Ray Charles
Ray Charles (born Charles Raymond Offenberg; September 13, 1918 – April 6, 2015) was an American musician, singer, songwriter, vocal arranger and conductor who was best known as organizer and leader of the Ray Charles Singers who were featured on Perry Como's records and television shows for 35 years and were also known for a series of 30 choral record albums produced in the 1950s and 1960s for the Essex, MGM, Decca and Command labels. As a vocalist, Charles, along with Julia Rinker Miller, sang the theme song to the television series Three's Company ("Come and Knock on Our Door"). As a songwriter, Charles was best known for the choral anthem "Fifty Nifty United States" in which he set the names of the states to music in alphabetical order. It was originally written for The Perry Como Show. He is also known for "Letters, We Get Letters", also originally written for Como's show and later used on the Late Show with David Letterman. In his later years, he continued to serve as a musical consultant to television programs, most notably for 31 years on the Kennedy Center Honors. Charles was acknowledged as an authority on American popular music. |
Birth and Death Data: Born September 13, 1918 (Chicago), Died April 6, 2015 (Beverly Hills)
Date Range of DAHR Recordings: 1940 - 1958
Roles Represented in DAHR: vocalist, piano, songwriter, leader, lyricist, conductor
= Recordings are available for online listening.
= Recordings were issued from this master. No recordings issued from other masters.
Recordings (Results 1-25 of 53 records)
Company | Matrix No. | Size | First Recording Date | Title | Primary Performer | Description | Role | Audio |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Victor | BS-051278 | 10-in. | 6/13/1940 | Funny Little Pedro | Tommy Dorsey ; The Pied Pipers ; Sentimentalists | Jazz/dance band, with mixed vocal ensemble | lyricist | |
Victor | BS-056414 | 10-in. | 9/30/1940 | South | Two Guitars and a Bass | Male vocal trio, with 2 guitars and string bass | lyricist | |
Victor | BS-059236 | 10-in. | 2/14/1941 | You're the moment of a lifetime | Harvey Crawford ; Art Kassel ; Kassels-in-the-Air Orchestra | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | lyricist | |
Victor | BS-060463 | 10-in. | 2/3/1941 | You're the moment of a lifetime | Swing and Sway with Sammy Kaye ; Arthur Wright | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | lyricist | |
Victor | D6VB-3283 | 10-in. | 11/20/1946 | Frenesi | Mullen Sisters ; Tony Mottola Orchestra | Female vocal trio, with jazz/dance octet | lyricist | |
Atlantic | 890 | 10-in. | 9/11/1952 | The sun's gonna shine again | Ray Charles | instrumentalist, piano, vocalist | ||
Atlantic | 891 | 10-in. | 9/11/1952 | Roll with my baby | Ray Charles | instrumentalist, piano, vocalist | ||
Atlantic | 892 | 10-in. | 9/11/1952 | The midnight hour | Ray Charles | vocalist, instrumentalist, piano | ||
Atlantic | 893 | 10-in. | 9/11/1952 | Jumpin' in the mornin' | Ray Charles | instrumentalist, piano, leader, vocalist, songwriter | ||
Atlantic | 1065 | 10-in. | 5/17/1953 | It should have been me | Mickey Baker ; Ray Charles ; Connie Kay ; Lloyd Trotman | vocalist, instrumentalist, piano | ||
Atlantic | 1066 | 10-in. | 5/17/1953 | Losing hand | Ray Charles | instrumentalist, piano, leader, vocalist | ||
Atlantic | 1067 | 10-in. | 5/17/1953 | Heartbreaker | Ray Charles | instrumentalist, piano, vocalist, leader | ||
Atlantic | 1068 | 10-in. | 5/17/1953 | Sinner's prayer | Ray Charles | vocalist, instrumentalist, piano | ||
Atlantic | 1069 | 10-in. | 5/17/1953 | Mess around | Ray Charles | vocalist, instrumentalist, piano, leader | ||
Atlantic | 1070 | 10-in. | 5/17/1953 | Funny (but i still love you) | Ray Charles | instrumentalist, piano, leader, vocalist, songwriter | ||
Atlantic | 1109 | 10-in. | 8/18/1953 | Feelin' sad | Ray Charles | vocalist, instrumentalist, piano, leader | ||
Atlantic | 1120 | 10-in. | 08/18/1953 | Ooh lawdy my baby | Tommy Ridgley | instrumentalist, piano | ||
Atlantic | 1121 | 10-in. | 08/18/1953 | I'm gonna cross that river | Tommy Ridgley | instrumentalist, piano | ||
Atlantic | 1187 | 10-in. | 12/4/1953 | Don't you know | Ray Charles | vocalist, instrumentalist, piano, leader, songwriter | ||
Atlantic | 1382 | 10-in. | 11/18/1954 | Blackjack | Ray Charles | songwriter, vocalist | ||
Atlantic | 1383 | 10-in. | 11/18/1954 | I've got a woman | Ray Charles | vocalist, songwriter, leader, instrumentalist, piano | ||
Atlantic | 1384 | 10-in. | 11/18/1954 | Greenbacks | Ray Charles | vocalist | ||
Atlantic | 1385 | 10-in. | 11/18/1954 | Come back | Ray Charles | songwriter, leader, vocalist, instrumentalist, piano | ||
Atlantic | 1513 | 10-in. | 4/23/1955 | A fool for you | Ray Charles | songwriter, vocalist | ||
Atlantic | 1514 | 10-in. | 4/23/1955 | This little girl of mine | Ray Charles | vocalist, songwriter |
Citation
Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Charles, Ray," accessed November 7, 2024, https://adpprod1.library.ucsb.edu/names/109189.
Charles, Ray. (2024). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved November 7, 2024, from https://adpprod1.library.ucsb.edu/names/109189.
"Charles, Ray." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2024. Web. 7 November 2024.
DAHR Persistent Identifier
Linked Open Data Sources
LCNAR: Charles, Ray, 1918-2015 - http://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/no91026368
Wikidata: Ray Charles - http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q7297319
VIAF: http://viaf.org/viaf/39585700
MusicBrainz: Ray Charles - https://musicbrainz.org/artist/8518b7af-5e33-498a-90c9-9fd772f4c422
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