP-terrein Gentsesteenweg, Dendermonde (sound problems; read this).

30 June 1986
Isis, Festhalle, Bern (read review here).





1 July 1986
Estival Jazz at the Piazza Della Riforma in Lugano (bootlegged, probably from radio broadcast). See this and this.

4 July 1986
On Good Morning America (Liberty Weekend). See this.

7 July 1986
Torino.

12 July 1986
North Sea Jazz Festival at PWA Zaal, Congresgebouw, Den Haag.
 

Photo: ANP.

Photo: ANP.

13 July 1986
Festival d'Arles, Théâtre Antique.

Ticket stub, coll. Jacques Marle.

17 July 1986
Stadio Flaminio, Rome (review here).

25 July 1986
Black Heritage Festival, Toyohashi Kouen (taped for radio and tv, both bootlegged). See this.

5 August 1986
Grand Ballroom at the Sheraton Waikiki Hotel in Honolulu HI.

13 August 1986
Humphrey's Concerts by the Bay, San Diego.

14 August 1986
Concert Under The Stars, Irvine.


15 August 1986
'Gospel Night' at Concord Jazz Festival, Concord CA; co-billed with Andrae Crouch.

16 August 1986
Beverly Theater, Los Angeles CA.

21 August 1986
Opera House, Spokane WA.

22 August 1986
Oregon State Fair, Salem OR.

24 August 1986
World Fair, Comex Valley Fairgrounds, Vancouver Island BC.

26 August 1986
Summer Music Festival Stargaze86, at Town Center Plaza, in Santa Fe Springs CA.

2 and 3 September 1986
Free Jazz Festival at the Teatro do Hotel Nacional in Rio de Janeiro; a segment was televized on September 21; see this.

Photo by Ernesto Papa.

Photo by Sergio Amara.

11 September 1986
In Walt Disney World's 15Th Birthday Celebration (air date). See this. 

12 September 1986

Oakdale Theatre, Wallingford CT.

13 Sep 1986

Freedom Hill Amphitheatre, Premier Center, Sterling Heights MI.

19 September 1986

Orpheum Theater, New Orleans LA.

Ad from The Times-Picayune New Orleans, 14 Sep.

20 September 1986

21st Mobile Jazz Festival, Greater Gulf State Fairgrounds, Mobile AL.

26 September 1986
Lowell Memorial Auditorium, Lowell MA.

October 1986
Release of the single Dixie Moon / A Little Bit of Heaven.

At unidentified venue; photo by John Atashian.

4 October 1986
Speaks out on South Africa and apartheid (open letter published in Billboard).

10 October 1986

Benefit concert for Bayly Art Museum at University Hall, Charlottesville VA.

11 October 1986
High School Auditorium, Malden MA.

14 October 1986
Fox Theater, Chicago IL. See 4 October, above.

17 October 1986

Knight Theater, Spirit Square, Charlotte.

18 October 1986
Miami Beach Theater of the Performing Arts, Miami Beach FL.

23 October 1986
Two sold out concerts at Copa, Toronto ON.

"Up to his old tricks: Ray Charles last night took the starch out of Some Enchanted Evening, deliberately hesitating on the high notes and cranking the tempo up beyond all sensible proportions, reviewer Craig MacInnis reports. But not everyone was happy with his show. (Photo by Keith Beaty/Toronto Star via Getty Images)".

This photo is also associated with the gig at the Copa, but was probably taken on an earlier date.

24 October 1986
With New American Orchestra at Auditorium Theater, Chicago IL.

27 October 1986

National Stadium, Dublin.

29 October 1986
Concert in Lille. See this.

31 October 1986
Grand Casino, Geneva (read review here).
On Omnibus (UK; air date). See this.

Around this time in 1986
Traveling the Auto Route in France.

At a parking lot near Marseille. Photo by Claude Gassian.

1 November 1986
Concert in Paris. See this and this.

9 November 1986
Porto Palace, Barcelona.

15 November 1986
Pops with Richmond Symphony Orchestra at the Mosque in Richmond VA.

21 November 1986
Awarded the medal Commandeur De L' Ordre Des Arts Et Des Lettres by French Culture and Communications secretary of State Philippe de Villiers at Maxim's residence in Paris. See this. Photo here.

With girlfriend Arlette Kotchounian and their son Vincent. Photo by Rindoff Petroff/Getty.

22 November 1986
Victoires De La Musique event at the Moulin Rouge in Paris, the public celebration of receiving the Commandeur medal (cf. 21 November). See this.

27 November 1986
Thanksgiving Day show at Peabody Auditorium in Daytona Beach FL.

28 November 1986
Thanksgiving Special at Walt Whitman Hall, Brooklyn College, Brooklyn NY (with Brook Benton).

Ad in New York Amsterdam News, Nov. 8, 1986.

6 December 1986
Kennedy Honors dinner at State Department in Washington.

Arriving at State Department; photo by Charles Tasnadi.

7 December 1986
 Receives Kennedy Center Honors, called "one of the most respected singers of his generation . . . the pioneer who broke down barriers between secular and sacred styles, between black and white pop." TV program from White House and Kennedy Center; see this.

12 December 1986
Ft. In The Beach Boys 25 Years Together, on Hawaii (first aired 13 March 1987). See this.

Photo by Bobby Figueroa.

25 - 31 December 1986
Café Cristal at Diplomat Hotel, Miami FL.
"[...] Ray Charles [...] had a very special arrangement in his contract. He was to be paid in cash - $170,000 for 10 performances. So, each night, before he went on stage, I had to take $17,000 in hundred dollar bills to his dressing room back stage in a small paper lunch
bag. Of course he was blind, but his manger was with him, who would say, Here comes the man” (source).