With You On My Mind (With The Raelettes)

Album (DVD): Ray Charles – Live in France 1961, Eagle Rock, 24 October 2011.

This wonderful song, written by Nat Cole and Charlotte Hawkins, never made it to vinyl, but it was recorded twice during Ray Charles’ concerts at the Jazz À Juan Festival in 1961: once on film (the version of 21 July that made it to the DVD), and once during a radio taping on July 22nd.

Nat King Cole’s own (original) version probably was Ray’s first inspiration. Here’s his performance in a 1957 TV show (starts at 3:04):

The inimitable Uroš “Perry” Perić revived Ray’s Antibes version in this recent performance with the Perlettes: