Friday, October 9, 2015

The Ray Charles Singers - Young Lovers In Far Away Places

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 29:16
Size: 67.0 MB
Styles: Easy Listening
Year: 1964/2011
Art: Front

[3:29] 1. Fsr Away Places
[2:51] 2. It Happened In Monterrey
[6:42] 3. Sunday In Genoa
[2:47] 4. A Foggy Day
[3:12] 5. April In Paris
[3:12] 6. Moon Over Miami
[4:13] 7. Shipboard Romance
[2:46] 8. On A Slow Boat To China

Reaching number three on the pop charts in 1964 with one of the most successful easy listening singles of the '60s, "Love Me with All Your Heart (Cuando Caliente el Sol)," the Ray Charles Singers made numerous genteel albums of choral mood music throughout the '50s and '60s. Although they were led by a man named Ray Charles, this group had no connection whatsoever to Ray Charles the famous soul singer, and certainly no connection whatsoever to soul music. The coincidence of two such different artists sharing the same name led the Ray Charles of the Ray Charles Singers, in fact, to bill himself as "The Other Ray Charles" when he was given a TV credit.

This Ray Charles was born Charles Raymond Offenberg on September 13, 1918 in Chicago. Working in radio, Broadway, and in local bands, he got his major break when he landed a job as an arranger for Perry Como's radio backing group in the late '40s, remaining in that position when Como got a TV program. By the mid-'50s, the group called the Ray Charles Singers replaced the Fontaine Sisters as Como's TV backing ensemble. The Ray Charles Singers recorded on their own for Essex, MGM, and Decca before hitting their commercial stride on Enoch Light's Command label in the '60s, with arrangements emphasizing lush instrumentation and soft, breathy singing.

Young Lovers In Far Away Places

1 comment:

  1. This was such a refreshing surprise. More of the 'other' Ray Charles, please.

    ReplyDelete

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