Ray Charles

After five years of releasing his music exclusively on 7″ singles, Atlantic put out the world’s first official Ray Charles album in June 1957: Ray Charles. It didn’t actually have anything new on it; it just compiled a bunch of (out of order) songs from several of those early 45s. Still, Ray Charles is a great place to get a lot of classic singles and it absolutely holds up as an album in its own right.

Personally, despite our “no compilations” rule about Ray Charles, we consider Ray Charles a canonical album, the premier way to hear these tracks on vinyl. It’s a lot easier than chasing down all those disparate 45s or 78s, fun though that may be. (Incidentally, there are four ‘necessary compilation’ albums like this for RC vinyl collectors – besides Ray Charles,  there’s Yes Indeed!, What’d I Say, and The Genius Sings The Blues.)

Newer vinyl reissues

Ray Charles has been re-released a few times in the modern era, especially in Europe where small labels are able to take advantage of local copyright laws and put out Ray’s music without official sanction. We aren’t sure if these were made with access to the original Atlantic tapes; it seems unlikely. Still, versions like a 2012 release by Doxy and a 2014 release by Friday Music may be a good place to find this on vinyl if you just want a crisp cover and can’t find a good-enough Atlantic original.

As Hallelujah I Love Her So! this compilation was also re-released in 2014 (with another, even less-cool cover) by WaxTime. The startling pink and orange packaging houses the original album plus two otherwise common “bonus” tracks.

The 2014 WaxTime cover.

Our recommendation for vinyl buyers is to hold out for an original pressed by Atlantic. They are easy to find in a range of conditions and prices. Plus, hey, you’ll be holding a real piece of history.

Record covers

The cool cover design of Ray Charles exploits the then-au courant phrase “rock and roll” in a credibility-bending bid to shift more units. It was part of a six-album series from Atlantic; with color variations, identical-looking LPs can be found for LaVerne Baker, Clyde McPhatter and The Drifters, Ivory Joe Hunter, Ruth Brown, and Joe Turner. Something for vinyl-loving collectors of 1950s R&B gods to focus on when sorting through used record bins.

The six Atlantic “Rock & Roll” series LP covers.

Hallelujah I Love Her So! LP (1962)

Ray Charles was re-released in 1962 as Hallelujah I Love Her So! with a different (less-cool) cover, but the same songs in the same order. If you’re a sucker for original Atlantic Records vinyl (as we are) this is a more than acceptable alternative and is commonly seen for sale. The only issue is really which cover you like better.

Record labels

These are from a mono Japanese re-pressing.

Track listing

The song selection on Ray Charles is stellar – but then again it would be literally impossible to create a bad collection of 1950s Ray Charles music. Note however that the tracks chosen for Ray Charles do make up a quirky collection: they’re out of chronological order, and often one side of a single is included but not its flip side.

Among its many treasures Ray Charles contains three of Ray’s most legendary songs: “Drown In My Own Tears”, “Hallelujah I Love Her So”, and the groundbreaking “I’ve Got A Woman”, songs that always appear on his zillions of compilations and rightfully so. Lesser-known tracks that we promise will give you goosebumps include “Losing Hand” and “Sinner’s Prayer”. Ray’s first big Atlantic hit “Mess Around” is here as well.

In short, nothing on Ray Charles is less than absolutely vital.

Side A
1. “Ain’t That Love” — January 1957 single
2. “Drown In My Own Tears” — January 1956 single
3. “Come Back Baby” — December 1954 single
4. “Sinner’s Prayer” — March 1954 single
5. “Funny (But I Still Love You)” — July 1953 single
6. “Losing Hand” — August 1954 single
7. “A Fool For You” — June 1955 single

Side B
1. “Hallelujah I Love Her So” — May 1956 single
2. “Mess Around” — July 1953 single
3. “This Little Girl Of Mine” — June 1955 single
4. “Mary Ann” — January 1956 single
5. “Greenbacks” — October 1955 single
6. “Don’t You Know” — August 1954 single
7. “I’ve Got A Woman” — December 1954 single

Listen to Ray Charles

Get your own Ray Charles on LP, CD or MP3 from Amazon. Or get the complete Atlantic recordings 7xCD box set.