Ray Charles discography


This is a discography of American musician Ray Charles.

Overview

Ray Charles first appeared on a Billboard chart in 1949, when — as part of the Maxin Trio with G.D. McKee and Milton Garred — he charted his first single with "Confession Blues." It reached No. 2 on the R&B chart, then called the Most-Played Juke Box Race Records. In 1952, Charles signed with Atlantic Records and went on to top Billboards pop, country, R&B, jazz, and dance charts.
In the early 1960s, after leaving Atlantic Records to sign with ABC–Paramount, he negotiated for ownership of his own master recordings. He also established his own labels. Tangerine came first, which later evolved into CrossOver Records. As a songwriter, Charles penned nearly 200 songs. He also operated his own publishing companies, Tangerine Music and Racer Music.
On the Billboard Hot 100, Charles had 80 hits between 1958 and 1990, when "I'll Be Good to You" became his last Hot 100 single, reaching No. 18. His biggest hit, "I Can't Stop Loving You", spent five weeks at No. 1 in 1962. He also topped the Hot 100 with the singles "Hit the Road Jack" and "Georgia on My Mind". Among all acts, he charted the third-most singles on the Hot 100; only Elvis Presley and James Brown had more.
On Billboards R&B chart, Charles had 86 hits, including 11 chart-toppers such as "I've Got a Woman", "What'd I Say ", "Hit the Road Jack", and "You Are My Sunshine."
Charles also reached No. 1 on the Hot Country Songs chart in 1985 with "Seven Spanish Angels", a duet with Willie Nelson. The single appears on Charles' duets album, Friendship, which reached No. 1 on Top Country Albums. His 1962 album, Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music, became his first album to top the Billboard 200.
In 1990, Charles had a No. 1 on the Hot Dance Club Songs chart with "I'll Be Good to You", a collaboration with Quincy Jones and Chaka Khan.

Albums

The Atlantic years

The ABC years

1973–2004

Posthumous albums

Compilations

Hundreds of Ray Charles compilations and "Greatest Hits" albums have been released and continue to be produced and released by various labels around the world. Some of the more notable compilations include:
2020:One Two Three Songs

Singles

Down Beat, Swing Time releases

1949: The McSon Trio :
1949–1953: Ray Charles, The Ray Charles Trio:
The list of singles below are songs Ray Charles released while on the Atlantic label between 1952 and 1980

ABC releases

This list below is of songs Ray Charles released on the ABC-Paramount, ABC, and subsidiary Impulse and Tangerine/TRC labels from 1960 to 1973.
This list below is of songs Ray Charles released while on the CrossOver label from 1973 to 1976.

Country releases on Columbia Records

Listed below are songs Ray Charles released during his Columbia Records tenure which was spent on the country singles chart.

Other releases

Listed below are songs Ray Charles issued on various labels where the pop and R&B charts are concerned.

Video performances