
Compilation album: Singular Genius, Concord Records, 15 November 2011.
Mediagraphy - Discography - Trackography - Videography - Gigography - Biography - Chronology
“One of the highlights of my career was being able to work with Ray. He and Jimmy [Lewis] had been friends and worked together over the years. They were looking for material for Ray’s upcoming album, which Jimmy was co-producing with him. When I first came to California and met Jimmy back in 1985, I demoed some songs, and then Ray played this song Let’s Get Back to Where We Left Off. Ray wanted to know who it was. They called me from Hawaii and told that Ray had a commitment to do a duet with jazz singer Diane Schuur.* He wanted to know if I would be willing to come in and do a guide vocal for her. I did the vocals for the track, and when I got home from the studio I had a message on my answering machine. It was Ray. He just couldn’t stop listening to the track that we had just laid down and he had made up his mind that it would be Ray Charles and Peggy Scott.* If the duet with Schuur happened, it unfortunately wasn't recorded.
He was a beautiful human being, funny to the bone... so hilarious. After that song [...], which did good to him, he called me to do a second song (If You Give Me Your Heart), which was on his subsequent album.
I was not a big Ray Charles fan. I loved the genius of his work, but he was not one of my favourite singers. But the fact that he thought enough of my talent to bring in little ole me, when he was surrounded by other superstars... then I became a real big fan after that [laughing]".
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Re-issue. Note variant titles, Maxin/Maxim Trio, and Swing Beat as label name. |
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"Life Suicide". |
The genesis of the song, as described in a (c. 1965) concert souvenir brochure. |
Promotional CD, liner notes. |
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Vinyl release. |
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UK single. |
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Swing Time 250-A. |
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From Los Angeles Sentinel, Sep. 15, 1964. |
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The French 7" single. |
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Sings. |
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Plays. |
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Nuggy = Ahmet Ertegun. |
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Swing Time 326-A+. |
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From Cashbox, Apr. 4, 1953. |
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From Cashbox, Mar. 7, 1953. |
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From Billboard, March 7, 1953. |
The Ray Charles Video Museum is a research project, documenting live performances by The Genius.
This blog is above all a Mediagraphy. 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.