Album3: Fats & Friends (German LP: Exclusive Records, 1987; VHS: Atlantic/WEA, 28 May 1991; DVD: Time Life Records, 6 March 2007; German DVD: High Planet Entertainment, 8 September 2004, titled Rockin' Pianos).
Medley-ish jam with Lewis Boogie, from the TV show Fats & Friends, recorded on 5 June 1986 at the Storyville Jazz Hall, in New Orleans.
With Fats Domino, Jerry Lee Lewis - piano; Ray Charles - keyboards, vocal; Sugar Blue - harmonica; accompanied by Paul Shaffer, Ron Wood, Roy Gaines, Harold Cowart, Steve Jordan.
Album3: Fats & Friends (German LP: Exclusive Records, 1987; VHS: Atlantic/WEA, 28 May 1991; DVD: Time Life Records, 6 March 2007; German DVD: High Planet Entertainment, 8 September 2004, titled Rockin' Pianos).
In a medley-ish jam with Jambalaya, from the TV show Fats & Friends, recorded on 5 June 1986 at the Storyville Jazz Hall, in New Orleans.
With Fats Domino, Jerry Lee Lewis - piano; Ray Charles - keyboards, vocal; Sugar Blue - harmonica; accompanied by Paul Shaffer, Ron Wood, Roy Gaines, Harold Cowart, Steve Jordan.
Part of an all-star jam, recorded by Cinemax in Rome in February 1989. Ray had a good time sitting behind his keyboards. The other legends were James Brown, B.B. King, Bo Diddley, Esther Phillips, Fats Domino, Jerry Lee Lewis, and Little Richard. The bandleader was Dave Edmunds; Maceo Parker was there too.
Part of an all-star jam, recorded by Cinemax in Rome in February 1989. Ray had a good time sitting behind his keyboards. The other legends were James Brown, B.B. King, Bo Diddley, Esther Phillips, Fats Domino, Jerry Lee Lewis, and Little Richard. The bandleader was Dave Edmunds; Maceo Parker was there too.
Legends Of Rock 'n' Roll Live was recorded in Rome and originally broadcast on Cinemax in 1989. A gathering of r&b, blues & rock greats, belting out 15 songs followed by an all-star jam, all seven of them in peak form.
Paul Litteral - trumpet; Crispin Cioe, Arno Hecht - tenor saxophones; Chuck Leavell - keyboards; Dave Edmunds (musical director), Robert Funk - guitar); Phil Chen - bass; Terry Williams - drums.
HBO Archiveshas numerous clips of backstage scenes and interviews made during rehearsals for this concert. The concert took place in the Palalottomatic Arena. Some tapes are dated 21 November 1988, but the concert poster that's visible in some of the interview sets clearly has 17 November (one of the edited tapes is dated February 1989; I guess that was not too long before the broadcasting date).
Looking at that poster, and listening to Ray's surprised response, it becomes clear that B.B. King was a last moment replacement of Chuck Berry.
Some of the rushes of the interviews and of the rehearsals can be watched on the HBO Archives site:
Interview with Ray, part 1: Ray sitting indoors: smiling & rocking: talks about the artists he's playing with on show- they're innovators; explains that he is not a specialist (like the others), but a utility man; expresses excitement about seeing back James Brown, Bo Diddley, BB King, Fats Domino, telling jokes and lies to each other.
Interview with Ray, part 2:Ray explains that music is made one way; talks about accolades and being called a legend and a genius; his musical influences; the various music genres & musicians he likes. "Music is written the same way for everybody. I wished the world was like that."
Interview with Ray, part 3: Ray talks about Little Richard & Jerry Lee Lewis being one of a kind; explains the key to his longevity; his musical diversity; mentions future projects.
Reuters has archived an item on a press conference (without Ray), that aired on 16 November. The documentation of the reel is still including Chuck Berry in the line-up.
The content smells a bit like a desperate PR attempt. The statements of Diddley and Brown are hilariously far away from "reasons for doing the concert".
In the documentation Reuters explains that the concert was "[...] staged for the benefit of Unicef", and that it "[...] has already cost over two million dollars to stage, but more than 50,000 dollars has been set aside for Unicef. Live coverage of the show is to be broadcast in France, Germany, Spain and Italy. Television stations in Europe and around the world are signing contracts for a later edited version. On Wednesday, some of the stars practiced their songs on stage and talked about their reasons for doing the concert."
But during the press conference Bo Diddley said on tape, "Rock 'n Roll is dead? I'm not going anywhere no way, Rock 'n Roll will never die." James Brown said, "Nobody has the monopoly on the feeling, nobody has the monopoly on God - may I go please?" Source here.
DVD: Image Entertainment, 5 December 2000, ASIN: B000051S5Q.
Mess Around: [You'll get the whole concert here!]
A Fool For You:
Whole Lotta Shakin’ Goin’ On / You Don't Love Me No More (Jam):
Jerry Lee Lewis, Ray Charles, Paul Schaffer, Fats Domino, Ron Wood.
Discussion during rehearsals. Fats Domino, Paul Shaffer, Ray Charles and (someone with the hair of) Jerry Lee Lewis.
Introduction
The Fat Man - Fats Domino
Walking To New Orleans - Fats Domino
Blueberry Hill - Fats Domino
Shake, Rattle And Roll - Fats Domino
CC Rider - Fats Domino
Sentimental Journey - Fats Domino
I Was Raised On Rock - Jerry Lee Lewis, ft Ron Wood
Great Balls Of Fire - Jerry Lee Lewis, ft Ron Wood
Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On - Jerry Lee Lewis, ft Ron Wood
A Certain Girl - Ron Wood & Paul Shaffer
I've Got A Woman - Ray Charles, ft Ron Wood
Drown In My Own Tears - Ray Charles
Lewis Boogie - Ray Charles, Jerry Lee Lewis & Fats Domino, ft Ron Wood
Jambalaya (On The Bayou) - Ray Charles, Jerry Lee Lewis & Fats Domino, ft Ron Wood
Swanee River Rock - Ray Charles, Jerry Lee Lewis & Fats Domino, ft Ron Wood
The Rockin' Piano - Instrumental
Ad from TV Guide. 19 - 25 Jul. 1986.
Splendid TV concert, directed by Len Dell'Amico, recorded on 5 June 1986 at the Storyville Jazz Hall, in New Orleans.
Listen to Paul Shaffer in the trailer, below. The first air date, on cable TV, I found was 25 July 1986, under the title Cinemax Sessions: Fats Domino And Friends.
Released as a VHS by Atlantic/WEA (28 May 1991) and as a DVD by Time Life Records (6 March 2007, ASIN: B000MTDRFE).
There's also a German release (High Planet Entertainment, 8 September 2004, ASIN: B00022LOHY), titled Rockin' Pianos.
German LP (1987).
There also was an LP release (on vinyl) in Germany: Exclusive Records DLC 1987.
Performers & personnel:
Fats Domino, Jerry Lee Lewis - piano, vocal; Ray Charles - keyboards, vocal; Sugar Blue - harmonica; accompanied by Paul Shaffer, Ron Wood, Roy Gaines, Harold Cowart, Steve Jordan.
The complete concert is often offered online on a pay-per-view basis in the U.S., and sometimes for free everywhere else:
Another promo for a 2017 broadcast of the show, with great rehearsal footage:
More rehearsal stuff here:
I've Got A Woman:
Drown In My Own Tears:
Lewis Boogie/Jambalaya: HBO Archives (Tape Ref Number 5488 - 125817) has shelved extensive backstage source materials. The AP Archive has a 5-minute news item from 5 August 1986, titled Fats Domino Homage: "Legendary jazz greats including Ray Charles, Jerry Lee Lewis and Ron Wood, pay musical homage to pianist [sic! BS] Fats Domino".
"If it's really something good that was not on the record, that's okay, because when I perform I can make the performance of the song better than the record was."
The Genie
Ray Charles at the Apollo (Apr. or maybe Oct. 1959), working on his Wurlitzer. Photo by Alex Harsley.
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About
The Ray Charles Video Museum is a research project, documenting live performances by The Genius.
This blog is above all aMediagraphy. 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.
The Bishop seduces the world with his voice
Sweat strangles mute eyes
As insinuations gush out through a hydrant of sorrow
Dreams, a world never seen
Mounded on Africa's anvil, tempered down home
Documented in cries and wails
Screaming to be ignored, crooning to be heard
Throbbing from the gutter
On Saturday night
Silver offering only,
The Right Reverend's Back in Town
Don't it make you feel all right?