Unchain My Heart (song)

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"Unchain My Heart" was a successful recording by legendary American R&B musician Ray Charles, written by Teddy Powell under the joint pseudonymn of Freddy James and Agnes Vivian Jones. The song first appears on a 1958 recording of Frances Faye.

It was a hit for Charles when released as a single in early 1962. Accompanied by his Raelettes, Charles sung about wanting to be free from a woman "who won't let (him) go".

It was also accompanied by his longtime saxophonist, David "Fathead" Newman and other members of Charles' band. The song reached the top 10 of both the pop and R&B singles charts and was the working title of Charles' 2004 biopic Ray.


In 1963, doo-wop band The Rivingtons covered "Unchain My Heart" on their Doin' The Bird LP. The track was further popularised by Joe Cocker when he named his 1987 album after the song.