Which is your favorite song by Ray Charles and why?

This one.

Smack Dab in the Middle
and You Don’t Know Me :)

SDITM Just makes me happy and YDKM makes me cry. :(

His duet with Willie Nelson. “Seven Spanish Angels”

Hit th Road Jack . It’s one of the best road tunes ever written.

I love You are My Sunshine, especially because of the brass interlude and the power of that woman’s voice when she roars, ”...could EVER come between us….”.

I’d love to dance to, “I Don’t Need No Doctor”, because in that one, Ray totally rocked!

Nighttime is the Right Time

I Can’t Stop Loving You
You Don’t Know Me

I’m with you on the above, @TheOnlyNeffie, just for pure soulfullness and meloncholy… it’s the best unrequited love/broken heart song in the world. It almost makes me want someone to break my heart so I can sit in the dark and listen to it over and over.

Georgia on My Mind
Hit the Road Jack
Unchain My Heart

I was going to try to keep it down to five but since his version of America the Beautiful is the only version of the song I actually like I’ve added that.
America the Beautiful

I’ve been lucky enough to get the chance to see Ray Charles twice, once at the Oregon State Fair in 1976 and once in Portland in the mid-80. What a show, what an amazing performer.

@lilycoyote I saw him too and loved it! :))
I want to slow dance to this

@lucillelucillelucille Did he have The Rayettes with him? I’m sure that there have been a lot of Rayettes over the years but I remember his interaction with them on stage was pretty fun. The second show… he had back-up singers, of course, but they weren’t official “Rayettes.” I remember we went around back and waited so we could watch him get into his limo. Not much to that, as it turns out, but it was cool to see him close up

Edit: Oh yes, how could I have forgotten that one! Too many good ones to try to pick a favorite or even a relatively short list.

@lillycoyote —He did have back up singers but I don’t remember alot of interaction with them or if he introduced them as the Rayettes.
I saw him not long before he died and I do think he looked rather fragile at the time.Alot of the songs were more low key.It was however,a very good show.I took a friend there for his birthday and he became a fan after that.That made me very happy.:) Ray Rocks.
There are so many songs by him that I love.His version of Bein’ Green…makes me cry!—

Another one.

:))

Toss in some funk for you, Miss Lucy.

^^^^^^^^^^^^
Yep! All the above.

I had forgotten some of the songs listed here. thanks all.

I’ve got news for you .. It’s got attitude and I like the rhythm and the lyrics.

I love his cover of Shake Your Tail Feather, because his back up singers are The Blues Brothers.

I like “Hallelujah I love her so.” It’s hardly the most feminist song, but it’s so catchy!

“Born to Lose”
I can hear him singing it in my head.

Not really appropriate right now, eh, @Austinlad ?

All I ever need is you

His duet with Betty Carter, “Every Time We Say Goodbye”.