The Genius Of Ray Charles  by Ray Charles

Somewhere between May 6 and June 23, 1959, Ray Charles takes a musical dive into the past and records The Genius Of Ray Charles, an album consisting of twelve covered songs from the 1910s to the 1950s. All these great compositions, mostly originating from the era of Big Bands and jazz, have a rhythm 'n' blues wrapping.

Ray Charles engages with songs like Let the Good Times Roll, which opens the album, by Louis Jordan from 1946 to Come Rain or Come Shine that was written for the musical "St. Louis Woman" again in the same year. Ray Charles was fortunate enough to have his seventh album produced by Nesuhi Ertegun and Jerry Wexler, as well as the support of Atlantic Records for what he intended to do.

The Genius Of Ray Charles stands as one of Ray Charles's best albums of all time. At the time of its release, it reached No. 17 on the Billboard, which was a huge success for a black artist in the USA in the late 1960s.