01.Ev'ry Time We Say Goodbye [04:41]
02.You and I [03:29]
03.Intro: Goodbye/We'll Be Together Again [03:21]
04.People Will Say We're in Love [02:53]
05.Cocktails for Two [03:16]
06.Side by Side [02:23]
07.Baby, It's Cold Outside [04:12]
08.Together [01:36]
09.For All We Know [03:45]
10.Takes Two to Tango [03:24]
11.Alone Together [04:47]
12.Just You, Just Me [01:58]
13.But on the Other Hand Baby [03:15]
14.I Never See Maggie Alone [05:39]
15.I Like to Hear It Sometime [02:49]

Here are 15 classic performances from the collaborative years of Ray Charles and Betty Carter, surely something in terms of a Mt. Rushmore when it comes to significant vocal performances, and who needs two other singers to fill in the faces on the monument? The president of vocal music in many ways will always be Ray Charles. He has pulled off soul, rock & roll, rhythm & blues, jazz, country & western, and even makes "God Bless America" sound like a piece of music and not an excuse to kill someone. He has a way with orchestration that is miraculous; again, it comes back to the fact that so much of his material has to have a solid, rocking feel that keeps his rhythm sections sounding so individualistic. While Charles tended to have the likes of David "Fathead" Newman soloing in his bands, here was his chance to have an expressive voice to bounce off of that was more the level of a John Coltrane. Betty Carter is a master vocalist whose every enunciation has that special presence and cosmic effect of the very first rank of jazz horn soloists; in fact, can they top her? Her entrance on "People Will Say We're in Love" is split-second swing timing, the kind of thing that would make a metronome scratch its head, if it had one. Its combination with Charles' charm and warm, romantic soul is just perfect. The listener will surely appreciate Carter's need to go on her own as artistically justifiable and probably emotionally necessary with or without the legendary Charles' temper, preserved on one bootleg recording as he has a drunken guitarist thrown off-stage for flubbing a note. Yet at the same time the universe of Ray Charles offers lots of benefits that she never quite had in her solo career. One is these types of brilliant orchestrations, although there is certainly no problem with hearing her typical context of a jazz piano trio, and she did do some large-group tracks on her own. She never recorded anything with the pop music flair of Charles, though; they don't call him "the genius" just because he can get to the piano bench without stumbling. Another benefit is Carter performing at slow tempos, since on her own her tendency is more along the lines of breaking the sound barrier. The opening "Everytime We Say Goodbye" is a slow tempo divided in half again; one can imagine an inept bass player getting through the entire thing before realizing he is playing too fast. "Baby, It's Cold Outside" is an obvious highlight, but others are "Takes Two to Tango" and the touching "I Like to Hear It Sometime." --- Eugene Chadbourne, Rovi

download: uploaded yandex 4shared mediafire mega solidfiles zalivalka cloudmailru filecloudio oboom

back

CD1
01. Georgia On My Mind
02. Funny, But I Still Love You
03. Heartbreaker
04. I Wonder Who's Kissing Her Now
05. Ain’t That Love
06. Hallelujah, I Love Her So
07. Deed I Do
08. Baby Let Me Hold Your Hand
09. I Surrender Dear
10. Kissa Me Baby
11. Black Coffee
12. Drown in My Own Tears
13. Come Back, Baby
14. If I Give You My Love
15. Can't You See Darling
16. Late in the Evening Blues
17. I'm Wondering and Wondering
18. Moon Over Miami
19. Am I Blue?
20. Diane

CD2
21. Cherry
22. Leave My Woman Alone
23. I Believe to My Soul
24. Nancy
25. Honey Honey
26. It Should've Been Me
27. Lonely Avenue
28. This Love of Mine
29. A Fool for You
30. It’s All Right
31. Stella By Starlight
32. The Midnight Hour
33. What Would I Do Without You
34. I Had a Dream
35. (Night Time Is) The Right Time
36. Come Rain or Come Shine
37. Ruby
38. I Wonder Who
39. Let Me Hear You Call My Name
40. Don't You Know

CD3
41. Can Anyone Ask For More?
42. My Melancholy Baby
43. Get On the Right Track, Baby
44. Losing Hand
45. Moonlight in Vermont
46. I Want to Know
47. Don't Let the Sun Catch You Cryin'
48. Candy
49. Just For a Thrill
50. What Have I Done?
51. You Won't Let Me Go
52. Tell Me You'll Wait for Me
53. Misery in My Heart
54. Don't Put All Your Dreams in One Basket
55. I've Had My Fun
56. Someday
57. I Love You, I Love You (I Will Never Let You Go)
58. Baby Won't You Please Come Home
59. It Had to Be You
60. When Your Lover Has Gone

Ray Charles was the musician most responsible for developing soul music. Singers like Sam Cooke and Jackie Wilson also did a great deal to pioneer the form, but Charles did even more to devise a new form of black pop by merging '50s R&B with gospel-powered vocals, adding plenty of flavor from contemporary jazz, blues, and (in the '60s) country. Then there was his singing; his style was among the most emotional and easily identifiable of any 20th century performer, up there with the likes of Elvis and Billie Holiday. He was also a superb keyboard player, arranger, and bandleader. The brilliance of his 1950s and '60s work, however, can't obscure the fact that he made few classic tracks after the mid-'60s, though he recorded often and performed until the year before his death. Blind since the age of six (from glaucoma), Charles studied composition and learned many instruments at the St. Augustine School for the Deaf and the Blind. His parents had died by his early teens, and he worked as a musician in Florida for a while before using his savings to move to Seattle in 1947. By the late '40s, he was recording in a smooth pop/R&B style derivative of Nat "King" Cole and Charles Brown. He got his first Top Ten R&B hit with "Baby, Let Me Hold Your Hand" in 1951. Charles' first recordings came in for their fair share of criticism, as they were much milder and less original than the classics that would follow, although they're actually fairly enjoyable, showing strong hints of the skills that were to flower in a few years.

In the early '50s, Charles' sound started to toughen as he toured with Lowell Fulson, went to New Orleans to work with Guitar Slim (playing piano on and arranging Slim's huge R&B hit, "The Things That I Used to Do"), and got a band together for R&B star Ruth Brown. It was at Atlantic Records that Ray Charles truly found his voice, consolidating the gains of recent years and then some with "I Got a Woman," a number-two R&B hit in 1955. This is the song most frequently singled out as his pivotal performance, on which Charles first truly let go with his unmistakable gospel-ish moan, backed by a tight, bouncy horn-driven arrangement. Throughout the '50s, Charles ran off a series of R&B hits that, although they weren't called "soul" at the time, did a lot to pave the way for soul by presenting a form of R&B that was sophisticated without sacrificing any emotional grit. "This Little Girl of Mine," "Drown in My Own Tears," "Hallelujah I Love Her So," "Lonely Avenue," and "The Right Time" were all big hits. But Charles didn't really capture the pop audience until "What'd I Say," which caught the fervor of the church with its pleading vocals, as well as the spirit of rock & roll with its classic electric piano line. It was his first Top Ten pop hit, and one of his final Atlantic singles, as he left the label at the end of the '50s for ABC.

One of the chief attractions of the ABC deal for Charles was a much greater degree of artistic control of his recordings. He put it to good use on early-'60s hits like "Unchain My Heart" and "Hit the Road Jack," which solidified his pop stardom with only a modicum of polish attached to the R&B he had perfected at Atlantic. In 1962, he surprised the pop world by turning his attention to country & western music, topping the charts with the "I Can't Stop Loving You" single, and making a hugely popular album (in an era in which R&B/soul LPs rarely scored high on the charts) with Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music. Perhaps it shouldn't have been so surprising; Charles had always been eclectic, recording quite a bit of straight jazz at Atlantic, with noted jazz musicians like David "Fathead" Newman and Milt Jackson. Charles remained extremely popular through the mid-'60s, scoring big hits like "Busted," "You Are My Sunshine," "Take These Chains From My Heart," and "Crying Time," although his momentum was slowed by a 1965 bust for heroin. This led to a year-long absence from performing, but he picked up where he left off with "Let's Go Get Stoned" in 1966. Yet by this time Charles was focusing increasingly less on rock and soul, in favor of pop tunes, often with string arrangements, that seemed aimed more at the easy listening audience than anyone else. Charles' influence on the rock mainstream was as apparent as ever; Joe Cocker and Steve Winwood in particular owe a great deal of their style to him, and echoes of his phrasing can be heard more subtly in the work of greats like Van Morrison.

One approaches sweeping criticism of Charles with hesitation; he was an American institution, after all, and his vocal powers barely diminished over his half-century career. The fact remains, though, that his work after the late '60s on record was very disappointing. Millions of listeners yearned for a return to the all-out soul of his 1955-1965 classics, but Charles had actually never been committed to soul above all else. Like Aretha Franklin and Elvis Presley, his focus was more upon all-around pop than many realize; his love of jazz, country, and pop standards was evident, even if his more earthy offerings were the ones that truly broke ground and will stand the test of time. He dented the charts (sometimes the country ones) occasionally, and commanded devoted international concert audiences whenever he felt like it. For good or ill, he ensured his imprint upon the American mass consciousness in the 1990s by singing several ads for Diet Pepsi. He also recorded three albums during the '90s for Warner Bros., but remained most popular as a concert draw. In 2002, he released Thanks for Bringing Love Around Again on his own Crossover imprint, and the following year began recording an album of duets featuring B.B. King, Willie Nelson, Michael McDonald, and James Taylor. After hip replacement surgery in 2003, he scheduled a tour for the following summer, but was forced to cancel an appearance in March 2004. Three months later, on June 10, 2004, Ray Charles succumbed to liver disease at his home in Beverly Hills, CA. The duets album, Genius Loves Company, was released two months after his death. The biopic Ray hit screens in the fall of 2010 and was a critical and commercial success, with the actor who portrayed Charles in the move, Jamie Foxx, winning the 2005 Academy Award for Best Actor for his role. Two more posthumous albums, Genius & Friends and Ray Sings, Basie Swings, appeared in 2005 and 2006 respectively. Charles' recordings began reappearing in various facsimile editions, reissues, re-masters, and box sets as his entire recorded legacy received the attention that befits a legendary American artist. --- Richie Unterberger, Rovi

download:

uploaded:  CD1 CD2 CD3

ziddu:   CD1 CD2 CD3

4shared:  CD1 CD2 CD3

yandex:  CD1 CD2 CD3

back

01 - Ray Charles - Walkin' And Talkin'					play
02 - Ray Charles - I'm Wondering And Wondering
03 - Ray Charles - I Found My Baby There
04 - Jimmy Witherspoon - Done Found Out
05 - Jimmy Witherspoon - Sweet Lovin' Baby
06 - Jimmy Witherspoon - Evil Woman
07 - Jimmy Witherspoon - Good Money Blues
08 - Jimmy Witherspoon - Having A Ball
09 - Jimmy Witherspoon - Better Luck Next Time (long inst. intro)
10 - Jimmy Witherspoon - Better Luck Next Time
11 - Jimmy Witherspoon - That's Why I'm Feeling Blue		play

Very rare - A real collector's find: Vinyl on the Crown Label, grey logo w/one side Ray Charles, one side Jimmy Witherspoon. ---Editorial Reviews

download:  uploaded 4shared ziddu gett mediafire anonfiles hostuje sugarsync

back

01. Summertime 6:12
02. My Man s Gone Now 4:40
03. A Woman Is A Sometime Thing 2:42
04. They Pass By Singin 3:01
05. What You Want Wid Bess? 2:20
06. I Got Plenty O Nuttin 3:47
07. Buzzard Song 3:21				play
08. Bess, You Is My Woman 5:25
09. Oh, Doctor Jesus 2:10
10. Crab Man 1:45
11. Here Come De Honey Man 1:24
12. Strawberry Woman (Instrumental) 0:56
13. Strawberry Woman 1:21
14. It Ain t Necessarily So 4:13
15. There s A Boat Dat s Leavin Soon For New York 3:20
16. I Loves You, Porgy 5:00			play
17. Oh, Bess, Oh Where s My Bess (Instrumental) 3:22
18. Oh, Bess, Oh Where s My Bess 3:33
19. Oh Lord, I m On My Way 3:15

Arranged & Conducted by Frank Devol
Featuring:
Harry "Sweets" Edison, trumpet
J.J.Johnson, trombone
Joe Pass, guitar
Victor Feldman, piano
The Rev James Cleveland Singers

Ray Charles left his own music behind to sing Gershwin with one of the most brilliant songstress of all time, Cleo Laine. The result was one of the most magical duet albums ever recorded! Beware! This is not one of your typically light opera versions of Porgy and Bess. This is the artistic interpretation of two accomplished artists who turn Gershwin's music into an unusual mix of spectacle and soul! Not since Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong has any artist attempted to put hot and raw jazz back into this magnificent array of songs. Cleo Laine's fine vocals with Ray Charles' raw soul is a perfect match!

Each song arrangement was perfectly matched to the artist by Frank DeVol with a 78-piece orchestra. Great instrumental artists like Joe Sample, Lee Ritenour, Joe Pass and Ernie Watts are just some of the many gifted in the orchestra. Many of the arrangements are so hot that they can stand on their own.

The opening number "Summertime" swells into a gorgeously rich duet. Cleo Laine's finale in "My Man's Gone Now" is a vocal high. "I Got Plenty O' Nuttin'" is a cooking duet between Ray & Cleo. "Bess, You Is My Woman" is rich with tenderness and longing from both singers. Cleo Laine hits angelic gospelly highs in "Oh, Doctor Jesus". "It Ain't Necessarily So" is one of the funkiest duets in the album. It scorches beyond belief! "I Love You, Porgy" is a sweeping tour-de-force for Cleo Laine. Ray Charles' earthy soul is full force in his version of "Oh, Bess, Oh Where's My Bess". The finale "Oh, Lord, I'm On My Way" hits the heavens with Ray's gospel vocal.

The lp was originally recorded in 1976 and the cd was digitally remastered in 1988. The vocals are marvelously recorded. You'd swear you were in the recording studio! The only downside of this cd is its limited release yet well worth the search. --- Beverly Praiswater

Charles and Cleo Laine duet on the songs from George Gershwin's opera, in a version arranged and conducted by Frank DeVol (who provides extra instrumentals) and produced by Norman Granz. The material is perfect for the performers, and they give it an effective, if unstudied, treatment. ---William Ruhlmann, All Music Guide.

download:    uploaded anonfiles mega 4shared mixturecloud yandex mediafire ziddu

back

1. Hit The Road Jack
2. What'd I Say (Part 1)
3. Busted
4. I Can't Stop Loving You
5. Sticks And Stones
6. Drown In My Own Tears
7. Unchain My Heart
8. Georgia On My Mind
9. I've Got A Woman
10. You Are My Sunshine
11. Take These Chains From My Heart
12. Hide Nor Hair
13. Let's Go Get Stoned
14. You Don't Know Me
15. Hallelujah I Love Her So (Live)
16. Crying Time
17. A Fool For You
18. One Mint Julep
19. Here We Go Again
20. Yesterday
21. America The Beautiful 

Concord's 2009 compilation Genius: The Ultimate Collection is merely one in a long line of Ray Charles hits packages -- not to mention merely one in a long line of releases that have either the word "Genius" or "Ultimate" in their titles -- and "Ultimate" may be too strong a word for a collection that has only 21 tracks, but it nevertheless does function as an excellent sampler of Ray's iconic hits of the '50s and '60s. This samples his Atlantic and ABC recordings relatively equally, ever so slightly favoring the latter. While some of his rawest early R&B will be missed by those who care about such things, those who lodge a complaint already know and have that music in their collections. This is an introduction and sampler for those who don't know Ray Charles' prime, or only need him at his very best, a side that this compilation presents cleanly and efficiently. ---Stephen Thomas Erlewine, Rovi

download:    uploaded anonfiles mega 4shared mixturecloud yandex mediafire ziddu

back

1. Honey, Honey [2:43]
2. (Baby Tell Me) What Have I Done [2:34]
3. You Always Miss The Water [2:50]
4. She's On The Ball [2:32]
5. How Long Blues [2:35]		play
6. Some Day [3:06]
7. Don't Put All Your Dreams In One Basket [2:53]
8. Kiss Me Baby [3:09]
9. Guitar Blues [2:34]
10. Walkin' And Talkin' [3:09]	     play
11. I'm Wonderin' and Wonderin' [3:18]
12. Lonely Boy Blues [2:49]
13. Ray's Blues [1:40]
14. Late In The Evening [3:05]
15. I'd Do Anything But Work [2:28]

A multitalented blind black musician, Ray Charles pioneered soul music, which became enormously popular among both black and white audiences beginning in the late '50s. In secularizing certain aspects of gospel music (chord changes, song structures, call and response techniques, and vocal screams, wails, and moans) and adding blues based lyrics, he virtually invented a new genre of music.

Ray Charles has the distinction of being both a national treasure and an international phenomenon. He started out from no where; years later finds him a global entity. Hundreds of thousands of fingers have hit typewriter and word processor keyboards telling and retelling his story because it is uniquely American, an example of what we like to think is the best in us and of our way of life.

The Ray Charles story is full of paradoxes, part and parcel of the American Dream.Rags to riches. Triumph overcoming tragedy. Light transcending darkness. The name Ray Charles is on a Star on Hollywood Boulevard's Walk of Fame. His bronze bust is enshrined in the Playboy Hall of Fame. There is the bronze medallion cast and presented to him by the French Republic on behalf of its people. There are the Halls of Fame: Rhythm & Blues, Jazz, Rock & Roll. There are the many gold records and the 12 Grammys...

Ray Charles, legendarny amerykański muzyk, król soulu, przez kilkadziesiąt lat kariery wylansował wiele przebojów, z których chyba największym była ballada "Georgia On My Mind", która w 1979 roku została uznana za oficjalną pieśń stanu Georgia. W styczniu 1986 roku Ray Charles została wprowadzony do Rockandrollowego Salonu Sławy. W czasie trwania swojej kariery, Ray Charles zdobył 12 nagród Grammy, a w 1988 roku nagrodę Grammy za życiowe osiągnięcia. Jest pięciokrotnym doctorem honoris causa, laureatem niezliczonych nagród, w tym President's Merit Award przyznawaną przez prezesa organizacji Grammy, Neila Portnowa. Został mianowany przez burmistrza Los Angeles, Jamesa Hahna 'Skarbem Kultury' Los Angeles. Artysta znalazł się również wśród wybranych do Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, a także otrzymał medal prezydenta USA za wkład w sztukę, odznaczenie francuskiej Legii Honorowej oraz specjalne wyróżnienie przyznawane przez Centrum Kennedy'ego (Kennedy Center Honors). 76 jego utworów Raya Charlesa znalazło się na listach przebojów, a łącznie nagrał ponad 75 albumów. Zebrał ponad 20 milionów dolarów, aby pomagać czarnym Amerykanom w edukacji. Wpływ jego muzyki jest wyczuwalny prawie w każdej współczesnej piosence, a jego inwencja muzyczna stała się przykładem dla pokoleń artystów grających rocka, soul, jazz, gospel i country.

download:   uploaded anonfiles mega 4shared mixturecloud yandex mediafire ziddu

back

1. How Long Has This Been Going On 6:48 
2. Feel So Bad 9:20 
3. Am I Blue 6:53 
4. I Can't Stop Loving You 6:34 
5. Country Road 4:17 
6. How Much I Can 4:38 
7. What 'd I Say 7:47

Ray Charles - vocals, piano 
with unknown orchestra including: 
Johnny Coles - flugelhorn, solos 
Clifford Solomon - sax, director 
The Rae-lettes - backing vocals

Liederhalle Stuttgart, Germany
September 28, 1976 

download:   uploaded anonfiles gett mega 4shared mixturecloud yandex mediafire ziddu

back

1. What Child Is This?
2. Little Drummer Boy
3. Santa Claus Is Coming to Town
4. This Time of the Year
5. Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer
6. That Spirit of Christmas
7. All I Want for Christmas
8. Christmas in My Heart
9. Winter Wonderland
10. Christmas Time
11. Baby, It's Cold Outsider

Personnel: 
Ray Charles (vocals, piano, synthesizer); 
Marty Paich (arranger, conductor); 
Betty Carter (vocals); 
Jeff Pevar, Kevin Turner (guitar); 
Rudy Johnson (tenor saxophone); 
Freddie Hubbard (trumpet, flugelhorn); 
The Raelettes, The Jack Halloran Singers (background vocals).

Recorded in 1985, The Spirit of Christmas finds Ray Charles performing a variety of holiday favorites with vocal assistance from the Raelettes and an appearance by jazz trumpeter Freddie Hubbard. The ten tracks mix standards and originals, including "Santa Claus Is Coming to Town," "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer," and the ballad "That Spirit of Christmas," which was featured in the movie National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation. The Spirit of Christmas is perfect background music for any holiday celebration. ---Al Campbell, Rovi

download:   uploaded anonfiles mega 4shared mixturecloud yandex mediafire ziddu

back

1. "Ev'ry Time We Say Goodbye" (Cole Porter) – 4:41
2. "You and I" (Meredith Willson) – 3:28
3. Intro: "Goodbye"/"We'll Be Together Again" (Gordon Jenkins)/(Carl Fischer, Frankie Laine) – 3:20
4. "People Will Say We're in Love" (Oscar Hammerstein II, Richard Rodgers) – 2:51
5. "Cocktails for Two" (Sam Coslow, Arthur Johnston) – 3:15
6. "Side by Side" (Harry M. Woods, Gus Kahn) – 2:23
7. "Baby, It's Cold Outside" (Frank Loesser) – 4:10
8. "Together" (Lew Brown, Buddy De Sylva, Ray Henderson) – 1:35
9. "For All We Know" (J. Fred Coots, Sam M. Lewis) – 3:44
10. "Takes Two to Tango" (Al Hoffman, Dick Manning) – 3:22
11."Alone Together" (Howard Dietz, Arthur Schwartz) – 4:45
12."Just You, Just Me" (Jesse Greer, Raymond Klages) – 2:04
13."But On the Other Hand Baby" (Charles, Percy Mayfield) – 3:11
14."I Never See Maggie Alone" (Harry Tilsley, Everett Lynton) – 5:37
15."I Like to Hear It Sometime" (Jodie Edwards) – 2:50

Personnel: 
Ray Charles (piano, vocals); 
Marty Paich (arranger, conductor); 
Bill Pittman (guitar); 
Hank Crawford (alto saxophone); 
David "Fathead" Newman (tenor saxophone); 
Leroy Cooper (baritone saxophone); 
Martin Banks, John Hunt (trumpet); 
Edgar Willis (bass); 
Irving Cottler (drums.)

Ray Charles's decision to cut an album of duets with then-rising jazz singer Betty Carter defines the phrase "unerring instinct." Charles responds to Carter's gorgeous voice and compelling melodic changes with some of his softest singing; you might say that this already masterful conduit of emotion got in touch with his feminine side on this 1961 date. The opening and closing cuts of the girls'-names theme album Dedicated to You, another '61 LP that fills out this 78-minute disc, demonstrate Brother Ray's touch for transforming unlikely material into expressions of his own funky essence. His amused big-band celebrations of "Hardhearted Hannah" and "Sweet Georgia Brown" sit alongside sublime portraits of "Stella by Starlight" and "Ruby" on an underappreciated set that's a perfect match for the Charles-Carter sides. --Rickey Wright, Editorial Review

download:   uploaded anonfiles mega 4shared mixturecloud yandex mediafire ziddu

back

01. Ain't That Fine
02. How Long Blues
03. Blues Before Sunrise
04. You'll Never Miss the Water
05. I've Had My Fun
06. Sittin' on Top of the World
07. See See Rider
08. Honey Honey
09. What Have I Done
10. The Ego Song
11. Late in the Evening Blues
12. Some Day
13. Baby Let Me Hold Your Hand
14. Baby, Won't You Please Come Home
15. Kissa Me Baby
16. The Snow Is Falling
17. Hey Now
18. Misery in My Heart
19. I'm Wondering and Wondering
20. Why Did You Go
21. Jumpin' in the Morning
22. The Sun's Gonna Shine Again
23. The Midnight Hour
24. Roll with My Baby 

download: easy-share mediafire

back