James Ray with the Hutch Davie Orchestra & Chorus (LP, full album, Caprice SLP1002, stereo)

[@johnnyace1954]

What a voice he had! Such a tragic death drugs! Frankie Lymon died the same way. Just beginning to rise and fell. So glad we have these tracks to,listen to,whenever we want…

[@icslcmm]

I never knew anything about James Ray until I heard him on Spotify and from then on I was impressed with his talent, with his interpretations of songs. Among these, I highlight his interpretation of a standard, Teach me Tonight, which, in my opinion, is the best I've ever known. I also highlight the impeccable and inventive arrangements performed by Hitch Davie, which provide an extra pleasure in listening to this excellent record.

[@maddalenamapela6516]

I am literally obsessed by him his voice his groove my God so talented singer he was blessed

[@johnnyace1954]

He reminds me of Little Willie John. A great voice. Died so young. Dam those drugs....

[@adrianrammirez]

Last Night in Soho made me do my research on this talented man!

[@gigabix]

That's the best thing about that movie.

[@StainlessSteelCynic]

Thanks for posting this, I hadn't heard his songs other than "I've Got My Mind Set on You". Such a shame he died just as his music career was getting started. With his talent I think he would have been as big as any of the chart toppers in the 60s.

[@CallieMasters5000]

Thank God this is stereophonic! Makes all the difference! ;-)

[@micha3234]

Genius ! ;) So much swing!

[@peter5.056]

Such a bright star he was.....gone too soon. That great voice had a lot of real hurt behind it, as is a trait of many-a great artist.

[@davidmaslow2931]

I Love him!

[@philiphoward1731]

Wow I am so glad I can listen to this record I guess this record was very popular with George Harrison and the Beatles and I guess lotta the other British bands liked him to Freddie and the dreamers did a version of his song if you got to make a fool of somebody and he was a very good singer thank you for posting this

[@edwardflasch8426]

Alotta great,"groovy"songs on this Lp-musta slipped through the cracks of top 100 radio back then,especially in Detroit & Chicago...

[@kennethartz6334]

Tasty--I never would have known about JR except for this Sunday's radio countdown program mentioned that a former member of The Beatles covered one of his songs 25 years after buying his album while visiting his sister who who lived in Detroit.

[@tatjbere]

Georgie 😁

[@BlueprintOfYesterday]

Genius Mr. Gies, Genius. We are all grateful to you for this posting.

[@mattgies]

Aw, shucks. I'm just a guy with a record player and a gadget to connect it to his computer.

[@merkjanoosterhoff1590]

Haven't heard this for years, but so glad l have this album myself!

[@JB-kn7ig]

Nice dude, thanks

[@pepinio4321]

Wunderschön

[@EricKlein]

banger after banger

[@harvey1954]

In Sept. of 1963 George Harrison visited his sister out in Benton, IL. He was the first Beatle to step onto American soil. Kennedy was still alive and the Ed Sullivan debut was a few months away. George bought a Rickenbacker guitar and a bunch of lps. This album was one and obviously made an impression on the lone Beatle as he would cover "Got My Mind Set On You" decades later. George would go onto changing history while James Ray died of a drug overdose and faded into obscurity.

[@harvey1954]

@@БэбиТунайт Yes, it was when George bought it. That doesn't mean he didn't know the tune before that. James Ray released it in 1962 on Caprice. The music for the Beatles was mainly picked by John and Paul. George obviously like it and bought it on his 1963 trip along with some other albums.

[@harvey1954]

@@БэбиТунайт The Sept.. 63 visit by George is very interesting. Talk about a preview of coming attractions. JFK was still alive and nobody had a clue who the Beatles were.

[@b.e.farrow7591]

This a definite gem~

[@beijos.official1435]

listen to it every day! Fantastic!

[@beeztrapp1612]

So good!!!!

[@essbo53]

Hutch Davie (arranger and likely producer) was an important component to this project...there's also a lot of Ray Charles emulation in here. Also, there is a strong Traditional Jazz influence. St James Infirmary predates The Village Stompers' Washington Square and If You Gotta Make A Fool of Somebody's waltz meter with prominent tuba predates What The World Needs Now. Other arrangers/producers and writers were listening...

[@matenagyszokolyai673]

Csodás hang!!

[@gmannikonov4250]

Шыкардос!!)))

[@edwardflasch8426]

...reminds me of Lloyd Price(Stagger Lee,Personality,etc.)

[@nocaster51]

wow, I didn't expect that calypso bridge

[@CalLatMan]

George Harrison was a big fan

[@alfredhutchinson3713]

ABS😲LUTELY SUR💠REAL: Mr Jms R⚡y died 4 yrs b4 my existenz & [now]I'm old enuf 2 b hiz dad.Thx 4 p📫sting,Mr MG! 🤓📟🎤🎧🎹🎷🎺👏🏾 Mar15Tu2022 Bar🇧🇧bados

[@buskerdu6542]

I feel like "A Miracle" has been ripped off but I can't place the song... maybe it's a couple that ripped the feel?

[@ChoirWalker]

Whats the name of the first song?

[@mattgies]

Look in the detailed description. I transcribed the entire back cover of the album jacket, and added time stamps/chapters.

[@ChoirWalker]

Oh, my bad! Thank you!👍👍

[@iVenge]

The arrangement on Without A Song is all wrong; totally changes the mood of the song. He deserved a better arrangement than that.