| The Genius Sings the Blues | ||||
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| Compilation album by Ray Charles | ||||
| Released | October 1961 | |||
| Recorded | 1952–1960 | |||
| Genre | R&B, piano blues, soul | |||
| Length | 34:19 | |||
| Label | Atlantic SD-8052 |
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| Producer | Ahmet Ertegün, Jerry Wexler | |||
| Ray Charles chronology | ||||
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| Alternative cover | ||||
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Atlantic Masters reissue cover
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| Professional ratings | |
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| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic | [1] |
| Blender | [2] |
| Music City | [3] |
| Rhapsody | (favorable)[4] |
| Rolling Stone | [5] |
The Genius Sings the Blues is an album by Ray Charles, released in October 1961 on Atlantic Records.[6] The album was his last release for Atlantic, but one of his most memorable, compiling twelve blues songs from various sessions during his tenure for the label. The album showcases Charles's stylistic development with a combination of piano blues, jazz, and southern R&B. The photo for the album cover was taken by renowned photographer Lee Friedlander. The Genius Sings the Blues was reissued in 2003 by Rhino Entertainment with liner notes by Billy Taylor.
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Because he hails from Greenville, Florida, Ray Charles has assimilated much of the Southern black man's musical heritage with its various kinds of blues stories, folk songs, and gospel revelations.[7] Charles studied music at a school for blind children in St. Augustine, Florida and developed a personal modern jazz style of playing and writing by listening to Art Tatum, King Cole, Bud Powell, Oscar Peterson, and other contemporaries who played in the styles fashionable around the time Ray moved to Seattle.[7] He has molded many elements which are poles apart, musically, into a style which is a unique harmony with traditional rhythmic patterns.[7]
Jazz composer Billy Taylor further discussed Charles' innovative music and his reaction to hearing it:
While playing through some new music for a projected Ruth Brown record date, I was asked to listen to an original song played and sung by a young composer and pianist from Seattle, Washington. I can still remember how surprised I was to hear this kind of music from a Northwesterner. He reminded me of Charles Brown, another pianist-singer who was very popular in the Forties, but he had a very personal sound and there was something different about his rhythmic approach. In his handling of melody he seemed to be using devices similar to those used by Dinah Washington and a small group of popular singers who allowed their gospel singing backgrounds to influence their interpretation of popular songs... I was intrigued by the emotional quality projected by both his piano playing and his unusual voice and was not surprised when Ahmet Ertegün said that he wanted to let the young musician record some of his own material. "He communicates just like the old blues singers", Ahmet said.[7]
The innovation of Ray Charles is presented on this compilation LP. The Blues finds Charles delivering wailing and emotional numbers ("Hard Times", "Night Time Is the Right Time") to uptempo arrangements of country blues ("I'm Movin' On", "Early in the Mornin'"). Covering ground from his first session for Atlantic ("The Midnight Hour") to his last ("I Believe to My Soul"), The Genius Sings the Blues began as a simple cash-in LP after Charles' split from Atlantic Records and ended up as one of Charles' most well-known compilations.[7]
All songs written by Ray Charles, except where noted.[8]
| Year | Chart | Peak position[9] |
|---|---|---|
| 1962 | U.S. Pop Albums chart | #73 |
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