Tag Archives: Ray Charles

Junior Mance: I Believe To My Soul

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In February 1968, “Atlantic” label released “I Believe to My Soul”, the twelve Junior Mance album. It was recorded in September 1966 – August 1967, in New York City, and was produced by Joel Dorn.

Personnel:

  • Junior Mance – piano
  • David Newman, Frank Wess – tenor saxophone
  • Hubert Laws – tenor saxophone, flute
  • Bobby Capers, Haywood Henry – baritone saxophone
  • Melvin Lastie, Joe Newman, Jimmy Owens – trumpet
  • Bob Cunningham, Richard Davis – bass
  • Jimmy Tyrell – electric bass
  • Alan Dawson, Ray Lucas, Freddie Waits – drums
  • Ray Barretto – congas
  • Sylvia Shemwell – vocals
  • Arif Mardin – arrangements
  • Gene Orloff – strings conductor
  • Bruce Tergesen – engineer
  • Phil Lehle – engineer
  • Rob Grenell – mastering
  • Marvin Israel – front cover design
  • Lee Friedlander – photography
  • Ray Spaulding – liner notes

Track listing:

All tracks by Junior Mance, except where noted.

  1. I Believe to My Soul – Ray Charles
  2. A Time and a Place – Jimmy Heath
  3. Sweet Georgia Brown – Ben Bernie, Maceo Pinkard, Kenneth Casey
  4. Golden Spur
  5. Don’t Worry ‘Bout It
  6. Home on the Range – traditional
  7. Sweets for My Sweet – Doc Pomus, Mort Shuman
  8. My Romance – Richard Rodgers, Lorenz Hart

Etta James: Matriarch Of The Blues

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On December 12, 2000, “Private Music” label released “Matriarch of the Blues”, the twenty-fourth Etta James studio album. It was recorded in 2000, and was produced by Donto Metto James and Sametto James.

Personnel:

  • Etta James – lead and backing vocals, liner notes
  • Josh Sklair – acoustic and electric guitar, slide guitar, keyboards, rhythm arrangements
  • Bobby Murray – guitar
  • Leo Nocentelli – guitar
  • Mike Finnigan – Hammond organ
  • Jimmy Zavala – harmonica, tenor and baritone saxophone
  • Sametto James – bass, engineer, mixing
  • Donto Metto James – drums, engineer, mixing, percussion
  • Tom Poole – trumpet
  • Terrance Galloway – engineer assistant
  • Doug Sax – mastering
  • Julie Bruzzone – creative director
  • Sonny Mediana – design, photography
  • Rudy Calvo – make-up
  • Lupe DeLeon – executive producer

Track listing:

  1. Gotta Serve Somebody – Bob Dylan
  2. Don’t Let My Baby Ride – Deadric Malone, O. V. Wright
  3. Rhymes – Al Green, Teenie Hodges
  4. Try a Little Tenderness – Jimmy Campbell, Reg Connelly, Harry M. Woods
  5. Miss You – Mick Jagger, Keith Richards
  6. Hawg for Ya – Otis Redding
  7. You’re Gonna Make Me Cry – Deadric Malone
  8. Walking the Back Streets – Sandy Jones, Jr.
  9. Let’s Straighten It Out – Benny Latimore
  10. Born on the Bayou – John Fogerty
  11. Come Back Baby – Ray Charles, Lightnin’ Hopkins
  12. Hound Dog – Jerry Leiber, Mike Stoller

Etta James: The Dreamer

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On November 8, 2011, “Verve Forecast” label released “The Dreamer”, the twenty-ninth and final Etta James studio album. It was recorded in 2011, at “Fort Athens Studios”, and was produced by Etta James, Josh Sklair, Danto and Sametto.

Personnel:

  • Etta James – vocals
  • Big Terry De Rouen, Bobby Murray, Leo Nocentelli – guitar
  • Josh Sklair – guitar
  • Divid Kirk Mathews – keyboards
  • Sametto James – bass
  • Donto James – drums, engineer
  • Jimmy Z – saxophone
  • Lee Thornburg – trumpet, arrangements
  • Kraig Kilby – trombone
  • Terry Howard – engineer
  • Ed Cherney – mixing
  • Bernie Grundman – mastering
  • Rudy Calvo – make-up
  • Artis Mills, Lupe De Leon – executive producer

Track listing:

  1. Groove Me – King Floyd
  2. Champagne & Wine – Otis Redding
  3. Dreamer – Bobby Bland
  4. Welcome to the Jungle – Guns N’ Roses
  5. Misty Blue – Bob Montgomery
  6. Boondocks – Little Big Town
  7. Cigarettes & Coffee – Otis Redding
  8. In the Evening – Ray Charles
  9. Too Tired – Johnny “Guitar” Watson
  10. That’s the Chance You Take – Johnny “Guitar” Watson
  11. Let Me Down Easy – Little Milton

Ray Charles: Just Between Us

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In July 1988, “Columbia” label released “Just Between Us”, the 49th Ray Charles album. It was recorded in 1988, at “RPM Studios” in Johannesburg, South Africa, and was produced by Ray Charles and Quincy Jones.

Personnel:

  • Ray Charles – vocal, piano
  • B.B. King – guitar
  • Kenny Carr – guitar
  • Gladys Knight – vocals
  • Lou Rawls – vocals

Track listing:

  1. Nothing Like a Hundred Miles – James Taylor
  2. I Wish I’d Never Loved You at All – K. Morrison Phelps, R. Hice
  3. Too Hard to Love You – Jim Johnson
  4. Now I Don’t Believe That Anymore – David A. Morgan
  5. Let’s Call the Whole Thing Off – George Gershwin, Ira Gershwin
  6. Stranger in My Hometown – Percy Mayfield
  7. Over the Top – Tony Colton, Keith Christopher
  8. I’d Walk a Little More for You – Ken Hirsch, Doc Pomus
  9. If That’s What’cha Want – Dave Loggins
  10. Save the Bones for Henry Jones – Danny Barker, Vernon Lee

Ray Charles: Ray’s Moods

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In July 1966, “Tangerine” and “ABC” labels released “Ray’s Moods”, the 25th Ray Charles album. It was recorded in 1966, and was produced by Tangerine Record Corporation.

Personnel:

  • Ray Charles – vocals, piano
  • Onzy Matthews – arrangements
  • Artis Lane – cover painting
  • George Whiteman – cover design
  • Joe Lebow – liner design
  • Rick Ward – liner notes

Track listing:

  1. What-Cha Doing in There (I Wanna Know) – C. Sessions
  2. Please Say You’re Fooling – Bobby Stevenson
  3. By the Light of the Silvery Moon – Edward Madden, Gus Edwards
  4. You Don’t Understand – Biba Lee Walker
  5. Maybe It’s Because of Love – Percy Mayfield
  6. Chitlins with Candied Yams – Ray Charles
  7. Granny Wasn’t Grinning That Day – Percy Mayfield
  8. She’s Lonesome Again – George Riddle
  9. Sentimental Journey – Ben Homer, Bud Green, Les Brown
  10. A Born Loser – Don Gibson
  11. It’s a Man’s World – Leroy Kirkland, Pearl Woods
  12. A Girl I Used to Know – Jack Clement

Ray Charles: Ingredients in Recipe for Soul

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In July 1963, “ABC” label released “Ingredients in a Recipe for Soul”, the 19th Ray Charles album. It was recorded in 1963, in Hollywood and New York City, and was produced by Sid Feller.

Personnel:

  • Ray Charles – vocals, piano
  • Jack Halloran Singers
  • Benny Carter – arrangements
  • Sid Feller – arrangements
  • Marty Paich – arrangements
  • Johnny Parker – arrangements
  • Bill Putnam – engineer
  • Bob Arnold – engineer
  • Frank Gauna – cover design
  • Joe Lebow – liner design
  • Howard Moorehead – photography
  • Natt Hale – liner notes

Track listing:

  1. Busted – Harlan Howard
  2. Where Can I Go? – Leo Fuld, Sigmunt Berland, Sonny Miller
  3. Born to Be Blue – Mel Tormé, Robert Wells
  4. That Lucky Old Sun – Beasley Smith, Haven Gillespie
  5. Ol’ Man River – Oscar Hammerstein, Jerome Kern
  6. In the Evening (When the Sun Goes Down) – Leroy Carr
  7. A Stranger in Town – Mel Tormé
  8. Ol’ Man Time – Cliff Friend
  9. Over the Rainbow – Harold Arlen, E.Y. Harburg
  10. You’ll Never Walk Alone – Oscar Hammerstein, Richard Rodgers

Ray Charles: Love Country Style

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In June 1970, “Tangerine” label released “Love Country Style”, the 31st Ray Charles album. It was recorded in 1970, and was produced by Joe Adams.

Personnel:

  • Ray Charles – vocals, keyboards
  • David T. Walker – guitar
  • Steve Guillory – guitar
  • Carol Kaye – electric bass
  • Sid Feller – arrangements, conductor
  • David Braithwaite, Ray Charles Robinson – engineer

Track listing:

  1. If You Were Mine – Jimmy Lewis
  2. Ring of Fire – June Carter Cash, Merle Kilgore
  3. Your Love is So Doggone Good – Big Dee Irwin, Rudy Love
  4. Don’t Change On Me – Eddie Reeves, Jimmy Holiday
  5. Till I Can’t Take It Anymore – Clyde Otis, Dorian Burton
  6. You’ve Still Got a Place in My Heart – Leon Payne
  7. I Keep It Hid – Jimmy Webb
  8. Sweet Memories – Mickey Newbury
  9. Good Morning Dear – Mickey Newbury
  10. Show Me the Sunshine – Buddy Scott, Jimmy Radcliffe

Ray Charles: Have a Smile With Me

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In June 1964, “ABC” label released “Have a Smile with Me”, the 21st Ray Charles album. It was recorded in 1964, and was produced by Ray Charles.

Personnel:

  • Ray Charles – vocals, piano
  • The Ray Charles Orchestra
  • The Raelettes – backing vocals
  • Benny Carter – arrangements
  • Gerard Wilson – arrangements
  • Johnny Parker – arrangements

Track listing:

  1. Smack Dab in the Middle – Charles E. Calhoun
  2. Feudin’ and Fightin’ – Al Dubin, Burton Lane
  3. Two Ton Tessie – Lou Handman, Roy Turk
  4. I Never See Maggie Alone – Everett Lynton, Henry B. Tisley
  5. Move It on Over – Hank Williams
  6. Ma (She’s Making Eyes at Me) – Sidney Clare, Con Conrad
  7. The Thing – Charles Randolph Grean
  8. The Man with the Weird Beard – Milton Drake, Al Hoffman, Jerry Livingston
  9. The Naughty Lady of Shady Lane – Roy C. Bennett, Sid Tepper
  10. Who Cares (For Me) – Don Gibson

Ray Charles: Doing His Thing

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In May 1969, “Tangerine Records” label released “Doing His Thing”, the 29th Ray Charles album. It was recorded in 1969, at “RPM Studios” in Los Angeles, and was produced by Joe Adams.

Personnel:

  • Ray Charles – vocals, keyboards
  • Jimmy Lewis – vocals
  • Lafayette Chew – artwork

Track listing:

All tracks by Jimmy Lewis, except where noted.

  1. The Same Thing That Can Make You Laugh (Can Make You Cry) – Jimmy Lewis, Ray Charles
  2. Finders Keepers, Losers Weepers – Cliff Chambers, Jimmy Holiday, Jimmy Lewis
  3. You Ought to Change Your Ways
  4. Baby Please
  5. Come and Get It
  6. We Can Make It
  7. I’m Ready
  8. That Thing Called Love
  9. If It Wasn’t for Bad Luck – Jimmy Lewis, Ray Charles
  10. I Told You So

Ray Charles: Volcano Action of My Soul

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In April 1971, “Tangerine Records” label released “Volcanic Action of My Soul”, the 32nd Ray Charles album. It was recorded in 1971, at “RPM/Tangerine Studios” in Los Angeles, and was produced by Joe Adams.

Personnel:

  • Ray Charles – vocals, keyboards
  • Buddy Emmons – pedal steel guitar
  • Glen Campbell – mandolin 

Track listing:

  1. See You Then – Jimmy Webb
  2. What Am I Living For – Art Harris, Fred Jay
  3. Feel So Bad – James Johnson, Leslie Temple
  4. The Long and Winding Road – John Lennon, Paul McCartney
  5. The Three Bells – Bert Reisfeld, Jean Villard
  6. All I Ever Need Is You – Eddie Reeves, Jimmy Holiday
  7. Wichita Lineman – Jimmy Webb
  8. Something – George Harrison
  9. I May Be Wrong (but I Think You’re Wonderful) – Henry Sullivan, Harry Ruskin
  10. Down In the Valley – traditional