'St. Pete Florida Blues' -- Rare Early Recordings By Ray Charles to Be Digitally Released for the First Time
November 08 2004 - 11:14AM
PR Newswire (US)
'St. Pete Florida Blues' -- Rare Early Recordings By Ray Charles to
Be Digitally Released for the First Time Four Tracks to Be
Distributed Through The Orchard's Exclusive Partnership with The
Legendary Henry Stone Presents Label NEW YORK, Nov. 8 /PRNewswire/
-- The Orchard, the world's leading distributor and marketer of
independent music, along with label partner The Legendary Henry
Stone Presents, announced today the digital release of four rare,
early tracks by the incomparable Ray Charles. This marks the first
legitimate distribution of these four tracks, in their original
form. These tracks will be exclusive to iTunes for a period of four
weeks. The tracks will then become available to all other legal
digital music services supplied by The Orchard including eMusic,
Napster, Musicmatch, Rhapsody and Buymusic -- over 90 services in
all. The four tracks are, "Why Did You Go?" "Walkin' and Talkin' To
Myself," "I'm Wonderin' and Wonderin'," and "St. Pete Florida
Blues" (also known as "I Found My Baby There"), were recorded in
Miami in 1951. Then known as Ray Charles Robinson, Charles recorded
the songs while attending a school for the blind in St. Augustine,
Florida. Legendary producer and talent scout Henry Stone saw
Charles performing the songs at the Mary Elizabeth Hotel. Stone
recognized his genius immediately, and the tracks were recorded the
next day at Stone's Flagler Street studio and released on vinyl on
the Rockin' Records label. They went out of print before the end of
the 50s. The new digital release of these rare recordings was
organized by Joe Stone, the son and business partner of Henry
Stone, and by Orchard label manager Craig Finn. The release of
these rare recordings comes at a time of great interest in the late
Ray Charles. Universal Pictures released Ray starring Jamie Foxx,
on October 29 and "Genius: A Night for Ray Charles" aired on CBS
October 22, with performances from Stevie Wonder, Usher and Elton
John to honor the work of the master. Ray Charles' most recent
recording, "Genius Loves Company", debuted on the Billboard charts
at #2 and was certified platinum on October 20, the first platinum
record of Charles' career. "These four tracks manifest the promise
of digital distribution -- access to great music that was
previously not available to music fans. Even in the off chance
someone knew about these obscure sessions, tracking down old vinyl
records remains in the realm of the elite collector, not the
average music customer," said Greg Scholl, chief executive of The
Orchard and managing director of Dimensional Associates, the
company which owns both The Orchard and eMusic. "Ray Charles is one
of America's cultural treasures, and we're grateful that Henry
Stone has chosen The Orchard to represent these songs, and all of
the other great artists in The Legendary Henry Stone catalogue."
"Ray recorded these songs in one afternoon. Most of them on one
take. It was magic," said Henry Stone. "He's one of the great
artists of all time and this release of his earliest recordings is
a tribute to his genius." About The Orchard The Orchard
(http://www.theorchard.com/) is the leading distributor of
independent music in the world, representing over 2,500 labels and
thousands of artists spanning over 50 countries and every music
genre. The Orchard supplies their catalog of over 200,000 tracks to
all of the leading legal digital music services throughout the
world, and also offers traditional retail CD distribution to both
brick-and-mortar and online outlets in the United States. The
Orchard is headquartered in New York, with operations in London,
Tokyo, Buenos Aires and Melbourne. About Dimensional Associates,
Inc. Dimensional Associates, Inc., is the New York-based private
equity arm of JDS Capital Management, Inc. Its portfolio companies
include eMusic and The Orchard. About The Legendary Henry Stone
Presents Henry Stone is a legend in the recording industry. As a
producer, he was one of the first to record Ray Charles and James
Brown and launched several successful record labels before spending
the balance of his career as a pioneering distributor, distributing
Rhythm and Blues and Rock and Roll before any major labels had
taken an interest. The company has spent the past few years
meticulously archiving and digitizing its rare, out-of-print
catalogue. Media Contact: Andy Morris / Alexandra Meitner Andy
Morris & Company 212-561-7465 / 212-561-7454 / DATASOURCE: The
Orchard CONTACT: Andy Morris, +1-212-561-7465, , or Alexandra
Meitner, +1-212-561-7454, , both of Andy Morris & Company Web
site: http://www.theorchard.com/
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