Ray Charles Live In Prague (1981)
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On 28 April 1981 Ray Charles played at the Palác Lucerna in Prague. The TV program was directed by A. Nosek. The Czech TV archive has a 64 minute tape (last televized on 20 June 2004). I’ve also listened to a 61-minute audio copy, which may have been extracted from the TV concert (but it could also be a copy of a radio broadcast).
The audience in Prague was very eager to let Ray know that they recognized every tune after the first notes of the intro, adding a nice, lively ambiance to the tape.
Personnel:
Musicians: Mitch Manker, Larry Viau, Brian Pearcy, and Johnny Coles – trumpets; John Boice, Dan Marcus, Mayo Tiana, Steve Davis – trombones; Rickey Woodard, Clifford Solomon, Ira Weinstein, Rudy Johnson, Louis Van Taylor – saxes; Ernest Vantrease – keyboards; Tony Matthews – guitar; Matt Morris – bass; Peter Turre – drums.* The Raelettes: unidentified, Stella Yarbrough, Trudy Cohran, unidentified.
* Tiana and Vantrease not 100% sure (line-up info band by Peter Turre).
The setlist was:
- Intro
- Let The Good Times Roll
- Georgia On My Mind
- You Made Me Love You (I Didn’t Want To Do It)
- Yesterday
- Born To Lose
- Then We’ll Be Home (Sadies Tune)
- She Knows
- Rock Steady (with The Raelettes)
- Take These Chains From My Heart
- I Can’t Stop Loving You
- I Can See Clearly Now
- Crying Time
- Lonesome Blue Yodel + I’m Gonna Keep On Singin’ + What’d I Say
- Outro
The improv leading to a variation on What’d I Say (#14) was very similar to the final of the 1981 Edmonton concert.
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Ray Charles and The Raelettes; stills from the Prague concert on April 28, 1981. |
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