Talk:Ray Charles discography

UK Charts
The UK chart column is quite unnecessary, no? --Mark Nez 20:53, 25 June 2006 (UTC)
 * I would think UK chart info is as appropriate to include as the other charts currently listed. Unless there is some consensus that only US charts / positions are relevant for US artists? Pugetbill (talk) 20:57, 4 May 2009 (UTC)

All? albums

 * I am not sure that I even see the UK chart column, but this sentence:

"This is a listing of all the albums and singles released by R&B and soul music pioneer Ray Charles"

is a tad frustrating. While the list is helpful, the description "...a listing of  some of the albums and singles..." would be much more accurate. Dozens of songs from the 1950s are missing altogether. And I believe he released lps before 1957, but I am having trouble looking into it. The constant comment from all sorts of sources seems to be, "He was so prolific we can't possibly list everything!" I'm feeling sort of disheartened; forgive me if I'm not peppy enough or encouraging enough. Mnoe817 03:00, 2 December 2006 (UTC)
 * I think the list has grown substantially since this comment was first posted and currently, if we exclude compilations and re-issues / re-packagings, I think this discography should, can and does (or soon will) include all singles and all "original" studio and live albums released by Ray Charles (see the "How to determine scope..." and the "Notable compilations" discussions below for one perspective on this).  He may have been prolific, but his original recordings / releases are definitely finite.  Pugetbill (talk) 20:57, 4 May 2009 (UTC)

Right Time
I am looking at copy of an album called Right Time, released in the Warner Platinum series with the tagline "some of his finest Atlantic Recordings" in 2005. It's not mentioned on the list, but as I'm unsure this type of compilation should be listed at all, I thought I'd mention it here instead. Deadstar (talk) 14:48, 10 September 2008 (UTC)
 * The 2005 Warner UK(?) compilation album, Right Time is probably not a "notable" compilation using the proposed criteria below (see "Notable compilations" discussion). I personally feel that a comprehensive listing of all of the (hundreds of) Ray Charles compilation albums ever released worldwide is probably not a useful addition to this discography.  But if others wish to try, I would suggest adding a new section titled, "All compilation albums" and start adding titles.  Pugetbill (talk) 21:14, 4 May 2009 (UTC)

Seeking confirmation of Pre-Atlantic (Down Beat / Swing Beat / Swing Time / etc.) singles release info
I found personal web pages and some liner notes with some good information on "Down Beat Records" and "Swing Time Records" (singles) releases of Ray Charles from 1949 - 1952. I would like to add this info to the Charles discography soon but hope to first find further / better references and additional "Down Beat" records release info as well. I'll 'park' the info I have here for now in case other editors wish to use it.
 * from http://home.earthlink.net/~jaymar41/SwingT.html  and   http://www.duvigneaud.net/Ray_Charles.html   and   http://tefteller.com/html/current_auction/10_15_08_auction/october_auction_web.pdf   and   http://www.rocky-52.net/chanteursc/charles_r.htm   and    http://www.proper-records.co.uk/artists.php?action=alview&alid=2081


 * Down Beat 171 - "I love You, I Love You (I will Never Let You Go)" / "Confession Blues",  Maxin (McSon) Trio
 * Down Beat 178 - "Blues Before Sunrise" / "How Long Blues", Maxim (McSon) Trio
 * Down Beat 179 - "A Sentimental Blues" / "You'll Never Miss the Water (Until the Well Runs Dry)", Maxim (McSon) Trio
 * Down Beat 211 - "Alone in the City" / "Can Anyone Ask For More?", Maxim (McSon) Trio
 * Swing Beat 212 - "Here Am I" (aka "Let's Have A Ball"?) / "Rockin' Chair Blues" (1949) Maxim (McSon) Trio
 * Swing Time 215 - "Sitting On Top of the World" (Now She's Gone?) / "I've Had My Fun (Going Down Slow)" (1949)
 * Swing Time 216 - "Ain't That Fine" / "Don't Put All Your Dreams In One Basket"
 * Swing Time 217 - "See See Rider" / "What Have I Done"
 * Swing Time 218 - "She's On The Ball" / "Honey Honey"
 * Swing Time 228 - "The Ego Song" / "Late In The Evening"
 * Swing Time 229 - "Someday" (aka "Worried Life Blues" / "Someday baby"?) / "I'll Do Anything But Work"
 * Swing Time 249 - "I Wonder Who's Kissing Her Now" / "All To Myself"
 * Swing Time 250 - "Lonely Boy" / "Baby Let Me Hold Your Hand" (1951)
 * Swing Time 274 - "Kissa Me Baby" / "I'm Glad For Your Sake"
 * Swing Time 297 - "Baby Won't You Please Come Home" / "Hey Now"
 * Swing Time 300 - "Baby Let Me Hear You Call My Name" / "Guitar Blues" (by the Rufus Beacham Orchestra?)
 * Swing Time 326 - "The Snow Is Falling" / "Misery Is In My Heart"

Pugetbill (talk) 00:58, 27 February 2009 (UTC)
 * Sittin' In With Records 651 - "I Can't Do No More" / "Roly Poly" (aka "Back Home" by the Rufus Beacham Orchestra?) (1952)
 * Rockin' Records 504 - "Walkin' And Talkin' (To Myself)" / "I'm Wonderin' And Wonderin'" (1952)

There have also been several releases (compilations) in later years on LP & CD of these Down Beat / Swing Time / etc. recordings, for example, Ray Charles - The Complete Swing Time and Down Beat Recordings 1949 - 1952 ( http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B000654ZB4/pageturners0c )   1997     Night Train International   NTI CD 2001:

Disc: 1
 * 1) "I Love You, I Love You (I Will Never Let You Go)"
 * 2) "Confession Blues"
 * 3) "Alone in the City"
 * 4) "Can Anyone Ask for More?"
 * 5) "Let's Have a Ball"
 * 6) "Rockin' Chair Blues"
 * 7) "If I Give You My Love"
 * 8) "Can't You See Darling?"
 * 9) "This Love of Mine"
 * 10) "How Long Blues"
 * 11) "Blues Before Sunrise"
 * 12) "A Sentimental Blues"
 * 13) "You'll Never Miss the Water"
 * 14) "Ain't That Fine"
 * 15) "Don't Put All Your Dreams in One Basket"
 * 16) "Sitting on Top of the World"
 * 17) "I've Had My Fun"
 * 18) "See See Rider"
 * 19) "What Have I Done?"
 * 20) "Honey, Honey"
 * 21) "She's on the Ball"
 * 22) "The Ego Song" (Sweet As Can Be)
 * 23) "Sweet as Can Be" (take 3)

Disc: 2
 * 1) "Someday"
 * 2) "I'll Do Anything But Work"
 * 3) "I Wonder Who's Kissing Her Now?"
 * 4) "All to Myself"
 * 5) "Lonely Boy"
 * 6) "Baby Let Me Hold Your Hand"
 * 7) "I'm Glad for Your Sake"
 * 8) "Baby Won't You Please Come Home"
 * 9) "Kissa Me Baby"
 * 10) "Hey Now"
 * 11) "The Snow Is Falling"
 * 12) "Misery in My Heart"
 * 13) "Let Me Hear You Call My Name"
 * 14) "Why Did You Go?"
 * 15) "I'm Wonderin' and Wonderin'"
 * 16) "Walkin' and Talkin'"
 * 17) "Guitar Blues"
 * 18) "Back Home"
 * 19) "Sweet as Can Be"  (take 2)
 * 20) "I'll Do Anything But Work"  (take 2)
 * 21) "Someday"  (take 2)
 * 22) "Late in the Evening Blues"

Pugetbill (talk) 18:48, 27 February 2009 (UTC)

How to determine scope of discography for albums
I'm not sure if there is a consensus among wikipedia editors who have experience with discographies but I would like to suggest some guidelines to determine the scope of this discography article. This is just my personal opinion / suggestion.

I suggest that the main album discography be a listing of Charles' original studio and live releases in their original (first-released) format / title. Although many Charles albums were released in many different countries by a variety of labels, in most cases, the first release of most Ray Charles' material was the (US) album/release from Atlantic, ABC-Paramount, Columbia, Warner, Concord, etc. For compilation albums there is quite a different problem due to the very large number of Ray Charles' compilation albums (of previously released material) produced worldwide - see the "Notable compilations" discussion below. Pugetbill (talk) 19:25, 3 May 2009 (UTC)

Notable compilations
Hundreds of Ray Charles compilation albums (The Best of..., ...Greatest Hits, etc., etc.) have been released (and continue to be released) by a variety of record labels around the world. It is probably not very useful or meaningful to try to list them all in this wikipedia discography article. The Category "Notable compilation albums" has therefore been included in this discography article and only Ray Charles compilation albums that are "notable" should be listed there. Of course that begs the question, what is "notable" in this context? (this is not the same as the general "notability" definition for wikipedia articles / topics.)  I will attempt here to start a discussion of which criteria should be used by wikipedia contributors to determine notability in the context of Ray Charles compilation albums. I propose that non-notable compilation albums be listed here on this discussion page (and not in the main discography article) so that all contributors can see if a compilation album they may be considering for listing in the main article has already been designated "non-notable" by the definitions below.

What is meant by a "compilation" album?
Since Charles began recording in an era of (mostly) singles, some of his earliest LP albums might be considered "compilations" (of singles). But for the purposes of this discography, I would propose that the first album that contains primarily tracks that were not previously released on any album, should not be considered a compilation album. Thus, even 1962's Ray Charles Greatest Hits is not 'really' a compilation album by this definition (despite the title) as it contains mostly (66%?) previously-unreleased-on-any-album tracks. Also, an album that is effectively only a re-issue of previously released complete albums, including so called "two-fer" albums, should probably not be considered a "compilation album" for the purposes of this discography. e.g. Ray Charles Live is primarily a re-issue of Ray Charles at Newport together with Ray Charles in Person. In the same way, the album, Soul Brothers/Soul Meeting is primarily just a re-packaging of Soul Brothers together with Soul Meeting and a couple of bonus tracks.

When is a compilation album considered "notable"?
A compilation album could be considered 'notable' if: 1. the majority of the included tracks are being released in a compilation for the first time. e.g. early compilation albums from Atlantic, ABC, Columbia and from Warner(?): 2. The compilation is particularly comprehensive of an era or genre. If two compilations are similarly comprehensive of the same era / genre, then the earlier-released album should be considered more 'notable.' For example: 3. The album has a dedicated Wikipedia article (even if the compilation album does not necessarily qualify as 'notable' under either of the above criteria). e.g.
 * Do the Twist! with Ray Charles (Atlantic)
 * The Ray Charles Story Vol. 1~4 (Atlantic)
 * The Best of Ray Charles (Atlantic)
 * A Man and His Soul (ABC)
 * Seven Spanish Angels and Other Hits (Columbia)
 * The Birth of Soul: The Complete Atlantic Rhythm and Blues Recordings, 1952-1959 (Atlantic) - 3 CDs, R&B tracks (no jazz instrumentals)
 * Ultimate Hits Collection (Rhino (WEA)) - 2 CDs, covers multiple labels/eras. Charles'  Atlantic, ABC and Columbia periods, 1952 ~ 1990
 * Genius & Soul: The 50th Anniversary Collection (Rhino) - 5 CDs, covers multiple labels/eras - Charles' Down Beat/Swing Time, Atlantic, ABC, Columbia and Warner periods, 1947 ~ 1997
 * Ray Charles: The Complete Country & Western Recordings 1959-1986 (Rhino) - 4 CDs, multiple labels
 * Pure Genius: The Complete Atlantic Recordings (1952-1959) (Rhino) - 7 CDs + 1 DVD
 * Anthology (Rhino (ABC)) - 1 CD of Charles' ABC hits.

One might ask, if a later compilation album is "more" comprehensive than an otherwise similar previous compilation album, should the earlier album be removed from the "notable compilations" list - i.e. be 'replaced' by the more comprehensive compilation? I propose the answer should be, 'No'. For example, although the Atlantic, Pure Genius... 7CD compilation contains (presumably) all of the tracks on the previously released Atlantic 3 CD compilation, The Birth of Soul..., The Birth of Soul... was still the most comprehensive Atlantic collection at the time of its release and therefore should remain on the "notable compilations" list. Also The Birth of Soul... is more narrowly focused on just R&B tracks. Likewise if someone should ever release a 'monster' compilation such as Ray Charles - The Complete Down Beat, Swing Time, Atlantic, ABC, Tangerine, Crossover, Columbia, Warner, Concord, etc. Recordings, 1949 ~ 2004 this would not mean that all previously "designated-as-notable" compilation albums need be removed from the notable compilations listing.

How to handle compilations of pre-Atlantic-era Down Beat / Swing Time releases
Charles' earliest recordings for Down Beat and Swing Time Records were apparently released only as 78 rpm singles originally. Later, albums collecting these songs were released by various labels - the same tracks have been repackaged and re-issued dozens of times over the years, sometimes altered to sound "live" or with additional instruments that were not part of the original recordings. The earliest LP releases of these tracks appear to be Ray Charles and The Fabulous Ray Charles on Hollywood Records, Ray Charles and The Sensational Ray Charles on Coronet Records and Spotlight on Ray Charles and Spotlight on Ray Charles II on Design / Spectrum / Pickwick Records. I am still trying to find reliable sources to determine which of these albums of Down Beat / Swing Time-era tracks were the first releases of this material in album form. For now I have placed the two Hollywood Records releases into the main Ray Charles album discography as these seem to be the earliest 'legitimate' album releases of this material (but I have not found particularly reliable sources for these release dates yet) and, for now, consider all subsequent releases of this material to be "compilation albums" - mostly non-notable(?). i.e. Probably only the most comprehensive (unaltered) compilations of this Pre-Atlantic-era material qualify as being "notable."

"Notable" compilations of pre-1953 tracks:
and/or
 * The Birth of a Legend: 1949-1952 Down Beat - Swing Time Recordings (Ebony / Fresh Sound Records)
 * The Complete Swing Time & Down Beat Recordings 1949-1952 (Night Train Int'l)

Examples of non-notable compilation albums (based on the above criteria)
Pugetbill (talk) 19:25, 3 May 2009 (UTC)
 * 1987: Ray Charles Live (Atlantic) - a "two-fer" re-issue, not a compilation.
 * 2000: The Very Best of Ray Charles (Rhino) - 1CD of previously-released-in-many-other-compilations Atlantic and ABC (and one Columbia) tracks.
 * 2002: Ray Charles Sings for America (Rhino (WEA)) - The songs on this 1 CD compilation album don't necessarily cover any specific era or genre.
 * 2005: America the beautiful (Madacy Records) - a 1 CD mix of a few pre-1952 tracks with one or more(?) post-2000 track(s). No specific genre or era addressed.
 * 2009: Genius! - The Ultimate Ray Charles Collection (Concord Records) - 1 CD of previously-released-in-many-other-compilations Atlantic and ABC tracks.
 * YYYY?: Uh Huh: 41 of His Greatest Hits (Sandstone Records) - 2 CDs of previously-released-in-many-other-compilations Atlantic and ABC tracks.

Orphaned references in Ray Charles discography
I check pages listed in Category:Pages with incorrect ref formatting to try to fix reference errors. One of the things I do is look for content for orphaned references in wikilinked articles. I have found content for some of Ray Charles discography's orphans, the problem is that I found more than one version. I can't determine which (if any) is correct for this article, so I am asking for a sentient editor to look it over and copy the correct ref content into this article.

Reference named "RIAA": From Genius Loves Company: RIAA Searchable Database: Gold & Platinum. Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved on 2008-15-08. From Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music: RIAA Searchable Database - Search Results: Ray Charles. Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved on 2011-09-07. From Billy Joel: Top Selling Artists. RIAA. Retrieved on June 8, 2012. 

I apologize if any of the above are effectively identical; I am just a simple computer program, so I can't determine whether minor differences are significant or not. AnomieBOT ⚡ 07:18, 6 September 2018 (UTC)

Live Albums
Why are live albums mixed in with the studio albums? The standard practice is to list them separate. Mr. C.C. Hey yo!I didn't do it! 17:55, 18 February 2020 (UTC)
 * Because you haven't changed it? - dcljr (talk) 04:36, 19 February 2020 (UTC)
 * I was just asking a question based on what I came across. No need for that replay.  Unnecessary.   Mr. C.C. Hey yo!I didn't do it! 16:06, 19 February 2020 (UTC)