Ultimate Singles Jukebox [Slot 120]

Drown In My Own Tears
Ray Charles
Written by Henry Glover
Produced by Ahmet Ertegun & Jerry Wexler
Atlantic Records
Recorded in New York City, 30 November 1955

"I suppose I’ve always done my share of crying, especially when there’s no other way to contain my feelings. I know that men ain’t supposed to cry, but I think that’s wrong. Crying’s always been a way for me to get things out which are buried deep, deep down. When I sing, I often cry. Crying is feeling and feeling is being human. Oh yes, I cry."
—Ray Charles

Anybody that has spent time in a bar knows that the place isn't always hoppin'. And these are the times that the jukebox can come in handy, especially late at night when loneliness and brooding can set in after a few drinks.

That's why the classic Ray Charles tune "Drown In My Own Tears" is a natural for the TNOP Ultimate Singles Jukebox. A number one hit on the R&B chart in early 1956, Brother Ray's treatment of Henry Glover's song melds the formula that literally gave birth to soul: the swaying gospel beat with the intimate tale of secular problems.

In the intriguing liner notes written by Robert Palmer for the Atlantic compilation Ray Charles: The Complete Atlantic Rhythm & Blues Recordings , 1952-1959, it is noted that even though the rock and roll wave had broken through to white audiences (Elvis Presley had covered Charles' "I Got A Woman"), "at this crucial junction in Charles' career, a very surprising thing happened. Charles refused to compromise his music with the simpler beat, more adolescent lyrics, and smoother singing that white rock and roll fans seemed to favor. He continued to write, arrange, play and sing from his soul, and his records continued to sell almost exclusively within the black community. Even more remarkably, Atlantic an enlightened company but one that needed to sell records as much as any other label, backed Charles all the way. His music suffered no delusion. In fact, mid-fifties Charles landmarks like . . . "Drown In My Own Tears" . . . . recorded during rock and roll's breakthrough period in 1955, was more soulfully incendiary, churchy and rootsy -- more "black" if you will -- than . . . his earlier discs."

Henry Glover's composition, written in 1951 and originally recorded by Lula Reed on King Records, became a classic and constant in the Ray Charles canon throughout the remainder of his career. The stunning backup of The Cookies near the end of the tune's arrangement led Charles to permanently integrate female singers into his act and many of his recordings (the most famous being The Raelettes).

Provided below is a 1986 live performance of "Drown In My Own Tears." Charles is joined on stage by Ron Wood on guitar, Paul Shaffer on organ and Steve Jordan on drums.

Ben Folds Teams Up With Nick Hornby

"Ben Folds is writing songs at a time when nobody equates social change with music."
---Nick Hornby, Songbook (2002)

Writer (High Fidelity, About A Boy), screenwriter (An Education) and erst-while rock critic Nick Hornby has teamed up with singer-songwriter Ben Folds. On 28 September, Nonesuch Records will release Lonely Avenue on vinyl, CD and on-line, with music and vocals by Folds and lyrics by Hornby. According to the press release, the genesis of the project was a dinner between the two, which ultimately resulted in the formation of 12 tracks that make up the album.

Hornby first waxed wonderful about Folds - and in particular the Ben Folds Five tune "Smoke" - in his book 31 Songs (alternate title in the U.S.: Songbook):

"Ben Folds is, I think, a proper songwriter, although he doesn't seem to get much credit for it, possibly because rock critics are less impressed by sophisticated simplicity than by sub-Dylanesque obfuscation: his words wouldn't look so good written down, but he has range, an amused eye for lovestruck detail, and he makes jokes-but not in the choruses, crucially, because he knows that the best way to wreck a joke is to repeat it seven times in three minutes.

"'Smoke' is one of the cleverest, wisest songs about the slow death of a relationship that I know. Lots of people have assailed the thorny romantic topic of starting all over again, and the conclusion they usually come to is that it's going to be tough, but both practicable and desirable; the heartbreaking thing about Folds' song is that it manages to simultaneously convey both the narrator's desperation and the impossibility of a happy outcome."

While we wait for Lonely Avenue (which is also the name of a great Ray Charles song), let's revisit "Smoke," played by Ben Folds with the Western Australia Symphony Orchestra: