Today is all about the music. I will feature two music legends and several songs that exist as fine examples of their ongoing contribution to music, as presented in Ted Tocks Covers since 2018.
Chester Arthur Burnett or as he is more famously known; Howlin’ Wolf was born on June 10, 1910. His contribution to music since he began performing in the early 1930s is immense, and he is still closely followed and revered to this day. He was first recorded in 1951 by the legendary Sam Phillips at Memphis Recording Service, which would eventually become known as Sun Studio. Wolf was ‘discovered’ by a soon to be well known talent scout by the name of Ike Turner.
Here is Sam Phillips initial impression of Howlin’ Wolf.
God, what it would be worth on film to see the fervour in that man’s face when he sang. His eyes would light up, you’d see the veins come out on his neck and, buddy, there was nothing on his mind but that song. He sang with his damn soul.”
Sam Phillips
One year later Howlin’ Wolf’s recording contract was purchased by another industry legend. Bring on Leonard Chess. A fascinating succession of names, and that just exists in this short paragraph. From here, I will let the music do the talking through this series of links to previous posts that featured Howlin’ Wolf and the many artists he was either inspired by, worked with, covered, or inspired. There are literally thousands.
Now we move on to another music legend.
‘Brother’ Ray! Ray Charles. The man who revolutionized soul music.
Ray Charles is a master of sounds. His records disclose an extraordinary assortment of slurs, glides, turns, shrieks, wails, breaks, shouts, screams and hollers, all wonderfully controlled, disciplined by inspired musicianship, and harnessed to ingenious subtleties of harmony, dynamics and rhythm… It is either the singing of a man whose vocabulary is inadequate to express what is in his heart and mind or of one whose feelings are too intense for satisfactory verbal or conventionally melodic articulation. He can’t tell it to you. He can’t even sing it to you. He has to cry out to you, or shout to you, in tones eloquent of despair—or exaltation. The voice alone, with little assistance from the text or the notated music, conveys the message.”
Henry Pleasants – Musicologist
Ray Charles was an inspiration to countless vocalists. Some of the biggest names in music history list Ray Charles as a singer they wanted to emulate. In style and passion. Through raw delivery. When ‘Brother Ray’ sang, he delivered the message. He was a preacher and everyone in the congregation was listening.
Here is a sampling of Ted Tocks Covers that have demonstrated his incredible contribution to music, as well as his endless versatility when it came to covering some of the greatest songwriters ever.
Richard Manuel of The Band modeled his singing style after one man…Ray Charles.
Here is Ray covering a trio of songs by the Beatles
This is an interesting cover. A heartfelt song, and Ray delivers it like a sermon.
Finally, here is my blog that illustrates the connection between Joe Cocker and today’s feature artist. Another vocalist who said for him, everything in music started the day he heard the conviction in the voice of Ray Charles.
Just a handful of other singers through the years who list Ray Charles as their mentor are Elvis Presley, Aretha Franklin, Stevie Wonder, Van Morrison, Billy Joel, Steve Winwood and Gregg Allman. Quite a list.
In order to close today’s post, I will bookend it with Ray Charles doing a cover of ‘Howlin’ Wolf’s version of ‘Sitting on Top of the World’.
To bring it all back around to the significance of today’s date, sadly we lost Ray Charles on June 10, 2004.
Howlin’ Wolf and Ray Charles…
To paraphrase Sam Phillips. They had nothing on their minds but the song. They sang with their soul.
Ted Tocks Covers 