The Essentials [Big Eye]

Performer: Ray Charles
Producer: Athan Maroulis
Distributor: E1 Distribution (USA)

Notes: Personnel: Mitchell "Tiny" Webb, Mickey Baker (guitar); David "Fathead" Newman (alto saxophone, tenor saxophone); Freddie Mitchell, Pinky Williams (tenor saxophone); Emmett Dennis, Hank Crawford (baritone saxophone); Lee Harper, Marcus Belgrave (trumpet); Connie Kay, Milt Turner (drums); Mongo Santamar�a, Candido Camero (percussion). Recording information: Los Angeles, CA (??/??/1949-02/18/1959); New York, NY (??/??/1949-02/18/1959).

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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