Off topic
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June 13, 2012
Ray Charles Small Big Band Acting As House Band In Fantabulous Show (1957)
Read moreOn November 14, 1957 the Fantabulous Rock ‘n’ Roll Blues Show, with “More Than 50 Top Stars” was staged at Tomlinson Hall in Indianapolis; with Mickey and Sylvia, The Moonglows, The Velours, Larry ‘The Short Fat Fannie’ Williams and his orchestra, Big Joe Turner, Bo Diddley and his Trio, Ray Charles “and his dance orchestra […]
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June 12, 2012
Ray Charles Performing With The Dyerettes (1954)
Read moreOn June 6, 1954 Ray Charles (don’t miss the wrong portrait photo – of Lowell Fulson – above) was part of ‘the 1954 Rhythm ‘N’ Blues Parade’ at the Sunset Terrace ‘dancery’ in Indianapolis, He was billed with Mantan Moreland, Bud Harris, The Spiders, tap dancer Flash Ford, Tanya ‘and her exotic dance’, and Floyd […]
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June 5, 2012
I’ve Got A Woman At Alan Freed’s WINS Radio Show (1955)
Read moreThe excellent Vocal Group Harmony website offers a highly entertaining, 70-minute copy of an Alan Freed radio show (“Rock ‘n’ Roll Party”) on the New York station WINS 1010 AM, as it was aired on February 12, 1955. The Top 25 of that week had Ray’s (“the great blind blues singer”) I’ve Got A Woman […]
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June 1, 2012
Ray Charles Crossing Over To Teenagers (1961)
Read morePhoto top by Jim Marshall, probably from another concert; photo bottom by “Skeetz”, shot at the Hollywood Bowl. In April 1961 Ray Charles formed his first, “temporary” bigband, for a 3-weeks tour in the U.S. This “A Salute To Genius” tour was promoted by Hal Zeiger. During the last part of Spring and early Summer […]
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April 22, 2012
Ray Charles’ Early Iconography
Read more1. This photo has been used in several documentaries, always suggesting that it shows Ray with his mother Aretha. The picture reproduced here is a still from The Genius of Soul. If the photo is authentic, and if the woman is Aretha, the picture should be dated as ‘circa 1944’. 2. In early 1948 Ray […]
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March 27, 2012
Billy Joins Ray & B.B. On Stage In Woodland Hills (1972)
Read morePhoto shot at one of the concerts from the series at the Valley Music Theater. B.B. King’s and Ray Charles’ paths crossed many times during their long careers. From late November to Mid December 1972 they shared the bill for a few 1-week stints. Between 5 and 10 December they played the Valley Music Theater […]
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February 19, 2012
Is That Ray Charles, Playing That Piano At The Trianon In Seattle, In 1948?!
Read moreI scanned this photo from my copy of Paul De Barros, Jackson Street After Hours: The Roots Of Jazz In Seattle (Sasquatch Books, October 1993, ISBN-10: 0912365927), depicting trumpet player Floyd Standifer at the Trianon Ballroom in Seattle, in the Summer of 1948. Ray Charles expert Joël Dufour pointed me at the possibility that the […]
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January 26, 2012
An Early Handbill Of A Gig At Elks’ Patio In Redwood City, With Lowell Fulson (1951)
Read moreEarliest known handbill of a Ray Charles gig, the “sensational blind singing star”, with Lowell Fulson at Elks’ Patio in Redwood City, CA. Looking at the bit of adhesive tape at the top of the picture, this can’t have been bigger than a postcard (and it may have been re-published as such). Update: the size […]
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January 26, 2012
The Genius Lighting Up His Pipe (1963)
Read moreRay Charles, smoking a pipe in 1963. Newspapers’ photo archives are a relatively new category of – increasingly valuable – online sources for historical research. So far, a limited number of (mainly American) newspapers have created little photo archive webshops, from which they sell quality photo prints (i.e. copies) from their collections. The Chicago Tribune […]
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December 29, 2011
Keeping Time
Read moreRay Charles’ timing was legendary. According to this research, it even reached “the limits of human time perception and physical action”. Soundclip of Fever, with Nathalie Cole: (I don’t want to ruin a good story, but did any of the researchers make sure that it was actually Ray himself doing the snapping, and, if so, […]
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December 21, 2011
Christmas With Ray Charles (5x*)
Read moreBusinesswise, after scoring hit records, the best thing a musician can do to increase the value of his (back) catalog, is to tape Christmas songs. Ray Charles did so on five occasions – sometimes funny, sometimes sad, sometimes odd, sometimes brilliant – and always soulful. In 1976 (or 1979?) he celebrated Christmas In Ettal, with […]