[audio http://boxstr.com/files/3071065_awdik/Ray%20Charles%20-%20Busted.mp3] Ray Charles – Busted (1963)
Composed by the award winning songwriter Harlan Howard, Ray Charles’ performance of “Busted” won him his fourth Grammy in a row – Best Rhythm and Blues Recording 1963.
If I say this is one of my favorites songs you are probably thinking I am being redundant — but it truly is. In fact most of Brother Ray’s songs are favorites of mine. And while researching this blog I have come to find more of Ray’s catalog that had eluded me over the years and I am loving those newly discovered “oldies but goodies” too!
The previous year Charles won a Grammy for a song from his “Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music” album and this song had been recorded by Country artist Johnny Cash in 1962.
The more I delve into the Genius of Ray Charles — I think his “Genius” is that he defies categorization! He started out winning in the newly created R&B category of the Grammy Academy, but he charted both Billboard “Pop” and “Black” (the term that I despise and will go back to calling it R&B for my sanity), and yet he had recorded a majority of classic “country” songs to this point. His performances were tinged with “jazz” and “blues”, and yet oftentimes his orchestration was bordering on “classical”. Wow — what a conglomeration!
Yes I am sure that the “Genius” of Ray Charles is that he was not one musical genre, but a melding of all musical genres! You may read more about Ray Charles at Answers.com
“Busted” reached #4 Pop and #3 R&B on the US Billboard charts and #21 in the UK.
Watch the Genius at work, performing this classic during a 1982 European concert.
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Filed under: ABC/Paramount, Busted, Country Pop, Grammy Gold, Harlan Howard, Magnificent Male Vocalists, Pop/R&B, Ray Charles, Sixties
