Ray Sings, Basie Swings
Encyclopedia
Ray Sings, Basie Swings is a posthumously created album
that mixes previously unreleased Ray Charles
vocal performances, recorded at live concerts in the mid-1970's, together with newly recorded instrumental tracks by the contemporary Count Basie Orchestra
.
The Count Basie Orchestra
Featuring:
The Raelettes – vocals
Additional musicians:
Album
An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...
that mixes previously unreleased Ray Charles
Ray Charles
Ray Charles Robinson , known by his shortened stage name Ray Charles, was an American musician. He was a pioneer in the genre of soul music during the 1950s by fusing rhythm and blues, gospel, and blues styles into his early recordings with Atlantic Records...
vocal performances, recorded at live concerts in the mid-1970's, together with newly recorded instrumental tracks by the contemporary Count Basie Orchestra
Count Basie Orchestra
The Count Basie Orchestra is a 16 to 18 piece big band, one of the most prominent jazz performing groups of the swing era, founded by Count Basie. The band survived the late '40s decline in big band popularity and went on to produce notable collaborations with singers such as Frank Sinatra and Ella...
.
Track listing
- "Oh, What a Beautiful Mornin'" (Oscar HammersteinOscar Hammerstein IIOscar Greeley Clendenning Hammerstein II was an American librettist, theatrical producer, and theatre director of musicals for almost forty years. Hammerstein won eight Tony Awards and was twice awarded an Academy Award for "Best Original Song". Many of his songs are standard repertoire for...
, Richard RodgersRichard RodgersRichard Charles Rodgers was an American composer of music for more than 900 songs and for 43 Broadway musicals. He also composed music for films and television. He is best known for his songwriting partnerships with the lyricists Lorenz Hart and Oscar Hammerstein II...
) – 4:35 - "Let the Good Times RollLet the Good Times Roll (Louis Jordan song)"Let the Good Times Roll" is a song was recorded in 1946 by Louis Jordan and his Tympany Five, and became a # 2 hit on the R&B chart in the United States....
" (Moore, Theard) – 2:57 - "How Long Has This Been Going On?How Long Has This Been Going On?"How Long Has This Been Going On?" is a song composed by George Gershwin, with lyrics by Ira Gershwin for the musical "Funny Face" in 1928.Replaced by "He Loves and She Loves" in Funny Face, it was eventually introduced in the musical Rosalie by Bobbe Arnst.-Notable recordings:*Audrey Hepburn in...
" (George GershwinGeorge GershwinGeorge Gershwin was an American composer and pianist. Gershwin's compositions spanned both popular and classical genres, and his most popular melodies are widely known...
, Ira GershwinIra GershwinIra Gershwin was an American lyricist who collaborated with his younger brother, composer George Gershwin, to create some of the most memorable songs of the 20th century....
) – 6:19 - "Every Saturday Night" (Hogan, West) – 4:05
- "BustedBusted (Harlan Howard song)-Cover versions:* Johnny Cash, with the Carter Family, reached #13 on Billboard's Hot Country Songs chart in 1963.* Ray Charles reached #4 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in 1963. This was from his album Ingredients in a Recipe for Soul...
" (Harlan HowardHarlan HowardHarlan Perry Howard was a prolific American songwriter, principally in country music. In a career spanning six decades, Howard wrote a large number of popular and enduring songs, recorded by a variety of different artists...
) – 2:35 - "Crying TimeCrying Time"Crying Time" is a song from 1964 written by country music artist Buck Owens.Owens recorded a version of his song, but it failed to reach the music charts. A cover version of "Crying Time" was then recorded by R&B singer Ray Charles, and his version proved to be a hit...
" (Buck OwensBuck OwensAlvis Edgar Owens, Jr. , better known as Buck Owens, was an American singer and guitarist who had 21 No. 1 hits on the Billboard country music charts with his band, the Buckaroos...
) – 3:53 - "I Can't Stop Loving YouI Can't Stop Loving You"I Can't Stop Loving You" is a popular song written and composed by country singer, songwriter and musician Don Gibson, who first recorded it on December 30, 1957, for RCA Victor Records...
" (Don GibsonDon GibsonDonald Eugene "Don" Gibson was an American songwriter and country musician. A Country Music Hall of Fame inductee, Gibson penned such country standards as "Sweet Dreams" and "I Can't Stop Loving You", and enjoyed a string of country hits from 1957 into the early 1970s.-Biography:Don Gibson was...
) – 4:02 - "Come Live with Me" (Bryant, Bryant) – 4:10
- "Feel So Bad" (Johnson, Temple) – 4:10
- "The Long and Winding RoadThe Long and Winding Road"The Long and Winding Road" is a ballad written by Paul McCartney that originally appeared on The Beatles' album Let It Be. It became The Beatles' 20th and last number-one song in the United States on 23 May 1970, and was the last single released by the quartet...
" (John LennonJohn LennonJohn Winston Lennon, MBE was an English musician and singer-songwriter who rose to worldwide fame as one of the founding members of The Beatles, one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music...
, Paul McCartneyPaul McCartneySir James Paul McCartney, MBE, Hon RAM, FRCM is an English musician, singer-songwriter and composer. Formerly of The Beatles and Wings , McCartney is listed in Guinness World Records as the "most successful musician and composer in popular music history", with 60 gold discs and sales of 100...
) – 4:04 - "Look What They've Done to My Song, Ma" (Melanie SafkaMelanie SafkaMelanie Anne Safka-Schekeryk is an American singer-songwriter. Known professionally as simply Melanie, she is best known for her hits "Brand New Key", "Ruby Tuesday" and "Lay Down ".-Early career:...
) – 2:51 - "Georgia on My MindGeorgia on My Mind"Georgia on My Mind" is a song written in 1930 by Hoagy Carmichael and Stuart Gorrell . It is the official state song of the U.S. state of Georgia. Gorrell wrote the lyrics for Hoagy's sister, Georgia Carmichael. However, the lyrics of the song are ambiguous enough to refer either to the state or...
" (Hoagy CarmichaelHoagy CarmichaelHoward Hoagland "Hoagy" Carmichael was an American composer, pianist, singer, actor, and bandleader. He is best known for writing "Stardust", "Georgia On My Mind", "The Nearness of You", and "Heart and Soul", four of the most-recorded American songs of all time.Alec Wilder, in his study of the...
, Stuart GorrellStuart GorrellStuart Graham Steven Gorrell is best known for writing the lyrics for the song Georgia on My Mind.Gorrell attended Indiana University; there he became friends with fellow student Hoagy Carmichael...
) – 4:40
Personnel
- Ray Charles – vocals, pianoPianoThe piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
The Count Basie Orchestra
- Marshall McDonald – alto saxophoneAlto saxophoneThe alto saxophone is a member of the saxophone family of woodwind instruments invented by Belgian instrument designer Adolphe Sax in 1841. It is smaller than the tenor but larger than the soprano, and is the type most used in classical compositions...
, fluteFluteThe flute is a musical instrument of the woodwind family. Unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is an aerophone or reedless wind instrument that produces its sound from the flow of air across an opening... - Grant Langford – alto saxophone
- Doug LawrenceDoug Lawrence (jazz)Doug Lawrence is a jazz tenor saxophonist from Lake Charles, Louisiana. He currently resides in Albuquerque, New Mexico....
– tenor saxophoneTenor saxophoneThe tenor saxophone is a medium-sized member of the saxophone family, a group of instruments invented by Adolphe Sax in the 1840s. The tenor, with the alto, are the two most common types of saxophones. The tenor is pitched in the key of B, and written as a transposing instrument in the treble... - Doug Miller – tenor saxophone
- John Williams – baritone saxophoneBaritone saxophoneThe baritone saxophone, often called "bari sax" , is one of the largest and lowest pitched members of the saxophone family. It was invented by Adolphe Sax. The baritone is distinguished from smaller sizes of saxophone by the extra loop near its mouthpiece...
- Mike WilliamsMike Williams (trumpeter)Mike Williams is an American jazz and big band trumpeter residing in Lapeer, Michigan. He is most noted as the lead trumpeter for the Count Basie Orchestra, an esteemed chair which he has held without interruption for more than 21 years...
– trumpetTrumpetThe trumpet is the musical instrument with the highest register in the brass family. Trumpets are among the oldest musical instruments, dating back to at least 1500 BCE. They are played by blowing air through closed lips, producing a "buzzing" sound which starts a standing wave vibration in the air... - Scotty Barnhart – trumpet
- Shawn C. Edmonds – trumpet
- Endré Ric – trumpet
- Dave Keim – tromboneTromboneThe trombone is a musical instrument in the brass family. Like all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player’s vibrating lips cause the air column inside the instrument to vibrate...
- Alvin S. Walker – trombone
- Clarence Banks – trombone
- Barry K. Cooper Jr. – bass trombone
- Tony Suggs – piano
- Will Matthews – guitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
- James Leary – bassDouble bassThe double bass, also called the string bass, upright bass, standup bass or contrabass, is the largest and lowest-pitched bowed string instrument in the modern symphony orchestra, with strings usually tuned to E1, A1, D2 and G2...
- Butch MilesButch MilesButch Miles is an American jazz drummer. He has played with the Count Basie Orchestra, Dave Brubeck, Ella Fitzgerald, Sammy Davis Jr., and Frank Sinatra, among others....
– drums
Featuring:
- Joey DeFrancescoJoey DeFrancescoJoey DeFrancesco is an American jazz organist, trumpeter, and vocalist. Down Beat's Critics and Readers Poll selected him as the top jazz organist every year since 2003.DeFrancesco was born in Springfield, Pennsylvania...
– organOrgan (music)The organ , is a keyboard instrument of one or more divisions, each played with its own keyboard operated either with the hands or with the feet. The organ is a relatively old musical instrument in the Western musical tradition, dating from the time of Ctesibius of Alexandria who is credited with...
The Raelettes – vocals
- Patti AustinPatti Austin-Life and career:Austin was born in Harlem, New York. She made her debut at the Apollo Theater at age four and had a contract with RCA Records when she was only five. Quincy Jones and Dinah Washington have proclaimed themselves as her godparents....
- Valerie Pinkston
- Lynne Fiddmont
- Sandy Simmons
- Darlene Perry
- Sharon Perry
- Lorraine Perry
- Maxi Anderson
Additional musicians:
- Shelly BergShelly BergShelton Glen Berg is a jazz pianist from Cleveland, Ohio. His father was trumpet player Jay Berg. At the age of six Shelly Berg entered the Cleveland Institute of Music studying classical piano...
- Jim Cox
- Wayne BergeronWayne BergeronWayne Bergeron, American jazz musician and trumpet player, was born in 1958 in Hartford, Connecticut and grew up Southern California. His interest in music started on the French Horn before he switched to, his claim to fame, the trumpet, in 8th grade...
- Andy Martin
- John Chiodini
- Chuck Berghofer
- Gregg Field