SITVA - RAY CHARLES - FRIENDSHIP

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Good morning Wednesday warriors and welcome back to Stuck In The Vinyl Again. Today we remember the late great Ray Charles, on this, the 16th anniversary of his death. The singer, songwriter, pianist, and composer passed away at age 73, in 2004, from liver disease. To honor his legacy, we spotlight this 1984 duets album, Friendship. The LP, produced by Billy Sherrill and released on the Epic And Columbia labels, sees Ray returning to country music scene and teaming up with several of the genre's icons to turn out these 10 tunes. The record reached #81 in Canada, #75 on the Billboard 200, and #1 on the Top Country Albums chart. The last track on the wax, a duet with Willie Nelson, called "Seven Spanish Angels" reached #1 on the country singles chart, making it Ray's highest charting country single.

1. "Two Old Cats Like Us" Troy Seals Hank Williams, Jr. 2:35

2. "This Old Heart (Is Gonna Rise Again)" J. Martin Johnson, Bucky Jones The Oak Ridge Boys 3:05

3. "We Didn't See a Thing" Gary Gentry Chet Atkins and George Jones 2:12

4. "Who Cares" Gentry, Shelby Kennedy Janie Fricke 2:58

5. "Rock and Roll Shoes" Paul Kennerley, Graham Lyle B. J. Thomas 2:43

6. "Friendship" Cole Porter Ricky Skaggs 2:41

7. "It Ain't Gonna Worry My Mind" Richard Leigh Mickey Gilley 2:54

8. "Little Hotel Room" Freddy Powers Merle Haggard 3:01

9. "Crazy Old Soldier" Kennerley, Seals Johnny Cash 3:33

10. "Seven Spanish Angels" Seals, Eddie Setser Willie Nelson 3:52



Billy Sanford (tracks: A1), Dale Sellers (tracks: A5), Pete Bordonali (tracks: A1, A2, A4, B1, B2, B4), Reggie Young (tracks: A3, B3) - electric guitar

Billy Sanford (tracks: A2, A4, A5, B1 to B5), Dale Sellers (tracks: A1 to A4, B1, B2, B4, B5), Jerry Kennedy (track: A5), Pete Bordonali (tracks: A3, B3), Ricky Skaggs (track: B1) - acoustic guitar

Bob Wray (tracks: A5, B1, B2, B5), Henry Strzelecki (tracks: A1 to A4, B3, B4) - bass guitar

Bobby Ogdin (track: A3), Bobby Wood (track: A1), Hargus "Pig" Robbins (tracks: A2 to A5, B1 to B5) - keyboards

Buddy Emmons (tracks: A3, B3), Pete Drake (tracks: A1, A2, A4, A5, B1, B2, B4, B5) - steel guitar

Pete Bordonali (track: B5) - gut-string guitar

Jerry Douglas (tracks: B1), Pete Drake (tracks: A3, B3) - dobro

Jerry Carrigan (tracks: A1, B2), Jerry Kroon (track: A4), Kenny Malone (tracks: A2, A3, A5, B1, B3 to B5) - drums

Ron Reynolds (tracks: A3, A4, B2), Terry McMillan (tracks: A2, A4, A5, B1, B3, B4) - percussion

Terry McMillan (tracks: A1 to A3, B2 to B5) - harmonica

Denis Solee (track: A1) - saxophone

Bill McElhiney (track: B5), Jose McElhiney (track: B5) - trumpet

Diane Tidwell (tracks: A1, A4, B5), Hurshel Wiginton (tracks: A1, A4, B4, B5), Judy Rodman (tracks: B4), Lisa Silver (tracks: A1, A4, B5), Louis Nunley (tracks: A1, A4, B4, B5), Wendy Suits (track: B4) - backing vocals

The "A" Strings (tracks: B2 to B5) - strings

Bill McElhiney - string arrangements, conductor