Tribute to Ray Charles, name your favorite song/s he did

[mandyky]

I loved Hallelujah I just love her so and shake your tail feathers, also the impromptu one (can't remember the title).

[Red State Rebel]

1. America The Beautiful - beautiful rendition...

[wryter2000]

10. America the Beautiful

Awesome

[FuriousMNDem]

13. Absolutely | n-t

[Blue-Jay]

41. That's the one. Always makes me cry.

One of my favorite movie sceens is in The Sandlot. They kids are playing baseball under the light of the July 4th fireworks, and Ray is singing America The Beautiful. Baseball, remembered youth, and Ray Charles....it always chokes me up.

Goodbye Ray. I'll miss you.

[kymar57]

57. ditto n/t

[tsakshaug]

2. America

and What'd I Say?

[Ivote]

8. Crying Time

:cry: n/t

[mohinoaklawnillinois]

3. I adore his rendition of "America the Beautiful".

[Catshrink]

4. That and Georgia

best version of Georgia ever.

[ewagner]

5. Those would be mine also.........n/t

[DAGDA56]

6. I really liked "Modern Sounds in Country & Western Music"...

...replaced the vinyl with the CD...hope Nashville listened.

[KoKo]

29. That was his Classic Album! So glad you posted this!

thanks..

[KoKo]

30. and..."Guess I'll hang My Tears Out to Dry." an unbelievably moving tune.

So many.

[Hepburn]

7. Georgia on my Mind. eom

[Norbert]

9. What I Say?

If that didn't get your toe tapping nothing will.


He did one hell of a great job on country songs. I can't Stop Loving You was a masterpiece.

[mandyky]

15. That's the impromptu one I couldn't name

Great song - he made that up on the fly, filling time to go take a break. Ray Charles rapped before rap was cool!! LOL

[Burma Jones]

17. Yep

[arwalden]

11. Ya Ya

[Old and In the Way]

12. "Let's Go Get Stoned"

[Bluebear]

14. Hit The Road, Jack!

[moof]

16. The long version he did of "Hit The Road Jack" on Austin City Limits is

so fantastic it makes the tears flow thinking about it.
If you ever get a chance don't miss it, it was pure Ray at his best.
Here's to you Ray, you'll always be the man.

can't stop lovin you, it's usless say
so we'll just live our lives of dreams of yesterdays

[bubblesby2002]

34. I saw that and I have to agree with you

the best version I ever heard.

[Bertha Venation]

18. Georgia On My Mind

:cry:

[jpgray]

21. Second that (nt)

[wakfs]

19. What'd I Say

Mmm-mmmm....(mmm-mmmm)
Ohh-ohhh....(ohh-ohhh)

STILL a great song.

[nothingshocksmeanymore]

20. Angeline and The Good Life

One is on a newer CD and the other I think is on a soundtrack but I can't recall which

[NewHampshireDem]

22. America the Beautiful ...

I get goosebumps just thinking about it. :cry:

Listen for yourself:
http://www.brownielocks.com/americathebeautifulWAVE.html

Oh beautiful, for heroes proved,
In liberating strife,
Who more than self, our country loved,
And mercy more than life,

America, America, may God thy gold refine,
Till all success be nobleness
And every gain devined.

And you know when I was in school,
We used to sing it something like this, listen here:

Oh beautiful, for spacious skies,
For amber waves of grain,
For purple mountain majesties,
Above the fruited plain,

But now wait a minute, I'm talking about
America, sweet America,
You know, God done shed his grace on thee,
He crowned thy good, yes he did, in a brotherhood,
From sea to shining sea.

You know, I wish I had somebody to help me sing this
(America, America, God shed his grace on thee)
America, I love you America, you see,
My God he done shed his grace on thee,
And you oughta love him for it,
Cause he, he, he, he, crowned thy good,
He told me he would, with brotherhood,
(From sea to shining sea).
Oh Lord, oh Lord, I thank you Lord
(Shining sea).

[ronnykmarshall]

23. I Can't Stop Loving You

[caledesi]

25. I agree. This is my fav. nt

[Misunderestimator]

28. That's my choice ... since I found out earlier this week that...

that was #1 on the charts the day I was born. :)

[KoKo]

31. lol's .....you might have been conceived while that song was playing.

:evilgrin:

[Misunderestimator]

36. Knowing my parents... that's highly doubtful...

More like the Ride of the Valkyries or something. :)

[KoKo]

39. ROFL! Really...what a great reply! n/t

[KamaAina]

24. What'd I Say: first song I ever belted out in public

couldn't have been any more than three or four, in a supermarket in Baltimore.

Mom was, uh, surprised, to say the least!

You will all be pleased to know that I have ceased and desisted from belting out any more songs in public.

[BlueJazz]

26. Unchain my heart N/T

[Flaxbee]

38. Sooo hard to pick, but "Unchain My Heart" is terrific...

I have a live version of him singing "Making Whoopee" and it is hilarious.

I saw Ray Charles perform live at the Greek Theater in LA in 1997 or 1998 and it, along with BBKing at The Blue Note in NYC, was the best concert I've ever seen. He had such a beautiful voice, I don't remember what song started me off, but by the time the show was over, I was just bawling... some voices affect me that way and I could not stop crying. Happy cry, not sad. Except one love song, I wish I could remember the name (was a woman's name) that almost pitched me over the edge, his voice was so full of sorrow and longing. Damn. The people who went with me thought I'd gone nuts, but I think they were just soulless.

[BlueJazz]

61. I used to love doing the Sax break on that song ...

I saw Ray years ago and I don't blame you at all for showing some
good solid emotion... :)

[texas1928]

27. It is a Toss up between three

America The Beautiful, Seven Spanish Angels, or Georgia on My Mind.

[TheMightyFavog]

32. Shake a Tail Feather

He was great in The Blues Brothers.

[TheWizardOfMudd]

33. "I'm Busted"

My bills are all due and the baby needs shoes and I'm busted
Cotton is down to a quarter a pound, but I'm busted
I got a cow that went dry and a hen that won't lay
A big stack of bills that gets bigger each day
The county's gonna haul my belongings away cause I'm busted.

I went to my brother to ask for a loan cause I was busted
I hate to beg like a dog without his bone, but I'm busted
My brother said there ain't a thing I can do,
My wife and my kids are all down with the flu,
And I was just thinking about calling on you 'cause I'm busted.

Well, I am no thief, but a man can go wrong when he's busted
The food that we canned last summer is gone and I'm busted
The fields are all bare and the cotton won't grow,
Me and my family got to pack up and go,
But I'll make a living, just where I don't know cause I'm busted.

I'm broke, no bread, I mean like nothing,

[KoKo]

35. Oh yeah...I remember that one. It was popular during Reagan....

It will come back again...

[TheWizardOfMudd]

49. Heh heh

;)

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

37. Ruby

They say, Ruby you're like a dream
Not always what you seem
And though my heart may break when I awake
Let it be so, I only know
Ruby, it's you

They say, Ruby you're like a song
You just don't know right from wrong
And in your eyes I see heartaches for me
Right from the start, who stole my heart?
Ruby, it's you

I hear your voice and I must come to you (must come to you)
I have no choice, so what else can I do ? (what else can I do?)

They say, Ruby you're like a flame
Into my life you came
And though I should beware, still I just don't care
You thrill me so, I only know
Ruby, it's you

(I hear your voice and I must come to you)
(I have no choice, what else can I do ?-what can I do?)

They say, Ruby you're like a flame
Into my life you came
And though I should beware, still I don't care
You thrill me so, I only know
Ruby, it's you

[Iris]

40. "Come Rain or Come Shine"

[Missy Vixen]

42. Just like many other posters here

"America the Beautiful" and "Come Rain Or Come Shine".

One thing's for sure -- it's hard to drive when one is teary over the loss of a true American treasure, Ray Charles.

I didn't (and won't,) shed one tear over the Reagasm.

Godspeed, Ray.

Julie

[Elidor]

43. Rainy Night in Georgia

I did a poll on this subject just a month or two ago, but I don't recall which song took it.

There will never be another Ray.

[buddhamama]

44. so many- "America the Beautiful" "Them That Got"

"I Had A Dream" "Come Rain or Come Shine"

[Pale Blue Dot]

45. I'm just so sorry he's gone

I never got to see him live. He was such an incredible talent.

This death effects me MUCH more than the other bozo who passed this week...

:cry:

[NightTrain]

46. Some great Ray Charles tunes that no one ever seems to mention

Ain't That Love
Baby, Let Me Hold Your Hand
Booty Butt
Born To Lose
The Danger Zone
Don't Change On Me
Don't Set Me Free
Don't You Know
Drown In My Own Tears
Eleanor Rigby (Great version of the Lennon-McCarenty chestnut!)
Greenbacks
Here We Go Again
Hide Nor Hair
I Believe To My Soul
I Don't Need No Doctor
I'm Movin' On
In the Heat of the Night
It Should've Been Me
Just For A Thrill
Lonely Avenue
Mary Ann
Mess Around
(Night Time Is) The Right Time
One Mint Julep
Rockhouse
Smack Dab in the Middle
Sticks and Stones
Swanee River Rock
Sweet Young Thing Like You
Take These Chains From My Heart
That's A Lie
Them That Got
Together Again
Understanding
Yesterday (Another great version of a Lennon-McCarenty classic!)
You Are My Sunshine

Oh, and guess who I'll be playing the shit out of this Saturday night on THE SOUL EXPRESS?

[OneBlueSky]

47. when and where, Train?. . . can we listen online? . . . n/t

.

[NightTrain]

48. I always post the information here on Saturday evenings.

I'll do the same this weekend, I promise!

[lpbk2713]

51. I'll be there.

My favorite from your list is Born to Lose, followed closely by Yesterday.

[KoKo]

58. "Born to Lose" will have you crying your guts out when you are "down."

It's a real wrencher. And, his version of "Yesterday" beats the Beatles, who wrote the damned thing, but he puts a twist with his voice that morphs it into another dimension.

Well...he had his own version of many of these "favorites" and did his "thang" with them..

RIP dear Ray...you were loved and you will be missed for a long time.

:-(

[Jade Fox]

50. "You Don't Know Me"

But there are so many more...so long, Ray .:cry:

[KoKo]

59. Another "gut wrencher" tune where Ray put his own spin and it just gets

into you like a worm. So many...so much feeling.

[mac56]

52. "(Night Time Is) The Right Time"

followed by

"What'd I Say"
"Drown In My Own Tears"
"I Got A Woman"
and a great version of "I Can See Clearly Now" on SNL

[johnnie]

53. Eleanor Rigby

Was always a favorite of mine.

[mopaul]

72. ........

[HEyHEY]

54. The messaround

[tilsammans]

55. So many classic songs . . .

. . . but I'll go with "America the Beautiful." It was particularly wonderful hearing him sing it at New Jersey's 9/11 memorial concert.

[Beware the Beast Man]

56. That version moves me to tears

every time I hear it. Pure soul, no empty jingoism. Really does make you proud to be an American.

[LowerManhattanite]

60. An eerie one from my youth...

Ray's "That Lucky Old Sun" . My dad used to cut me and my brother's hair and inexplicably, he always put on an album and hummed every song during the haircut. His three favorite albums to cut hair to?

1.) Sam Cooke-Live at the Copa
2.) The Impressions-People Get Ready
and
3.) Ray Charles- Ingredients for a Soul Recipe

I can remember the running order of all three albums from sheer repetition...but the songs that stayed with me strongest were the Impressions' hymn-like "People Get Ready" and most of all, Ray's heartfelt moan of "That Lucky Old Sun". God-damn. It's a powerful song. It always reminded me of my dad and how hard he worked (to feed seven kids!). My dad would hum that song along with Ray and it seemed as though the words spoke to him.

"That lucky old sun...
got nothin' to do...
but roll 'round heaven allllll daaayy..."

Spike Lee used the song in a pivotal scene from "Malcolm X" and I remember almost crying when I heard it in the movie; it so powerfully underscored the scene. Every one of us has a few songs that winnow their way into our hearts and give us that up-the-spine "tingle" whenever we hear them. Ray's "That Lucky Old Sun" does just that to me.

Godspeed Ray,
Godspeed.

[MissMillie]

62. "You Don't Know Me"

one of my favorites

[LWolf]

63. I can't stop loving you

I grew up on that one; it was a favorite of my mom's. I can see and feel and smell an apartment in Kansas City we lived in when she used to play it. Quite a feat, since I lived in a dozen places that I can remember before I graduated from high school, and more before I can remember. It's amazing how music is imprinted with a place or feeling or person for decades.

Also, of course,

Hit the road, Jack!

[doc03]

64. Anything he did, he could probably make Achy Breaky Heart sound good

[Penndems]

65. "What'd I Say?", "Night Time (Is The Right Time") and, of course,

"America the Beautiful".

Nobody can sing that like Brother Ray. :)

Oh, yeah - one more: "Crying Time"

(on edit: additional text)

[pinto]

66. anything with a cry in it. ........eom

[mandyky]

67. VH1 has a section on RC

http://www.vh1.com/artists/az/charles_ray/artist.jhtml

Includes TV schedules concerning Ray.

[mandyky]

68. For those who like Ray's America the Beautiful

go to www.raycharles.com and click on the America the Beautiful graphic towards the bottom of the page - WARNING - on top of losing Ray. this includes clips from 9-11 - get your hankies nearby!

[Penndems]

69. OMG, I have tears running down my face

Where is that box of Kleenex? I know it's around here somewhere . . .

God Bless You, Brother Ray . . . :cry: :cry:

Life won't seem the same without your soulful voice . . .

[tilsammans]

76. Wow.

WHAT an incredible statement.

:grouphug:

[mopaul]

70. .

[tishaLA]

71. Hard Hearted Hannah

and his duet with Betty Carter of "Baby, It's Cold Outside"

[nothingshocksmeanymore]

74. But I'll bet you have the Ella version too, now, don't you?

[mopaul]

73. ........

[mandyky]

75. Randi Rhoades dedicated her show to Ray Charles today!

Thanks Randi!

[NightTrain]

78. Just one more reason for me to love her!

[Zomby Woof]

77. Let's Go Get Stoned

[mandyky]

79. Kick!

RIP Ray

[NightTrain]

80. Don't forget my Saturday-night radio tribute to Brother Ray!

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=105x1266202

[mandyky]

81. I'm listening and you're doing GRRRRRRRRRRRREAAT!!

Thanks for doing all 3 hours!