The Genius Sings the Blues


The Genius Sings the Blues is an album by Ray Charles, released in October 1961 on Atlantic Records. The album was his last release for Atlantic, 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.

Background

Hailing from Greenville, Florida, Ray Charles assimilated much of the Southern black man's musical heritage with its various blues stories, folk songs, and gospel revelations. Charles studied music at a school for blind children in St. Augstine and developed a characteristic modern jazz style of playing and writing by listening to Art Tatum, Nat "King" Cole, Bud Powell, Oscar Peterson, and other contemporaries who played in the styles fashionable around the time Charles moved to Seattle. He molded many disparate musical elements into a style with unique harmony and traditional rhythmic patterns.

Music

Jazz composer Billy Taylor further discussed Charles' innovative music and his reaction to hearing it:
The innovation of Ray Charles is presented on this compilation LP. The Blues finds Charles delivering wailing and emotional numbers to uptempo arrangements of country blues. Covering ground from his first session for Atlantic to his last, 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.

Track listing

All songs written by Ray Charles, except where noted.
;Side one
  1. "Early in the Mornin'" – 2:48
  2. "Hard Times " – 2:56
  3. "The Midnight Hour" – 3:02
  4. " The Right Time" – 3:25
  5. "Feelin' Sad" – 2:50
  6. "Ray's Blues" – 2:55
;Side two
  2. "I'm Movin' On" – 2:13
  3. "I Believe to My Soul" – 3:01
  4. "Nobody Cares" – 2:41
  5. "Mr. Charles' Blues" – 2:48
  6. "Some Day Baby" – 3:01
  7. "I Wonder Who" – 2:46

    Personnel

Side 1, Track 1 - Marcus Belgrave, John Hunt David Newman Bennie Crawford Ray Charles Edgar Willis Teagle Fleming. Recorded NYC, October 28, 1958
Side 1, Track 2 - Joe Bridgewater, Riley Webb David Newman Don Wilkerson Ray Charles Roosevelt Sheffield William Peeples. Recorded Miami, FL, April 23, 1955
Side 1, Track 4 - Marcus Belgrave, John Hunt David Newman Bennie Crawford Ray Charles Edgar Willis Teagle Fleming. Recorded NYC, October 28, 1958

Chart history

;Album
YearChartPeak position
1962U.S. Pop Albums chart#73