Ray Charles In Person on 180g Import LP from Pure Pleasure

In May 1959, Ray Charles and his band played a concert at Morris Brown College's Herndon Stadium in Atlanta, GA. An engineer at radio station WAOK recorded the occasion on a one track tape recorder using a single microphone. The recording was later played over the air and the response of the radio audience was overwhelming, resulting in the ultimate release of the performance on Atlantic in 1960.

The dynamics of the recording are truly amazing especially considering how it was recorded. The band is heard with perfect clarity and balance, and the audience is also picked up to great effect as well. You can hear the shouting, whooping, the give and take with the crowd, and the swelling energy, in what was typical of a Ray Charles concert. Many of the tunes have since became classics, known to every funk and blues musician in the country and to most of the population at large.

In Person is easily one of the most rare and cathartic recordings in Ray Charles' legendary catalog. On the two tracks, "The Right Time" and "Tell The Truth," both shared with the Raelettes' lead singer Marjorie Hendricks, the music truly transcends art to become powerfully shamanistic. Great live rhythm and blues from one of its masters!

Ray Charles (piano, vocals)

Marcus Belgrave, John Hunt (trumpet)

David Newman (tenor saxophone)

Bennie Crawford (baritone saxophone)

Edgar Willis (bass)

Teagle Flemming (drums)

The Raylettes (backing vocals)

1.  The Right Time

2.  What'd I Say

3.  Yes Indeed!

4.  The Spirit-Feel

5.  Frenesi

6.  Drown In My Own Tears

7.  Tell The Truth