Ray Charles Is In Town - Chronology 1970

Prob. in France, circa 1970 (photo: Gamma/Getty).

Photo by Christian Rose.

Vernita Moss, Susaye Greene, Mable John, Estella Yarbrough.

Pilots, Ray & Raelettes inspecting the Buzzard (Viscount 400), c. 1970.

Publicity photo, c. 1970.

Publicity photo, c. 1970.

Publicity photo, c. 1970.

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San Francisco, 1970. Photos by Tom Copi (Getty).

Bronze medal, France, 1970. On versio side: "Je Veux Que Les Gens Decouvrent Mon Ame".

Unidentified occasion, c. 1970.

Unidentified occasion, c. 1970.

1970
If You Were Mine peaks at #41 on Pop Chart and #19 on R&B, Laughin And Clownin at #98 on Pop and #18 on R&B.
My Kind Of Jazz peaks at #155 on Pop Album Chart. 


January 1970
The Raelettes independently fill a 16-week stand at the Camino Real Hotel in Mexico City (Ray only joins them briefly at the end of February to receive an award).
Release of the single Laughin' And Clownin' / That Thing Called Love.

1 - 10 January 1970
Recording of My Kind Of Jazz at RPM Studios, LA. See this. 

25 January 1970

On The Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour (air date). See this.

Backstage at the Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour.

February 1970
Re-signs with ABC; announcement of double album "Ray Charles Sings And Plays The Beatles /  Ray Charles Sings And Plays Ray Charles", to be released [this never happened, BS] later in the year as part of ABC's 15th anninversary.

9 February 1970

Ft. in The Engelbert Humperdinck Show (recording date, in UK ; aired on 4-3-1970). See this.

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11 February 1970

On Johnny Cash Show, taped at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville  (air date); see this. 

17 February 1970

On the Tonoght Show. See this.

23 February 1970

Sold On Soul (sometimes referred to as 'Soul To Soul', initially called 'Silhouettes in Courage'), a tribute to Duke Ellington at Madison Square Garden, New York City NY. See this.

Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, Milt Jackson and Ray Charles, backstage.

End of February 1970

At Camino Royal, in Mexico City, presented by the local entertainment celebrity Cantinflas with the annual Heraldo de 1969 Mexico Award for International Artist. Read this. See this and this.

A concert on or around the same day as the Heraldo event. Photos by Ted Williams.

March 1970 

Ft. in Tom Jones Show (air date, probably taped in February). See this.

9 March 1970

Participating in Aquarius/Let The Sun Shine In (with National Urban Coalition) on Ed Sullivan Show (air date; filmed segment). See this.

14 March 1970

Ft. in The Switched-on Symphony. See this.

NBC photo collage with Jethro Tull, Bobby Sherman, Zubin Mehta, Pinchas Zukerman, Ray Charles.

Newspaper ad.

Article in New Yorker.

26 March 1970

Unknown gig, taped for television; read this.

28 March 1970

Profile in New Yorker. Read this.

April 1970

Release of album My Kind Of Jazz.

Billboard ad.

9 - 12 April 1970

Sugar Shack Soul Room, Boston MA.

15 April 1970
The Fieldhouse, University of Tennessee, Martin TN.

17 and 18 April 1970

Fillmore East in New York City NY, with Dizzy Gillespie Quintet, and Mongo Santamaria. The concert on the 18th is audio taped. See this.

Photos by Amalie R. Rothschild.

19 April 1970
Woolsey Hall,Yale University, New Haven CT.

20 April 1970
The Forum, Halifax NS.

21 and 22 April 1970 

Salle Wilfrid-Pelletier, Montreal QC ("still magical"); tickets 3.50-$8.50.

24 April 1970

Boston Arena, Boston MA.

25 April 1970

Brown Spring Weekend, Providence RI.

26 April 1970

In PAC Pop Series, Uihlein Hall, Art Center, Milwaukee WI.

28 April - 18 May 1970

With Bill Cosby at Harrah's Tahoe in Reno NV. Also listen to this.

7 May 1970
Clark County Fairgrounds.



17 May 1970 

Second time on Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour (air date). See this.

22 May 1970

Mabel Shaw Bridges Auditorium, Claremont CA.

23 May 1970

Valley Music Theater, Woodland Hills CA.

30 May 1970
Bush Stadium, Indianapolis IN.

June 1970
Release of album Love Country Style.

Ad from Billboard, Jun. 20.

5 June 1970

Oakdale Musical Theater, Wallingford CT.

6 June 1970
Philly Spectrum, Philadelphia PA; co-billed with Les McCann and Roberta Flack.

8 June 1970

Township Auditorium, Columbia SC.

16 to 21 June 1970

"The Prince of Soul himself […] has taken over the revolving stage of the Mill Run Theater, Golf-Mill Shopping Center" in Chicago IL. See (probably older) photo here.

24 June 1970

Schaefer Music Festival at Harvard Stadium, Cambridge MA (also featured: The Band, B.B. King, The Paul Butterfield Blues Band, James Cotton Blues Band, Ten Years After). "Charles' set-piece, big-band presentation did not capture the crowd like The Band's dancing rock. Scuffles broke out in the crowd around the stage as the Ray Charles Orchestra warmed up, escalating into a full-scale fight shortly after Charles came on stage. The blind singer, unaware of the brawl taking place only feet from his piano, continued playing while the crowd, ignoring the music, watched the combatants surging in the pit. When the fight had been broken up, the concert began again; but the mood was gone, and shortly after the Raelettes had come on stage, a quarrelsome drunk began to heckle Charles from the front of the pit. Visibly annoyed at last, Charles stopped and let the drunk talk while the crowd grew angrier and angrier. Someone in the back yelled "shut up, asshole!", the noise subsided long enough for a brief set, and Charles left hurriedly"; read more here.

25 June 1970

Schaefer Music Festival at Trump Wollman Skating Rink, Central Park in New York City NY. Festival's program here.

2 July 1970

Civic Auditorium, Santa Monica CA.

5 July 1970

Start of Far East tour.

7 - 8 July 1970

Sankei Club / Golden Gessekai. 

9 July 1970

Nenkin Kaikan, Osaka.

11 July 1970

12 July 1970

Nenkin Kaikan, Osaka.

14 July 1970

Prince Hotel, Tokyo.

20 July 1970

Nenkin Kaikan, Osaka.

22 - 23 July 1970

Health Pension Club / Golden Gessekai, Tokyo.

25 July 1970

Officers Club / NCO Club, Yokota.

26 July 1970

Health Pension Center, Tokyo. 

August 1970

Release of the single If You Were Mine / Till I Can't Take it Anymore.

Ad from Cashbox (1971)

Distribution contract Tangerine with Philips UK.

From Cashbox, Aug. 22, 1970.

From Record Mirror, Aug. 25.

3 to 9 August 1970

Carter Barron Amphitheatre, Washington, with The Supremes.

Ad in Baltimore Sun, 14 June 1970.

8 August 1970
Atlantic City Jazz Festival at Gardner's Basin.

13 - 22 August 1970

Now Grove, Los Angeles CA (Ray "inadvertently referred to the Now Grove as the Cocoanut Grove at his opening").

The "first time Charles will utilize strings in addition to his big band showcase", the Los Angeles Sentinel of August 13th announced.

30 August 1970

Blossom Music Center, Cuyahoga Falls OH.

31 August 1970
Outdoor event at CNE Bandshell in Toronto ON, drawing 10,000 people.

 Photos by Dick Darrell/Getty.

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"Ray Charles is too much the master craftsman to give a bad performance, says critic Bill Dampier. But he hasn't really progressed since around the late '50s and his show at the CNE last night was predictable though disappointing." Photos by Dick Darrell/Toronto Star/Getty Images.

From Billboard, Sep. 12.

Late August or early September 1970

Wins Ray Charles Award at Natra's televised Annual Award Presentation at the Houston Music Theatre (unclear if Ray participated in the event).

5 September 1970
The Voices of Hope choir honor Billy Preston at the Wilshire Ebell Theater in Los Angeles. Ray prepared a tape to be played at the event.

18 September 1970

Palace Theatre, Albany NY.

19 September 1970

Hosting a luncheon and performing at pregame (South Carolina State vs A&T) concert at Groves Stadium on Wake Forest campus in Winston Salem NC; with Mahalia Jackson, as a benefit for sickle cell disease research (also with Jesse Jackson).
*And:*
Indiana University, IU Auditorium, Indianapolis.

23 September 1970

Second time on the Johnny Cash Show, taped at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville. See this.

ABC publicity photo.

Frequently published detail of same photo.

25 September 1970
First of 27 concerts Europe, in UK.

29 September 1970

Pavilion at Fairgrounds, Bologna.

First time on Hee Haw (air date). See this. Stills here.

Ray Charles & Buck Owens at Hee Haw show.

October 1970
Bordeaux.

Photo by Jacques Merle.

1, 2 and 4 October 1970 

6 concerts at La Salle Pleyel, Paris. Two shows were broadcast on radio; see this and this.

Feature article in unidentified French magazine.

3 October 1970
Hall Omnisport, Differdange LU.

5 October 1970
Liederhalle, Stuttgart DE.

6 October 1970
Konzerthaus, Vienna AT.

8 October 1970
Deutsches Museum, Munich DE.

9 October 1970
Jarhunderthalle, Frankfurt DE.

10 October 1970
Deutschlandhalle, Berlin DE.

12 October 1970
Konserthuset, Stockholm.

13 October 1970
Stadthalle, Hannover.

15 October 1970
Sporthalle, Köln.

16 October 1970
Grugahalle, Essen.

17 October 1970
 Musikhalle, Hamburg.

23 October 1970
Victoria Hall, Geneva.

24 October 1970
Headlining Jazz Expo 70, Royal Festival Hall, London.

Ad from New Musical Express, Oct. 10.

 Dates Dina Eshkeri:

25 October 1970
Hammersmith Odeon, London (with Billy Preston).

Photo by David Redfern (Getty).

28 October 1970
Victoria Halle, Geneva.

29 October 1970
Taking the train to, interviewed and performing in Toulouse (Palais des Sports). See this.

30 October 1970

Ad in De Telegraaf, October 21st.

Dressingroom. Photo by Rob Vos (Het Parool).

Concertgebouw, Amsterdam (double concert); only time that year that Ray and Oscar Peterson were on stage together - coincidentally, for both it was the last day of their European tours.

2 November 1970
Latin Casino, Cherry Hill.

20 and 27 November 1970
Ft. in Name Of The Game (air dates). See this.

14 November 1970
Bradley University (Robertson Memorial Fieldhouse), Peoria IL.

18 - 26 November 1970
Gran Rex Theater in Buenos Aires (Cashbox, Dec. 12: "will probably have some performances taped for airing on TV").

27 November 1970
Rosario.

Poster for concert(s?) in Argentina.

?30 November? 1970
Teatro Municipal, São Paulo ("he played some snippets of 'Corcovado', by Antonio Carlos Jobim on piano, while commenting, relaxed: "It's pleasant music. I like it!"), possibly aired by TV Tupi; source here.

?1 December? 1970
Concert in Chile. 

On Hee Haw (air date). See this.


?2? December 1970
Venezuela Song Festival; see this.

?December 1970? 
Concerts somewhere in Japan:

Cover of 1970 Japan tour souvenir brochure. 

Handbill.

Poster?

Tickets.

Concert c 1970, Japan?

6 December 1970
Peterson Gym, San Diego CA. "Charles wound up with a technique fairly new to his show. Ray, the band members, and the Raelets made noises with instruments and feet or whatever. Ray would play a tricky
little ditty on the piano and his oboe player would repeat it, in a competitive manner.Then Ray would talk and gurgle and make all sorts of strange noises. This went on for a good nine minutes and then he broke into 'What'd I Say'" (from a review in the Aztec, a college newspaper).

10 - 24 December 1970
El Camino Real, Mexico City.

13 December 1970
Third time on Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour (air date). See this.

Unidentified venue, 1970.

In or around 1970

Ft. in Memphis Talent Party. See this.

At unidentified venue (clipped from sleeve of Spanish single "Louise"); late 1960s or early 1970s.