The Best of Ray Charles
Encyclopedia
The Best of Ray Charles is a compilation album released in 1970 on the Atlantic
Jazz label featuring previously released instrumental (non-vocal) tracks recorded by Ray Charles
between November 1956 and November 1958.
The instrumental, "Rockhouse" would later be covered, as "Ray's Rockhouse" (1985), by The Manhattan Transfer
with lyrics by Jon Hendricks
.
"Rockhouse"
"Sweet Sixteen Blues"
"Doodlin’"
"How Long Blues
"
"Blues Waltz"
Atlantic Records
Atlantic Records is an American record label best known for its many recordings of rhythm and blues, rock and roll, and jazz...
Jazz label featuring previously released instrumental (non-vocal) tracks recorded by 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...
between November 1956 and November 1958.
The instrumental, "Rockhouse" would later be covered, as "Ray's Rockhouse" (1985), by The Manhattan Transfer
The Manhattan Transfer
The Manhattan Transfer is an American vocal music group. There have been two manifestations of the group, with Tim Hauser being the only person to be part of both...
with lyrics by Jon Hendricks
Jon Hendricks
Jon Hendricks is an American jazz lyricist and singer. He is considered one of the originators of vocalese, which adds lyrics to existing instrumental songs and replaces many instruments with vocalists...
.
Track listing
- "Hard Times" (Mitchell) – 4:39
- "Rockhouse" (Charles) – 3:50
- "Sweet Sixteen Blues" (Charles) – 4:04
- "Doodlin’" (SilverHorace SilverHorace Silver , born Horace Ward Martin Tavares Silva in Norwalk, Connecticut, is an American jazz pianist and composer....
) – 5:49 - "How Long BluesHow Long, How Long Blues"How Long, How Long Blues" is a traditional eight bar blues song, made famous by Leroy Carr on his 1928 Vocalion Records recording with the guitarist Scrapper Blackwell...
" (CarrLeroy CarrLeroy Carr was an American blues singer, songwriter and pianist, who developed a laid-back, crooning technique and whose popularity and style influenced such artists as Nat King Cole and Ray Charles. He first became famous for "How Long, How Long Blues" on Vocalion Records in 1928.-Life and...
) – 9:15 - "Blues Waltz" (Charles) – 6:29
Personnel
"Hard Times"- Ray Charles – piano
- David NewmanDavid Newman (jazz musician)David "Fathead" Newman was an American jazz saxophonist.-Biography:Born in Corsicana, Texas, Newman's professional career as a musician began in 1954 as a member of the Ray Charles Band....
– alto sax - Bennie CrawfordHank CrawfordBennie Ross "Hank" Crawford, Jr. was an American R&B, hard bop, jazz-funk, soul jazz alto saxophonist, arranger and songwriter...
– baritone sax - Marcus BelgraveMarcus BelgraveMarcus Belgrave is a jazz trumpet player from Detroit, born in Chester, Pennsylvania. He has recorded with a variety of famous musicians, bandleaders, and record labels since the 1950s. Notable among them are: Ray Charles, Charles Mingus, Gunther Schuller, Motown Records, Tribe Records, Blue Note...
– trumpet - Edgar Willis – bass
- Milton Turner – drums
- Recorded on November 5, 1958
- Recording engineer: Tom DowdTom DowdTom Dowd was an American recording engineer and producer for Atlantic Records. He was credited with innovating the multi-track recording method. Dowd worked on a virtual "who's who" of recordings that encompassed blues, jazz, pop, rock and soul records.- Early years :Born in Manhattan, Dowd grew...
- Produced by Nesuhi ErtegunNesuhi ErtegunNesuhi Ertegun was a Turkish record producer and executive of Atlantic Records and WEA International.-Background:Born in Istanbul, Turkey, Nesuhi and his family, including younger brother Ahmet, moved to Washington, D.C...
and Jerry WexlerJerry WexlerGerald "Jerry" Wexler was a music journalist turned music producer, and was regarded as one of the major record industry players behind music from the 1950s through the 1980s...
"Rockhouse"
- Tenor sax solo by David Newman
- Other personnel not mentioned (possibly same as Track 4)
- Produced by Ahmet ErtegunAhmet ErtegunAhmet Ertegün was a Turkish American musician and businessman, best known as the founder and president of Atlantic Records. He also wrote classic blues and pop songs and served as Chairman of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and museum...
and Jerry WexlerJerry WexlerGerald "Jerry" Wexler was a music journalist turned music producer, and was regarded as one of the major record industry players behind music from the 1950s through the 1980s...
"Sweet Sixteen Blues"
- Ray Charles – piano
- Roosevelt Sheffield - bass
- William Peeples – drums
- Recorded on November 26, 1956
- Recording engineers: Earle BrownEarle BrownEarle Brown was an American composer who established his own formal and notational systems...
and Tom DowdTom DowdTom Dowd was an American recording engineer and producer for Atlantic Records. He was credited with innovating the multi-track recording method. Dowd worked on a virtual "who's who" of recordings that encompassed blues, jazz, pop, rock and soul records.- Early years :Born in Manhattan, Dowd grew... - Produced by Nesuhi ErtegunNesuhi ErtegunNesuhi Ertegun was a Turkish record producer and executive of Atlantic Records and WEA International.-Background:Born in Istanbul, Turkey, Nesuhi and his family, including younger brother Ahmet, moved to Washington, D.C...
and Jerry WexlerJerry WexlerGerald "Jerry" Wexler was a music journalist turned music producer, and was regarded as one of the major record industry players behind music from the 1950s through the 1980s...
"Doodlin’"
- Ray Charles – piano
- David Newman – tenor sax
- Emmott Dennis – baritone sax
- Joseph Bridgewater – trumpet
- John Hunt – trumpet
- Roosevelt Sheffield - bass
- William Peeples – drums
- Trumpet solo by John Hunt
- Arranger: Quincy JonesQuincy JonesQuincy Delightt Jones, Jr. is an American record producer and musician. A conductor, musical arranger, film composer, television producer, and trumpeter. His career spans five decades in the entertainment industry and a record 79 Grammy Award nominations, 27 Grammys, including a Grammy Legend...
- Recorded on November 26, 1956
- Recording engineers: Earle BrownEarle BrownEarle Brown was an American composer who established his own formal and notational systems...
and Tom DowdTom DowdTom Dowd was an American recording engineer and producer for Atlantic Records. He was credited with innovating the multi-track recording method. Dowd worked on a virtual "who's who" of recordings that encompassed blues, jazz, pop, rock and soul records.- Early years :Born in Manhattan, Dowd grew... - Produced by Nesuhi ErtegunNesuhi ErtegunNesuhi Ertegun was a Turkish record producer and executive of Atlantic Records and WEA International.-Background:Born in Istanbul, Turkey, Nesuhi and his family, including younger brother Ahmet, moved to Washington, D.C...
and Jerry WexlerJerry WexlerGerald "Jerry" Wexler was a music journalist turned music producer, and was regarded as one of the major record industry players behind music from the 1950s through the 1980s...
"How Long Blues
How Long, How Long Blues
"How Long, How Long Blues" is a traditional eight bar blues song, made famous by Leroy Carr on his 1928 Vocalion Records recording with the guitarist Scrapper Blackwell...
"
- Ray Charles – alto sax and piano
- Milt JacksonMilt JacksonMilton "Bags" Jackson was an American jazz vibraphonist, usually thought of as a bebop player, although he performed in several jazz idioms...
– vibraharp (and piano during Ray Charles’ alto sax chorus and Pettiford’s first chorus on bass) - Billy MitchellBilly Mitchell (jazz musician)Billy Mitchell was an American jazz tenor saxophonist known for his close association with fellow Detroiter Thad Jones and work with a variety of big bands including Woody Herman when he replaced Gene Ammons in his band...
– tenor sax - Skeeter BestSkeeter BestClifton "Skeeter" Best was an American jazz guitarist.Best played in Philadelphia from 1935 to 1940, recording with Slim Marshall and Erskine Hawkins. In 1940 he joined Earl Hines's orchestra, playing with him until he joined the U.S. Navy in 1942. After the war he played with Bill Johnson from...
- guitar - Oscar PettifordOscar PettifordOscar Pettiford was an American jazz double bassist, cellist and composer known particularly for his pioneering work in bebop.-Biography:...
– bass - Connie KayConnie KayConnie Kay was an American jazz drummer.Kay was a member of the Modern Jazz Quartet from 1955 until the group's dissolution in 1974...
– drums
- Recorded on September 12, 1957
- Recording engineer: Tom DowdTom DowdTom Dowd was an American recording engineer and producer for Atlantic Records. He was credited with innovating the multi-track recording method. Dowd worked on a virtual "who's who" of recordings that encompassed blues, jazz, pop, rock and soul records.- Early years :Born in Manhattan, Dowd grew...
- Produced by Nesuhi ErtegunNesuhi ErtegunNesuhi Ertegun was a Turkish record producer and executive of Atlantic Records and WEA International.-Background:Born in Istanbul, Turkey, Nesuhi and his family, including younger brother Ahmet, moved to Washington, D.C...
"Blues Waltz"
- Ray Charles – piano
- Bennie Crawford – baritone sax
- David Newman – tenor sax
- Lee Harper – trumpet
- Marcus Belgrave - trumpet
- Edgar Willis – bass
- Richie Goldberg – drums
- Recorded at the Newport Jazz FestivalNewport Jazz FestivalThe Newport Jazz Festival is a music festival held every summer in Newport, Rhode Island, USA. It was established in 1954 by socialite Elaine Lorillard, who, together with husband Louis Lorillard, financed the festival for many years. The couple hired jazz impresario George Wein to organize the...
, Newport, Rhode Island, on July 5, 1958 - Recording engineers: Harold ChapmanHarold ChapmanHarold Stephen Chapman is a photographer noted for chronicalling the 1950s in Paris.He has produced a large body of work over many years, but his most significant period was from the mid 1950s to the early 1960s, when he lived in a backstreet Left Bank guesthouse in Paris later nicknamed ‘the...
and Tom DowdTom DowdTom Dowd was an American recording engineer and producer for Atlantic Records. He was credited with innovating the multi-track recording method. Dowd worked on a virtual "who's who" of recordings that encompassed blues, jazz, pop, rock and soul records.- Early years :Born in Manhattan, Dowd grew... - Produced by Nesuhi ErtegunNesuhi ErtegunNesuhi Ertegun was a Turkish record producer and executive of Atlantic Records and WEA International.-Background:Born in Istanbul, Turkey, Nesuhi and his family, including younger brother Ahmet, moved to Washington, D.C...
Other credits
- Sleevenotes: Ralph J. GleasonRalph J. GleasonRalph Joseph Gleason was an influential American jazz and pop music critic. He contributed for many years to the San Francisco Chronicle, was a founding editor of Rolling Stone magazine, and cofounder of the Monterey Jazz Festival.-Biography:Gleason was born in New York City and attended Columbia...
- Cover photo: Ray Ross
- Cover design: Loring Eutemey