THE definitive Ray Charles collection featuring all original hit recordings and performances, and digitally remastered from the original tapes! Housed in a handsome embossed digipack and presented with a 24 page collectors' book of rare photos and extensive notes by celebrated music journalist Don Heckman, this collection brings together Ray Charles' most memorable music from his classic era. A must for music fans of all ages.

Expanded and remastered reissue of the 1962 classic album and its successful follow-up. Packaged together for the very first time, volume 2 has never-before been available on CD! For Ray Charles, this music represented the culmination of a lifelong love affair he shared for Country & Western music. It vastly expanded his pop demographic and made countless new country converts by giving these 24 songs a soul-steeped urban dimension.

With the release of Ray Charles' Singular Genius: The Complete ABC Singles, on November 15, 2011, Concord Records will make available for the first time the artist's collection of ABC-Paramount singles during this prolific period (1960-1972).

The digitally remastered deluxe 106-song collection presents the A and B sides of 53 singles, including 11 #1 hits, such Grammy Award winners "Hit the Road Jack," "Busted," "Georgia on My Mind," "I Can't Stop Loving You," "Crying Time," "America the Beautiful," and many more.

Twenty-one of the songs are making their digital debut, and 30 have never previously been available on CD. Liner notes were written by R&B recording artist and music historian Billy Vera and rare photographs are included.

According to Valerie Ervin, president of the Ray Charles Foundation, "This compilation provides an opportunity to hear Ray's evolution into a full-fledged artist and creative force. The song selection was based upon the interpretation he could bring to the music and not the genre. The ABC singles comprise an epoch of essential Ray Charles music and a window into how his genius evolved."

John Burk, Concord Music Group's Chief Creative Officer stated, "Ray Charles is one of America's most iconic and treasured voices. We are fortunate to have the opportunity to present Ray's historic ABC singles with the reverence and respect they deserve and continue our dynamic partnership and acclaimed reissue program with Valerie Ervin and everyone at the Ray Charles Foundation."

By the time the singer released his first single for his new label affiliation, ABC-Paramount, in January 1960, he had crossed over into the stardom that show biz insiders had long known was his due. After several years of R&B hits on his previous label, Atlantic Records, he'd finally reached the coveted white teen market with his smash, "What'd I Say," the simplest, most basic song of his career.

Charles' contract was coming up for renewal and the Atlantic brass expected an easy negotiation. After all, most entertainers took a passive approach to their business, especially when things were going well. However, his agency, Shaw Artists, wanted to bring Charles to a broader audience, which they felt could be better delivered by a major record company.

One such company was ABC-Paramount, a newer major that had found success with teen idols Paul Anka, Frankie Avalon, and Fabian, while crossing Lloyd Price over into pop. ABC's Larry Newton convinced label president Sam Clark that Ray Charles was the ideal artist to not only make hits but to attract other black acts to the fold. Charles was granted a magnanimous contract that included ownership of his masters after five years. Even Frank Sinatra, as Vera points out, did not have a deal like this.

Sid Feller became Charles' A&R man and producer. Though as Atlantic's Jerry Wexler once said, "You don't produce Ray Charles; you just get out of the way and let him do his thing."

After striking a rich deal, the Ray Charles/ABC relationship had a momentary setback when the first ABC single, "Who You Gonna Love" b/w "My Baby," sold disappointingly. The second single, "Sticks and Stones," a "What'd I Say" knockoff, went to #2 R&B and #540 pop. Finally, the third ABC single, "Georgia on My Mind," culled from the album The Genius Hits the Road, reached #1 on the pop charts.

With the overwhelming popularity of "Georgia on My Mind," Charles was at last a full-fledged mainstream star, right up there with the Nat Coles and Peggy Lees. The company's strategy was to cater to his new market while still releasing singles to serve his R&B base.

Charles in the meantime launched a publishing arm, Tangerine Music, signing one of the greats of West Coast blues, Percy Mayfield. Mayfield brought with him a song he'd pitched to Specialty Records without success, "Hit the Road, Jack." Ray's version rose to #1 on both the pop and R&B charts. It was followed by "Unchain My Heart."

ABC-Paramount celebrated his grand success by giving Charles his own label, Tangerine, which he used to record some of his personal R&B heroes including Mayfield, Louis Jordan, and Little Jimmy Scott. At the same point in time, Charles became enamored of country music and recorded several country sides: "Take These Chains From My heart," "Busted," "That Old Lucky Sun," and from Buck Owens, "Crying Time" and "Together Again."

1966 saw the opening of Ray Charles' own RPM Studios on Washington Blvd. in Los Angeles. The first song he recorded at the facility was "Let's Go Get Stoned," a Coasters cover penned by Nick Ashford, Valerie Simpson, and Jo Armistead.

The ABC-Paramount recordings continued into the late '60s and early '70s. In 1972 Charles cut a version of the New Seekers hit, "Look What They've Done to My Song, Ma," but it was the B-side, "America the Beautiful," that became a runaway hit, Grammy Award winner (one of five on this collection) and to a younger generation unfamiliar with his earlier major works, his signature song.

DVD is NTSC format, region code 2

Two CD 'Deluxe Edition' in a cardboard gatefold sleeve that collects Ray's best-known '50s and '60s singles, such as 'What'd I Say', 'I've Got A Woman', 'Georgia On My Mind' and 'Hit The Road Jack'. The man's originality and infectious feeling bleed through on each of these 40 tracks. Ray Charles was a genius in interpretation of many genres, from Gospel to Country to Blues to R&B to old-fashioned Big Band singing. He is an artist of the highest order and this collection is outstanding in terms of his line of work. Greatest Hits. 2007.

By 1961 Ray Charles had established himself at the forefront of popular music. He had several R&B hit singles on Atlantic Records in the fifties and crossed over into the mainstream with his hit "What'd I Say" in 1959. He then moved from Atlantic Records to ABC and had further success throughout the sixties. The two concerts on this DVD were filmed at the Antibes Jazz Festival in July of 1961 when Ray Charles was at the peak of his powers. Filmed on 16mm film it has been lovingly restored and is released here for the first time.

Bonus Features: Additional performances from the festival:

July 19, 1961:
(1) The Story
(2) Sticks And Stones
(3) Yes Indeed
(4) I Believe To My Soul
(5) What'd I Say

July 21, 1961:
(1) I Wonder

TRACK LISTING:
1) Opening / Antibes
2) The Story
3) Doodlin'
4) One Mint Julep
5) Let The Good Times Roll
6) Georgia On My Mind
7) Sticks And Stones
8) Hallelujah, I Love Her So
9) What'd I Say

July 22, 1961:
10) Hornful Soul
11) Let The Good Times Roll
12) Georgia On My Mind
13) My Bonnie
14) With You On My Mind
15) Ruby
16) Tell The Truth
17) I Wonder
18) Sticks And Stones
19) I Believe To My Soul
20) What'd I Say
21) Credits / I Wonder

A special 2-CD retrospective of the artist's jazz recordings of the `60s and `70s featuring 4 complete albums! In addition to Genius + Soul = Jazz, this collection also features - for the first time on CD - My Kind of Jazz, My Kind of Jazz II,, & My Kind of Jazz III. The package also Includes encyclopedic liner notes by Will Friedwald, jazz writer for The Wall Street Journal, along with original liner notes by Dick Katz and Quincy Jones.

Ray Charles is an American legend beyond compare. A ten-time Grammy-winning superstar who almost single-handedly laid the groundwork for soul music, Charles proved his mastery with countless jazz, country, R&B, and pop masterpieces as well. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame the first year they gave the honors ('86), and his extraordinary career spanned seven decades. His remarkable life was celebrated in the 2004 biopic Ray-featuring Jamie Foxx's Oscar-winning performance as the artist-and now Ray Charles' musical genius is spotlighted in this comprehensive box of his seminal Atlantic Records era, 1952-1959. As preeminent music writer David Ritz notes inside, "These are the historic years of his creative explosion, the time when he reinvented himself as a musical revolutionary. These records will live forever."

(8122717222)