| The Great Ray Charles | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Studio album by Ray Charles | ||||
| Released | August 1957 | |||
| Genre | Jazz | |||
| Length | 37:37 | |||
| Label | Atlantic | |||
| Producer | Ahmet Ertegun, Jerry Wexler | |||
| Ray Charles chronology | ||||
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| Alternative cover | ||||
 CD re-issue with six extra tracks from The Genius After Hours | ||||
The Great Ray Charles is the second studio album by the American musician Ray Charles, released in 1957 by Atlantic Records. An instrumental jazz album, it features cover art designed by Marvin Israel. Later CD re-issues of The Great Ray Charles often include six out of the eight songs from the 1961 album The Genius After Hours, as bonus tracks.
Release
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   |
The Great Ray Charles was released by Atlantic Records in August 1957. Due to frequent airplay of two tracks off the album, "Doodlin'" and "Sweet Sixteen Bars", Atlantic released those two tracks as an EP later that same year.
Track listing
Original LP release
All music is composed by Ray Charles, except where indicated
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "The Ray" | Quincy Jones | 4:00 |
| 2. | "My Melancholy Baby" | Ernie Burnett, George A. Norton | 4:20 |
| 3. | "Black Coffee" | Sonny Burke, Paul Webster | 5:32 |
| 4. | "There's No You" | Tom Adair, Harold Hopper | 4:47 |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Arranged by | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Doodlin'" | Horace Silver | Quincy Jones | 5:54 |
| 2. | "Sweet Sixteen Bars" | 4:07 | ||
| 3. | "I Surrender Dear" | Harry Barris, Gordon Clifford | 5:08 | |
| 4. | "Undecided" | Sid Robin, Charlie Shavers | Ernie Wilkins, Quincy Jones | 3:40 |
Note: Some sources list "Ain't Misbehavin'" in place of "Black Coffee".
1987 CD reissue
All music is composed by Ray Charles, except where indicated
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Dawn Ray" | 5:03 | |
| 2. | "The Man I Love" | George Gershwin, Ira Gershwin | 4:26 |
| 3. | "Music, Music, Music" | Bernie Baum, Stephen Weiss | 2:53 |
| 4. | "Black Coffee" | Burke, Webster | 5:43 |
| 5. | "The Ray" | Jones | 3:55 |
| 6. | "I Surrender Dear" | Barris, Clifford | 5:08 |
| 7. | "Hornful Soul" | 5:29 | |
| 8. | "Ain't Misbehavin'" | Harry Brooks, Andy Razaf, Fats Waller | 5:40 |
| 9. | "Joy Ride" | 4:39 | |
| 10. | "Sweet Sixteen Bars" | 4:06 | |
| 11. | "Doodlin'" | Silver | 5:53 |
| 12. | "There's No You" | Adair, Hopper | 4:49 |
| 13. | "Undecided" | Robin, Shavers | 3:40 |
| 14. | "My Melancholy Baby" | Burnett, Norton | 4:22 |
Personnel
- Ray Charles – celesta, piano
- Oscar Pettiford, Roosevelt Sheffield – bass
- Joe Harris, William Peeples – drums
- David "Fathead" Newman – alto and tenor saxophone
- Emmot Dennis – baritone saxophone
- Joe Bridgewater – trumpet, soloist
- John Hunt – trumpet
- Technical
- Earle Brown, Tom Dowd – recording engineer
- Marvin Israel – design
- Lee Friedlander – cover photography
Notes
- ^ One of six tracks from The Genius After Hours.
References
- ^ Yanow, Scott. "The Great Ray Charles Review". AllMusic. Retrieved June 18, 2022.
- Evans, Mike (2005). Ray Charles: The Birth of Soul. Omnibus Press. ISBN 978-1844497645.
- "Ray Charles EP Selling Like a Hit Single!". Billboard. Vol. 69, no. 48. November 25, 1957. p. 48. Retrieved June 18, 2022.
| Ray Charles | |
|---|---|
| Studio albums | |
| Posthumous studio creations | |
| Live albums | |
| Notable compilations | |
| Billboard Hot 100 top 10 singles | |
| Other Billboard Charts #1 singles | |
| Grammy Awarded Works (not included above) | |
| See also | |
