I Got a Woman

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"I Got a Woman" was a career-defining song for American R&B musician Ray Charles when released as a single in 1955.

Built on a gospel hymn, "Jesus Is All the World to Me", Ray was listening to on the radio while on the road with his band, he and his band member, trumpeter Renald Richard penned a song which was built among a gospel frenetic pace with secular lyrics. The mixture of gospel and rhythm and blues in "Woman" eventually led to what would become known as soul music making Charles its heralded creator.

The song was recorded late 1954 in an Atlanta studio and was Charles' first #1 R&B hit in January 1955. The song would lead to more hits for Charles during this period when he was on Atlantic. It was later ranked #235 on Rolling Stone's list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time, one of Charles' five songs on the list.

Fifty years later, rapper Kanye West would sample "I Got a Woman" for his #1 US hit, "Gold Digger", in 2005, bringing Charles back into the charts (with help from Jamie Foxx, who played Charles in the biopic, Ray, and imitated him in the intro), only this time credited as a songwriter of his own #1 hit posthumously after his June 2004 death.

[edit] Cover versions

The song has been covered by many artists, including:

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