The Great Ray Charles is the second studio album by American musician Ray Charles, released in 1957 by Atlantic Records. An instrumental jazz album,[1] it features cover art designed by Marvin Israel. Later CD re-issues of The Great Ray Charles often include six out of the eight songs from the 1961 album The Genius After Hours, as bonus tracks.

The Great Ray Charles
Studio album by
ReleasedAugust 1957
RecordedApril 30 – November 20, 26, 1956 in New York City
GenreJazz
Length37:37
LabelAtlantic
ProducerAhmet Ertegun, Jerry Wexler
Ray Charles chronology
Ray Charles
(1957)
The Great Ray Charles
(1957)
Soul Brothers
(1958)
Alternative cover
CD re-issue with six extra tracks from The Genius After Hours

Release

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Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic     [1]

The Great Ray Charles was released by Atlantic Records in August 1957.[2] Due to frequent airplay of two tracks off the album, "Doodlin'" and "Sweet Sixteen Bars", Atlantic released those two tracks as an EP later that same year.[3]

Track listing

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Original LP release

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All music is composed by Ray Charles, except where indicated

Side one
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."The Ray"Quincy Jones4:00
2."My Melancholy Baby"Ernie Burnett, George A. Norton4:20
3."Black Coffee"Sonny Burke, Paul Webster5:32
4."There's No You"Tom Adair, Harold Hopper4:47
Side two
No.TitleWriter(s)Arranged byLength
1."Doodlin'"Horace SilverQuincy Jones5:54
2."Sweet Sixteen Bars"  4:07
3."I Surrender Dear"Harry Barris, Gordon Clifford 5:08
4."Undecided"Sid Robin, Charlie ShaversErnie Wilkins, Quincy Jones3:40

Note: Some sources list "Ain't Misbehavin'" in place of "Black Coffee".

1987 CD reissue

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All music is composed by Ray Charles, except where indicated

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Dawn Ray[a]" 5:03
2."The Man I Love[a]"George Gershwin, Ira Gershwin4:26
3."Music, Music, Music[a]"Bernie Baum, Stephen Weiss2:53
4."Black Coffee"Burke, Webster5:43
5."The Ray"Jones3:55
6."I Surrender Dear"Barris, Clifford5:08
7."Hornful Soul[a]" 5:29
8."Ain't Misbehavin'[a]"Harry Brooks, Andy Razaf, Fats Waller5:40
9."Joy Ride[a]" 4:39
10."Sweet Sixteen Bars" 4:06
11."Doodlin'"Silver5:53
12."There's No You[a]"Adair, Hopper4:49
13."Undecided"Robin, Shavers3:40
14."My Melancholy Baby"Burnett, Norton4:22

Personnel

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  • Ray Charles – celesta, piano
  • Oscar Pettiford, Roosevelt Sheffield – bass
  • Joe Harris, William Peeples – drums
  • David "Fathead" Newman – alto and tenor saxophone
  • Emmot Dennis – baritone saxophone
  • Joe Bridgewater – trumpet, soloist
  • John Hunt – trumpet
Technical

Notes

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g One of six tracks from The Genius After Hours.

References

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  1. ^ a b Yanow, Scott. "The Great Ray Charles Review". AllMusic. Retrieved June 18, 2022.
  2. ^ Evans, Mike (2005). Ray Charles: The Birth of Soul. Omnibus Press. ISBN 978-1844497645.
  3. ^ "Ray Charles EP Selling Like a Hit Single!". Billboard. Vol. 69, no. 48. November 25, 1957. p. 48. Retrieved June 18, 2022.