Ray Charles did more than play music. He pioneered it. He lived it. He was a living monument to R&B, Soul, and even Rock and Country music.
60 years ago, Ray Charles’ song ‘Hit the Road Jack’ hit the world and it became, well, a hit. The smashing soul song went from being an idea to a legend.
What most people may not know is that Ray Charles didn’t write the song. It was penned by an R&B artist named Percy Mayfield.
The song didn’t become famous until Ray Charles got ahold of it and recorded it with The Raelettes’ Margie Hendrix. Then it topped the charts for several weeks in a row.
It’s hard to imagine the song being performed by anyone else when you watch the video and see Mr. Charles going to town on the piano.
Ray certainly knew how to make a song work, whether it was his or not. He had the mind for writing and the style for performing. It’s no wonder that he had been referred to as the only genius in show business.
