A Message From The People

Performer: Ray Charles
Engineer: David Braithwaite
Producer: Ray Charles; Chris Clough (Reissue)
Distributor: Universal Distribution

Notes: Arrangers: Mike Post; Quincy Jones; Sid Feller. Ray Charles's time on ABC Records was about more than adding strings, choirs, and country tunes to his approach. By 1972's A MESSAGE FROM THE PEOPLE, he was turning out tracks full of funky soul, largely devoid of the overproduction plaguing much of his ABC discography. As was so often the case with Ray, a gospel feel mixed with R&B locomotion is the engine that drives things here, but he also uses it to transform Melanie's "What Have They Done to My Song, Ma" into a syncopated strut, and bring a Sunday Baptist church feel to the Dion hit "Abraham, Martin and John."

Living Blues (p.71) - "[T]here's plenty of evidence that Charles could still deliver the goods vocally..."

There are few musicians in modern pop music who can truly be called "genius," but in the case of Ray Charles, the term applies. His innovative singing, drawing on both gospel and pop, has inspired legions of great singers. With a long, prolific recording career that began in 1949, Charles became perhaps the finest interpreter of pop music in the postwar years. A gifted pianist, songwriter, and vocalist, he was a master of every style he attempted, be it R&B, country, blues, or soul. The man who wrote such indelible R&B classics as "I Got a Woman" and "What'd I Say" passed away in 2004, a legend several times over. The same year, a remarkable performance by Jamie Foxx in the biopic RAY served as a fitting cinematic eulogy.

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