Ray Charles – What'd I Say

Few records capture rhythm and blues and gospel fusing into soul as clearly as this 1959 album. The title track grew from a riff Ray Charles improvised on electric piano to fill time at a live show, and its call and response with the Raelettes is still electrifying. Across blues and Latin-tinged numbers, his rasping, ecstatic voice lets sacred fervour and secular desire share the same groove.