KJLH Visits The Ray Charles Studios (2004)

KJLH Radio broadcast from RPM Studios on 31 August 2004 (soft-promoting the then new release of Genius Loves Company). Amateurish but respectful footage, with Billy Preston and David Ritz as studio guests. And fascinating pans along Ray's wardrobe and piano collection.

Ray's gleaming suit jackets have been intriguing me since long. He had multiple jackets in the same style made of metallic brocades with varying colors and patterns. The jacket on the photo was constructed of a synthetic bright red satin with a gold metallic brocade pattern in a stylized floral paisley, with black satin lapels, buttons, and pocket trim and three original labels: one embroidered with “Custom made by PARKVIEW Clothes, Los Angeles, Calif.," another embroidered with “Custom styled for Ray Charles," and a third interior pocket label with “CHARLES” written in faded ink. During the last decades of his life they were custom made by Parkview Clothes in Los Angeles.
The red and gold brocade tuxedo jacket (photo) was worn by him in 1985/86. The Golden Closet, "your premiere source for screen used wardrobe, props, and music entertainment memorabilia" asked $ 6000 - 8000 for it. A photo from a performance is used on the booklet cover for the 1998 4-disk CD box set Ray Charles: The Complete Country and Western Recordings 1959 – 1986.

Read a fine description of this jacket in this article.

Blue and silver suit jacket from c. 1985.

In 2011 Concord Music uploaded this clip - titled Where a Blind “Genius” Created His Music - Inside Ray Charles’ offices. Also read this.