"Mary Ann" is a song written and performed by Ray Charles and released in 1956 as a single on the Atlantic Records label. It was the fourth Ray Charles song to reach No. 1 on the Billboard Best Selling Rhythm & Blues chart. The song is set to a Latin beat, but switches into a swing rhythm, an alternation that adds fun for the dancers.[1] It has been described as "a sexy blues,"[1] and "a lightly lascivious tune."[2]
| "Mary Ann" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single by Ray Charles | ||||
| Released | 1956 | |||
| Genre | Rhythm & blues, blues | |||
| Length | 2:48 | |||
| Label | Atlantic | |||
| Songwriter(s) | Ray Charles | |||
| Ray Charles singles chronology | ||||
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The song was written about Mary Ann Fisher (1923–2004),[3] a singer who had recently joined Charles band as a featured vocalist in his touring shows. Despite Charles' marriage, the two became lovers, and Fisher appears on a number of his Atlantic recordings. Fisher left Ray Charles in 1958 after he had added the Raelettes, formerly the Cookies, as female vocal backup to his band.[4][5][6][7]
References
edit- ^ a b Michael Lydon (2004). Ray Charles: Man and Music, Updated Commemorative Edition. Routledge. p. 127. ISBN 0203498321.
- ^ Scott Schinder (2008). Icons of Rock. ABC-CLIO. p. 39. ISBN 978-0313338465.
- ^ Mary Ann Fisher, History Inspired. Retrieved 9 October 2016
- ^ Lydon 2004, p. 122.
- ^ Carin T. Ford (2007). Ray Charles: "I was Born with Music Inside Me". Enslow Publishers, Inc. p. 66. ISBN 978-0766027015.
- ^ David Ritz, Ray Charles (2009). Brother Ray: Ray Charles' Own Story. Da Capo Press. pp. 167–169. ISBN 978-0786728039.
- ^ Ritz, David. 2009. Faith In Time: The Life of Jimmy Scott. Da Capo Press. P 122-125
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