Liner Notes

Ray Charles: Genius & Soul – The 50th Anniversary Collection

$69.98

WHAT RAY CHARLES TAUGHT ME

I first heard Ray Charles back in the very early 1950s when my partner Herb Abramson and his then-wife Miriam played me "Baby Let Me Hold Your Hand," a single Ray had just released on the Swing Time label. He was still in his formative years, sounding somewhat like Charles Brown and Nat "King" Cole, but he had so much soul and finesse and was so musical, he completely killed me.

I eventually heard from Ray Charles' agent (Billy Shaw, who handled a lot of our acts and to whom I had expressed my admiration for Ray's music) that Swing Time's owner, Jack Lauderdale, may be interested in selling Ray's contract. He had been unable to score any significant success, Ray couldn't get gigs, and Jack wanted out. Ray Charles became an Atlantic artist.

At the time we used pretty much the same core group of musicians and arrangers for all our R&B sessions and had developed a trademark sound -- what you might call the Atlantic formula. We thought Ray would fit right in. However, his first releases were not met with the kind of success we were expecting. Nonetheless, he was able to start getting bookings and to hire a road band.

It's from the road he called me to schedule a recording session ands suggested that instead of having him come to New York to work with our people we record him and his band in Atlanta where he was gigging. That session, which yielded "I've Got A Woman," marked a veritable breakthrough for Charles. From that point on, we recorded Ray Charles' arrangements of Ray Charles' songs with Ray Charles' band. I learned more about record producing from him than anyone I've ever worked with. I learned from his musical genius, from his attention to details, from the way he'd direct his musicians. And although Jerry Wexler and I are credited as producers on most of his Atlantic R&B sessions, I have to say it is really Ray who deserves the bulk of the credit.

In my mind he is one of the true geniuses of our time. And by genius I mean an innovator, an artist with his own singular vision, an incredible vocalist, a great pianist, a remarkable composer and arranger. We called him "the genius" not as a marketing ploy but because that's what we thought he was -- a veritable genius.

Of course he made a string of stunningly powerful R&B sides while on the label -- "I've Got A Woman," "What'd I Say," "Lonely Avenue," and many more. But he also recorded some great jazz albums, Soul Brothers with Milt Jackson, for instance, and the historical The Genius Of Ray Charles, which was produced by my brother Nesuhi, featuring the Count Basie Band and strings -- the forerunner of the style of recordings Ray would make throughout the '60s for the ABC label.

The collection of music you are holding in your hands is American music at its very best. I hope it gives you as much pleasure as it has given me over the years. And many thanks to Ray Charles for the beauty he has brought to all of us. I am proud to have been able to play a part in his career.

­ Ahmet Ertegun

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