Ray Charles (Born 23/09/1930, Died 10/06/2004)

He first recorded in 1949, joined the Atlantic label in 1952, hitting early with 'It Should Have Been Me' (which, incidentally, he didn't want to record), 'Mess Around' and 'Losing Hand'. 'I Got A Woman' was however the embodiment of Charles' development whilst at Atlantic and, of course, 'What'd I Say', proved to be a staple of the encore circuit for R&B and rock'n'roll bands almost from the time it was released. Other hits for Atlantic included 'Hallelujah I Love You So' and the superb ballads 'Drown In My Own Tears' and 'I Believe To My Soul'. Most of these can be found on "The Best Of Ray Charles: The Atlantic Years " on Rhino 8122-71722-2, and although there are one or two surprising omissions it is still a fine introduction. For those who want more, there is also a Box Set which covers the whole of Charles' Atlantic career.

In 1959, he left to join ABC (but not before he reemphasised his jazz roots with a session including Ellington and Basie sidemen called "Genius Of Ray Charles" which included standards and lesser known blues and jazz gems); he continued in fine form with hits such as 'Georgia On My Mind' and 'Hit The Road Jack'. In 1962 he changed direction again, recording "Modern Sounds In Country And Western", which included the million selling 'I Can't Stop Loving You'. Many commentators have said Charles lost his fire at this point - but what does that mean exactly? In my view, this is just the usual carping criticism from people who like to pigeon hole performers and tend to lack the vision often exhibited by the artist himself. All of the best RCA sides can be heard on the mid price CD "Ray Charles - The Collection".
He did eventually have musical lows (it was a long career to sustain for God's sake) but even then there were occasional gems such as "Crying Time". He did at times veer to-wards middle of the road but this should not in itself detract from the initial brave move to country music and the success he made of the venture.

His influence is probably inestimable, he was one of the first to marry gospel and R&B, performed blues, jazz, soul, country, and R&B and stamped his own authority on everything he played - he can rightfully be called the 'Father Of Soul'. Even the "Genius Loves Company" duets album released around the time of his death has merit, even if by the time it was recorded Ray's voice was showing a few signs of wear and tear.
You can now get a 2CD collection covering his entire career. "The Definitive Ray Charles" is clearly going to be compromise but, on its own terms, it's a damn fine introduction to the great man. Hard to fault the choices and a pretty good way to start a life long affection for Ray's music. Ray died in June, 2004

"Music was one of my parts ... like my blood. It was a necessity for me, like food or water" - Ray Charles