One of the coolest collections of work related to
Ray Charles that we've ever seen – a huge box that brings together both some of the music that inspired
Ray, then his own recordings, then tracks that he did that inspired other artists too! The first four CDs feature work from a generation both before
Ray started recording, and material contemporary to his important early sides – and the set first begins with cuts by artists doing a song, then moves into Charles' own interpretation of the song – showing the way that he really changed things up, as he take son music from Cecil Shaw, Lowell Fulson, Tommy Dorsey, Leroy Carr, Don Gibson, Charlie
Parker, T Bone Walker, Swan Silvertone Singers, and dozens of other artists! The last three CDs then feature songs first sung by
Ray, followed by either covers of the same tunes, or songs that really owe a lot to them – music from Eddie Bo, Jimmy McGriff, Bobby Peterson, Sammy Davis
Jr, Stevie Wonder, Eddie Cochran, Brenda Lee, Richard Groove Holmes, Bobby
Parker, Sandy Nelson, and dozens of others too! The package features 171 titles in all – including 15 never-issued live tracks from
Ray Charles.