Playlist: The Very Best Ray Charles Duets

by Ray Charles

Overview

Ray Charles was one of the best and most versatile American artists of his generation, a singer, composer, and instrumentalist who refused to be hemmed in by genre or convention, but he also loved to collaborate with others, and on his 1984 album Friendship, Charles recorded duets with ten major country music stars, including Johnny Cash, George Jones, Merle Haggard, Ricky Skaggs, and Mickey Gilley. Playlist: The Very Best Ray Charles Duets repackages the Friendship album, including all ten tracks in full, and adds three more duets, in which Ray shares vocals with Tony Bennett, Billy Joel, and Willie Nelson. Nothing here is quite up to the level of Charles' classic recordings of the '50s and '60s, but Ray is in fine voice on these performances, sounding robust and playful while trying not to show up his duet partners, and if this isn't the definitive look at Charles' work as a vocal partner, it's at very least a solid expanded version of Friendship, which was one of his most popular albums of the '80s. ~ Mark Deming

Product Details

Release Date:	09/23/2014
Label:	Bmg / Sony Music
UPC:	0888751510029
Rank:	57225

Tracks

1. Two Old Cats Like Us
2. This Old Heart (Is Gonna Rise Again)
3. We Didn't See a Thing
4. Who Cares
5. Rock and Roll Shoes
6. Friendship
7. It Ain't Gonna Worry My Mind
8. Little Hotel Room
9. Crazy Old Soldier
10. Seven Spanish Angels
11. Everybody Has the Blues
12. Baby Grand
13. Angel Eyes

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Ray Charles   Primary Artist
Ricky Skaggs   Featured Artist
Bill McElhiney   String Conductor
Merle Haggard   Featured Artist
Mickey Gilley   Featured Artist
Willie Nelson   Featured Artist
Johnny Cash   Featured Artist
The Oak Ridge Boys   Featured Artist
George Jones   Featured Artist
Jorge Calandrelli   Conductor
Tony Bennett   Featured Artist
B.J. Thomas   Featured Artist
Billy Joel   Featured Artist
Chet Atkins   Featured Artist
Hank Williams, Jr.   Featured Artist
Janie Fricke   Featured Artist

Technical Credits

Timothy A. Clary   Photography
J. Martin Johnson   Composer
Bill McElhiney   String Arrangements
Melodie Gimple   Photography
Ron Keith   Photography
S. Kennedy   Composer
Tim Anderson   Project Director
Phil Ramone   Producer
P. Kennerly   Composer
Willie Nelson   Producer
Rob Carter   Design,Art Direction
Danny Bennett   Producer
Darren Salmieri   A&R
T. Seals   Composer
Vic Anesini   Mastering
Jorge Calandrelli   Orchestration
M. Dennis   Composer
Billy Sherrill   Producer
E. Setser   Composer
G. Gentry   Composer
Jeff Magid   Compilation Producer
Ettore Stratta   Producer
R. Leigh   Composer
Steve Morley   Liner Notes
Christy Bush   Photography