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The Ray Charles Singers

Read The Ray Charles Singers' biography


The Ray Charles Singers - Al-Di-La (Command RS 870 SD) (1964)

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ITEM# SR-RS870SD
Ratings: C=G+; LP=G
Artist:

The Ray Charles Singers

Title:

Al-Di-La

Released: 1964
Label: Command
Catalog: RS 870 SD
[note: issued as Capitol SMAS 90115]
Genre: Easy Listening / Jazz
NOTE: Produced by Enoch Light
 T R A C K L I S T:
01 Al-Di-La
02 The Girl From Ipanema
03 Do You Want To Know A Secret
04 Real Live Girl
05 The Friendliest Thing
06 Satin Doll
07 Call Me Irresponsible
08 Till The End Of Time
09 Something Extra Special
10 Bluesette
11 Johann Sebastian Bach
12 You Are Never Far Away From Me
Submit a review.

Album Review

by Lindsay Planer [allmusic.com]

While it becomes painfully obvious from the very first note -- it bears saying for parties who have never heard the Milquetoast warblings of the Ray Charles Singers -- this musician is not the legendary R&B artist. In fact, this Ray Charles is actually a traditional pop bandleader/arranger named Charles Raymond Offenberg. His easy listening fare is comparable to that of his Command Records labelmate Enoch Light, although Light's interpretations were often anything but standard. Prior to the outing heard here, the Ray Charles Singers had backed actor Dick Van Dyke on the aptly-titled long-player Dick Van Dyke, Songs I Like (1964). Al-Di-La and Other Extra-Special Songs for Young Lovers (1964) was the follow-up to Something Special for Young Lovers (1964), which included Charles and company's signature side "Love Me With All Your Heart" that hit the upper echelons of the Pop chart during April of 1964. The album offers more of the same unimaginative, lightweight elevator/on-hold easy listening twaddle that Beatlemania and the rest of the rock & roll revolution were so desperately trying to break free from. There is a favorable kitsch factor making the "Ahhhhh .... Ohhhh .... Ooooh ..." introduction to the laid-back (read: practically comatose) "Girl From Ipanema" or the overly complex barbershop quartet harmonies gracing the cover of Lennon and McCartney's "Do You Want to Know a Secret" tolerable. On the other hand, the simultaneous whistling and suggestive lyrics to "Real Live Girl" from the show Little Me is eerie and a bit creepy. The quirky "Satin Doll" and Lambert, Hendricks & Ross' "Johann Sebastian Bach" are among the finest of the lot, while Toots Thielemans' "Bluesette" may have aged best of all thanks to the tasty electric organ fills -- that is, if listeners could just tune out the vocalists.

The Ray Charles Singers' Biography

by Richie Unterberger [allmusic.com]

Reaching number three on the pop charts in 1964 with one of the most successful easy listening singles of the '60s, "Love Me with All Your Heart (Cuando Caliente el Sol)," the Ray Charles Singers made numerous genteel albums of choral mood music throughout the '50s and '60s. Although they were led by a man named Ray Charles, this group had no connection whatsoever to Ray Charles the famous soul singer, and certainly no connection whatsoever to soul music. The coincidence of two such different artists sharing the same name led the Ray Charles of the Ray Charles Singers, in fact, to bill himself as "The Other Ray Charles" when he was given a TV credit.

This Ray Charles was born Charles Raymond Offenberg on September 13, 1918 in Chicago. Working in radio, Broadway, and in local bands, he got his major break when he landed a job as an arranger for Perry Como's radio backing group in the late '40s, remaining in that position when Como got a TV program. By the mid-'50s, the group called the Ray Charles Singers replaced the Fontaine Sisters as Como's TV backing ensemble. The Ray Charles Singers recorded on their own for Essex, MGM, and Decca before hitting their commercial stride on Enoch Light's Command label in the '60s, with arrangements emphasizing lush instrumentation and soft, breathy singing.

There is little music from the era more white bread than records by the Ray Charles Singers, with vocals and instrumentation smooth and saccharine enough to fit onto elevator Muzak programs, and almost too wholesome sounding for TV milk commercials. For material, the group favored interpretations of popular standards, also including some Mexican and South American pop and bossa nova songs. "Love Me with All Your Heart," in fact, was a translation of a Mexican song, "Cuando Caliente el Sol," which Charles first heard aboard a cruise ship. Originally the B-side of a cover of "Hello Dolly!," it became an unexpected hit in 1964. The group had several more Top 40 singles that year -- "Al-Di-La" and "One More Time" -- and hit number 11 with the album Something Special for Young Lovers. After the Ray Charles Singers (who rarely appeared live in concert) passed their prime as a recording act, Charles continued to work in musical direction on TV programs like Sha Na Na and The Muppet Show.

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