Ray Charles’s Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music, Volumes 1 & 2 are major landmarks in American culture. Charles demonstrated that great songs with signature performances work in all genres. “I Can’t Stop Loving You” was a standard in country, soul and R&B, as he proved. Modern Sounds also brought America together during the Sixties’ civil rights movement. Charles became one of the first recording artists to have ownership and complete control of the masters. Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music has been listed among the greatest slbums of all time, along with the Beatles, Dylan, Motown, Springsteen, Hendrix and the Beach Boys.
Lost for 50 years, these newly discovered concerts, featuring an hour and 45 minutes of performances, were filmed at the 1961 Antibes Jazz Festival in France and show Ray Charles in his prime period with the original Raeletts and his most legendary band (including David "Fathead" Newman and Hank Crawford.) These first concerts he ever gave in Europe, opened the door for Ray Charles to become one of the most revered international stars America has ever produced. The original 16mm films have been newly transferred and digitally restored and remastered, capturing Ray Charles at the peak of his powers, the very essence of "genius".
Ray Charles’ long-lost duet “Curiosity” with jazz singer Steve Tyrell has been released over 30 years after the track was recorded. The song features on Tyrell’s new covers album Shades of Ray.
The Genius of Ray Charles is a 1959 album by Ray Charles. In 2003, the album was ranked number 263 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time. Some players from Ray Charles' big band are joined by many ringers from the Count Basie and Duke Ellington bands for the first half of this program, featuring Charles belting out six songs arranged by Quincy Jones. "Let the Good Times Roll" and "Deed I Do" are highlights, and there are solos by tenorman David "Fathead" Newman, trumpeter Marcus Belgrave, and (on "Two Years of Torture") tenor Paul Gonsalves. The remaining six numbers are ballads, with Charles backed by a string orchestra arranged by Ralph Burns. Charles' voice is heard throughout in peak form, giving soul to even the veteran standards.
Concord Music Group releases the Ray Charles Forever album, which includes re-mixed and re-mastered versions of some of Ray's classic hits and the previously unreleased "They Can't Take That Away From Me."
Here we present 40 of Ray's most notable works. Ray Charles Robinson (September 23, 1930 – June 10, 2004), known professionally as Ray Charles, was an American singer, songwriter, musician, and composer. He was sometimes referred to as "The Genius", and was also nicknamed "The High Priest of Soul".