February 22, 1968 - RPM Studio, Los Angeles

Session No: Liberty 1426.
Period: The ABC / Tangerine Years (1959 – 1972).
Location: RPM Studio, Los Angeles.
Artist: Clydie King.
Album (compilation): Clydie King ‎- The Imperial & Minit Years.
Label: Liberty Records; Stateside 5099950958122.

Personnel:
Clydie King (vocals); Jimmy Holiday (2nd lead vocals); Bobby Bryant, Mike Akopoff, Melvin Moore, Roy Burrows (trumpet); Bobby Knight, Tommy Shepard, Streamline Ewing, Dick "Slyde" Hyde (trombone); Georgie Auld, Charles Miller (alto saxophone); Plas Johnson, Jay Migliori (tenor saxophone); Leroy Cooper (baritone saxophone); Donald R. Stolz (unid. instrument); Ray Charles (piano); Cecil Womack, Terry Evans (guitar); Ronald Brown (electric bass); Jim Gordon, Teddy Robinson (drums); Unidentified mixed singers (background vocals).

Jim Gordon, Ray Charles (arranger); Dave Pell (producer).

Master #	Titles	Dur.	Writers	Releases
NA	Ode To Billy Joe	(4:31)	Bobbie Gentry	Stateside
NA	(omit piano - RC; add choir - background vocals) Good Kind Of Hurt	(2:16)	Mickey Newbury	Stateside
NA	Something To Remember You By	(2:22)	Arthur Schwarts, Howard Dietz	Stateside
NA	(2nd lead vocals - JH) We Got A Good Thing Goin' On	(2:20)	Jimmy Holiday	Stateside
NA	(omit JH, choir; add piano - RC) If You Love Me Like You Say	(2:40)	Little Johnny Taylor	Stateside

Remarks:

1. Source: AFM (Local 47) recording contract #479705 (dated 26 February; 1:00 PM - 4:00 PM, 4:00 PM - 5:30 PM).
2. Clydie King was a Raelett from March 1966 to July 1968. She was Ray's duet partner when he recorded Sweet Memories, and during concerts she was 2nd lead on Baby, It's Cold Outside, and solo'ed in If You Love Me Like You Say and Ode To Billie Joe. In this session, which was assigned by Liberty records and took place at RPM, she sang two of these songs. In an interview Ray Charles had already declared that the final piano chord on You Love Me Like You Say was his. When these tracks, after almost 40 years, were first issued by Stateside, Clydie said in the liner notes that Ode To Billy Joe had been arranged by Ray Charles. Listening to this recording, it becomes clear that he subtly contributed to it as well. At 0:25 you can vaguely, in the background, hear him respond to Clydie's call (just as he did in the live version that was captured at the Blues Thing concert), and the final piano chord is unmistakably his also: he plays Pop Goes The Weasel!
3. In the line-up above, instruments were inferred based on what these musicians were best known for. Jim Gordon, a multi-instrumentalist, may also have played reeds, flute or clarinet. The attribution of the alto to Charles W. Miller is uncertain. Regrettably, I haven't found anything on Robert L. Stolz. Dick "Slyde" Hyde was credited for "1 Dbl", i.e. he either played a second instrument (in his case that may have been any kind of horn), or he was paid double as a 'first call'-session musician.
4. The Stateside release credited Ike Turner (who recorded it in 1972) for writing the song. Taylor's own original is from 1964. Ray Charles was mentioned in the notes to Taylor's compilation CD The Galaxy Years: "Members of the Ray Charles band are said to be present on some selections and indeed [a few tunes from this period] have a strong Charles flavour". Any contributions by band members (or maybe even the song being recorded - at RPM??) may explain how Ray got to know the song, which wasn't a hit.

Ray Charles In Manchester (1996) - Fragments

In June 1996 Van Morrison and Ray Charles joined forces on a UK tour that brought them to the Wembley Arena in London, on 15 and 19 June, the Nynex Arena in Manchester (June 21), the National Exhibition Centre in Birmingham (23) and the Arena in Newcastle-Upon-Tyne (24).

A Van Morrison fan* shot a few parts of Ray's Manchester concert from an audience perspective. Here you can listen to parts of Busted, Georgia On My Mind, I Can't Stop Loving You, and What'd I Say:



Reconstructed line-up:
Musicians: Steve Elliott, Al Jackson, Al Waters, Rudy Johnson, and Jim Farnsworth - saxophone; Ted Murdock, Chuck Parrish, John Bailey, Kenny Scharf - trumpet; Steve Sigmund, Michael Guerrier, Sarah Morrow, Jason Jackson - trombone; Kenny Carr - guitar; Curtis Ohlson - bass; Ernest Vantrease - Hammond organ; Peter Turre - drums. Raelettes: Estella Yarbrough, Karen Evans, Cathy Mackey, ?Katrina Harper-Cooke?, Tonette McKinney.

* Woolhall, a Van Morrison/Bob Dylan  archivist, runs this entertaining channel on YouTube.

Take-Off For Ray Charles Big Band's First Europe Tour

The complete Ray Charles troupe on October 17th or 18th, 1961, departing from Idlewild for their first European tour. From Cashbox, Nov. 4, 1961.