Ray Charles Video Museum: Ray Charles Is In Town

1983

At the SUNY-B West Gym of the University of Binghamton. Photos (contact sheet) by Matt Mendelsohn.

Photo by Nancy Clendaniel.

Born To Love Me peaks at #20 on Country Chart, Ain't Your Memory Got No Pride At All at #82, and 3/4 Time at #37 on Country.

Wish You Were Here Tonight peaks at #29 on Country Album Chart.

Ft. in PSA for USA Space Foundation (year not sure). See this.

In a C&W show hosted by Lacy J. Dalton (title unknown). See this.

8 January 1983

A Celebration of Life: A Tribute to Martin Luther King Jr., at Kennedy Center's Concert Hall, Washington DC, with Lena Horne, Ben Kingsley, Louis Gossett Jr, Robert Guillaume a.o. See this.

19 January 1983

At Del Mar Fairgrounds in Del Mar CA.

23 January 1983

On Cerebral Palsy Telethon. See this.

7 February 1983

In Hallelujah Gospel (air date, taped in 1982). See this.

23 February 1983

Piano battle with Count Basie, Little Richard and Jerry Lee Lewis on 25^th Grammy Awards show. See this.

Release of album Wish You Were Here Tonight.

Release of the single 3/4 Time / You Feel Good All Over. See clip.

Set of the music clip 3/4 Time, with David Perkins.

12 and 13 March 1983

Quincy Jones celebrates his 50th birthday with two benefit concerts for Seattle's Garfield Highschool and Seattle Central Community College, both with Ray Charles. See this

15 March 1983

At White House East Room, where the Reagans hosted members of the Country Music Association.

16 March 1983

On Salute To Country Music, the CMA's CBS-TV special, with Willie Nelson and other country music artists at Constitution Hall in Washington (recording date, aired on 13 April 1983; president & vice president plus 1st and 2nd ladies in the audience; see this. Photo here. See also this and this and this.

11 April 1983

The Saddle Rack, San Jose CA.

13 April 1983
Double concert at Tagus Ranch, Tulare.

Air date of CMA's 25th Anniversary Concert. See this.

14 April 1983

Beverly Theatre, Beverly Hills, Los Angeles CA ("The man has such a wonderful voice, he could sing the evening news and you'd be glad to hear it").

23 April 1983
Civic Auditorium, Santa Monica CA.

24 April 1983

Ft. in Our Largest Minority - The Disabled (air date). See this.

D.A.R. Constitution Hall, Washington DC; with Aretha Franklin.

25 April 1983
Fox Theater, Atlanta GA.

Photos by Rick Diamond/Getty.

26 April 1983

Apparel Mart in Atlanta GA. More photos here.

Photos by Enid Farber.

30 April 1983
Royal Palace Theatre at Busch Gardens, Williamsburg VA.

1 May 1983
Busch (Florentine) Gardens, Los Angeles CA.

6 May 1983
Meyerhoff Symphony Hall, Baltimore MD.

7 May 1983
Richie's, Kenner, LA.

10 May 1983
Receives UCLA distinguished Humanitarian Award at ceremonies, "attended by nearly 1,000 students who gave him a standing ovation".

11 May 1983
At Front Row Theater, Highland Heights MI.

12 May 1983
Premier Center, Freedom Hill Amphitheatre, Sterling Heights MI.

13 May 1983
Star Plaza Theatr, Merrillville IL.

On the same day (according to credits to these photos):
Star Plaza Theater, Merillville.

18 May 1983
Sams Center (Trinity Hall) at Trinity University, Austin TX. Photos here.

19 May 1983
Civic Center, El Paso TX.

22 May 1983
Hult Center for the Performing Arts (Silva Hall), Eugene OR
*and/or*
Hyatt Regency, Oakland.

Photo by Ron Riesterer.

29 May 1983
Palais des Congrès, Paris.

Photos by Michel Philippot.

1 June 1983
Soirée du GERP, Patinoire de Bordeaux, Salle Polyvalente de Mériadeck.

Coll. Jacques Merle.

2 June 1983
Palais des Sports, Metz ("Charles a offert aux orphelins du rythm and blues, du gospel et du jazz de "mama" pour les choyer. L'orchestre et les choeurs se hissaient à la hauteur de cet extraordinaire bonhomme en veste rouge et noir. Parfois pantin désarticulé, parfois baril de dynamite, pieuvre posée sur le clavier d'un piano, le "Genius" a prouvé qu'il n'était pas mort. La critique parisienne l'a quelque peu boudé. Moi, je vous dis qu'il reste un phénomène. Mieux, qu'il est un phénomène. That's what I say.").

~~4 June 1983~~
Kongresshaus, Bad Gastein.
Ray Charles + entourage searched for drugs in Austria; cancels two concerts ("arrested for one hour by the Austrian police on suspicion of drug trafficking. The scandal [...] erupted in the early afternoon on Saturday at Salzburg airport [...]. 'In all my life such a thing never happened before, not even in Russia or China,' said Ray Charles. The raid [...] prevented the group to arrive in time in Bad Gastein where their first concert was scheduled in the afternoon. As a small consolation, for fans who did not want to recover money for the ticket, Ray Charles has performed a few songs at a hotel bar in plano [...]. The management of the Grand Hotel Europe, organizer of the evening, was not intending to pay Ray ( ($ 24,000 for the two concerts) [because] the singer failed to comply with his exclusive contract, while he had also planned concerts in Burgenland." Source (Italian): here.

6 June 1983
Politeama Rossetti, Trieste.

7 June 1983
Centennial Concert Hall, Winnipeg.

11 June 1983
Cinema Teatro Margeritha, Genoa. Read review here.

12 June 1983
Anfiteatro Romano, Cagliari; partially broadcast live - see this.

13 June 1983
Teatro Tenda Lampugnano in Milan.
Possibly around this time:
Concert at Emerald Theatre in Milan. See photo here, and extensive photo series here.

19 June 1983
Elks Club, Long Beach CA.

30 June 1983
Centennial Concert Hall, Winnipeg MB.

1 July 1983
Ray's plane spotted in Winnipeg:

2 July 1983
Kool Jazz Festival at Avery Fisher Hall in New York City NY; with B.B. King. Tickets at $17.50-$35.("These two musical giants make a particularly winning combination because one is an inspired iconoclast, the other a monumental classicist [...]"; read review here). Photos here, here and here.

Photo(s?) by Rene Perez.

Source: here; more here.

3 July 1983
Performing Arts Center, Saratoga Springs. NY July 3, 1983; co-billed with B.B. King.

4 July 1983
At Théâtre St-Denis, Festival International De Jazz De Montréal, Montreal QC. See this.

7 July 1983
2 concerts at Broadway Restaurant in Reykjavik.

From Visir, Iceland (6 July): "Ray Charles Coming Tomorrow".

From a review in Tíminn Sunnudagsblad, July 9.

9 July 1983
Congresgebouw, North Sea Jazz Festival, The Hague.

Photo by Rob Bogaerts.

16 July 1983
Double concert at Les Escaldes, Andorra.

Second half of July 1983
Bordeaux.

Photo series by Jacques Merle.

17 July 1983
Concert at Rock Jazz Festival, Wiesen.

19 July 1983.
Jazz à Juan, Antibes.

22 July 1983
Interviewed before concert in Salon-de-Provence. See this. More photos here.

Summer 1983 (prob. around this day)
Concert in Le Touquet-Paris-Plage.

Poster.

23 July 1983
Waldbühne, Berlin.

Germany, 1983, possibly at this concert. Photo: Ullstein/Getty.

August 1983
Release of the single Ain't Your Memory Got No Pride At All / I Don't Want No Strangers Sleepin' In My Bed.

10 August 1983
The Stone, San Francisco.

August 1983
Taping of Ray Charles - A Man And His Soul, A 40th Anniversary Celebration at the Coconut Grove in LA; syndicated nationally as of September '83. See this.

Publicity photo.

1 August 1983
Stratford Festival, Festival Theatre, Stratford ON.

12 August 1983
Sonoma County Fairgrounds, Santa Rosa CA Many more photos here.

Photo by Richard Pechner.

2 September 1983
Sullivan Sports Arena, Anchorage AK.

2 to 5 September 1983

Bumbershoot 1983 (billed with The Animals, Three Dog Night, Bo Diddley, Oingo Boingo, Betty Carter, Willie Dixon, King Sunny Ade, Charles Lloyd, Shadowfax, Danny O'keefe, Will Ackerman, The Busboys, Ken Kesey, Anli Sugano, and more) at Seattle Center, Seattle WA.

4 September 1983

Photo by Lauren Deutsch.

Billed as "Ray Charles Reunion Band" at Chicago Jazz Festival, Chicago IL.

Backstage at Chicago Jazz Festival: Marcus Belgrave - tp, Bernard Purdie - dm, Phil Guilbeau - tp, Ray Charles - vo, p, David Newman - ts, unknown, Hank Crawford - as.

Chicago Jazz Festival at Grant Park, Chicago (93,000 spectators); reunited with his original band (full line-up: Marcus Belgrave, Phil Guilbeau - tp; Hank Crawford - as; David Newman - ts; Leroy Cooper - bs; Phil Upchurch - g; Calvin Newborn - b; Bernard Purdie - dm). They notably performed Let's Go Get Stoned.
*Same day:*
Pier 6, Baltimore.

16 September 1983
Heinz Hall, Pittsburgh PA ("Charles [...] remains the essence of soul"; read review here).

21 September 1983
Civic Center, Peoria IL.

22 September 1983
For University of Michigan at Hill Auditorium in Ann Arbor MI (with Marcus Belgrave Sextet).

Eugene 'Big Bubba' Ross on guitar. Photo by Andrew Sacks.

28 September 1983
Pavilion at Rawhide Park, Phoenix AZ for the concert A Man and His Soul, for Friends of Channel 8.

29 September 1983
Annual Awards Dinner of the Good Shepherd Center for Independent Living at the Hilton Hotel in Los Angeles CA.

October 1983
At unidentified event with Smokey Robinson.

2 October 1983
Rialto Square Theatre, Joliet IL.

5 - 9 October 1983
Granny's Dinner Playhouse, Dallas TX.

12 October 1983
Opry's 58th Birthday, Ryman Auditorium, Nashville TN.

Mid October 1983
Spending an extra $13,000 to make it to concert in Nashville (supposed to fly from Texas, but bad weather and a malfunctioning radar scope on the Viscount 400 grounded the group; Charles was forced to charter a jet).
Carolina Theatre, Greensboro.

14 October 1983
Sam's Town Casino, Las Vegas NV.

16 October 1983
Fabulous Fox Theater, St. Louis MO.

17 October 1983
First Avenue, Minneapolis MN.

23 October 1983
Ft. in Ronnie Milsap’s In Celebration. See this.

27 October 1983
Candlewood Playhouse, New Fairfield CT.

30 October 1983
Double concert at Fisher Theatre, Detroit MI.

November 1983
Release of the single We Didn't See A Thing / I Wish You Were Here Tonight (with George Jones & Chet Atkins).

2 November 1983
Concert in Greensboro NC.

3 November 1983
Riverside Theatre, Vero Beach FL; tickets $20-$25.

6 November 1983
Ruth Eckard Hall, Clearwater FL ("It is uncanny how far he can get from the original, pulling and twisting it out of shape and reharmonizing it [...]"; read review here).

7 November 1983
Lake Mirror Center, Lakeland FL.

8 to 20 November 1983
Valley Forge Music Fair, Devon PA, with Lou Rawls and Sister Sledge; tickets at $14.75-$17.75.

From Valley Forge program brochure. Coll. Harry Irvin.

23 November 1983
Orpheum Theater, Omaha NE ("[…] he could not refrain from bopping to the music even before he sat down. Once at his piano, he was a live wire of activity, pumping keys").

25 November - 1 December 1983
Sahara Casino, Las Vegas NV.
Eugene 'Big Bubba' Ross removed from stage. See this.

3 December 1983
Quincy Jones – A Celebration (benefit for music education, $250 per ticket, black tie) in Seattle, with 40-piece orchestra. See this.

4 December 1983
On NAACP Image Award show, at the Hollywood Palladium, Hollywood CA. See this and this.