Re: Moment of Silence

[Aeskow@xxxxxxx]

Mudharp writes:

Rest in Peace, Brother Ray...Amen.

I can't recall any harp on Ray  Charles recordings but there must have been 
some. Blues Brothers maybe? My  band does a couple of Brother Ray tunes, 'I 
Believe' and 'Maryanne'. What Ray  Charles tunes have you all covered?


Lonely Avenue.
     
        Sticks  and Stones.
 
         You Better Leave My Woman Alone.
 
        Night  Time (Is the Right Time).
 
        I'm  Movin' On.
 
        In  the Heat of the Night.
 
         What'd I Say, of course--high school dances, 1975.
 
        If  It Wasn't For Bad Luck--duet with Jimmy Lewis, who Ray was 
grooming as a  soul writer-singer when he had his own label, Tangerine, under ABC.   
There are several fanastic LPs out there of funky boogaloo stuff on 
Tangerine,  including the Jimmy Lewis tune above--part of an entire album of duets 
between  the two men.
 
        Busted.
 
        Wichita Lineman (Ray's Way--if you don't believe me, check it out.   
There's also a four-CD anthology just of great COUNTRY stuff the man  did!
         
         For me, as for others who've written about this, Ray Charles'  voice 
was truly the Call--when an entirely new kind of bird appears in the  forest, 
and the others just quit what they're doing and listen to the new  sound.  Do 
the Twist with Ray Charles, black LP cover with pink  foot-silhouettes, 
Arthur Murray style, showing how to twist.  If it wasn't  for that album my wife 
might very well be a respectable woman today.  But  once you heard Ray 
Charles--even in the freezing tundras of upstate New  York--how could you turn away 
from the call?
 
       As for the  harp, when he was digging playing that funky electric 
boogaloo thing with either  the big bands or the tight soul units, he practically 
blew harp-lines through  his keyboard.  And don't forget he was a hell of a 
sax player, too--check  the duets with Hank Crawford--so he was definitely a 
brother of the singing  reed.
 
       What  a gift this man was to us.
 
Peace and Respect
Johnny T