Christmas is the time of year
Ray charles
For being with the one’s we love
Sharing so much joy and cheer
What a wonderful feelin’
Watching the one’s we love
Having so much fun
Saturday circle of life post.
Kate & Chloe in July: “Dad, why are we listening to Christmas music”?
ThisDad: “This is Ray Charles”. (non-xmas Ray for the record)
Kate & Chloe: “Ok. So why are we listening to Ray Charles’s Christmas music”?
ThisDad: Turns it up and sings along
Kate & Chole: “DAAAADDD”?!? : )
99.9% sure an eerily similar conversation was had with very young Sean & Brian when their dad would play Mr. Charles.
Not sure when Ray went from “sooooooo boring” to amazing but I know it was before the movie so ThisDad has at least a thimble worth of soul street cred.
Ironically both myself and our family did not listen to much of Ray’s Christmas music as his soulfulness can overpower the music.
One-one-hundredth of the onomatopoeia oomph in his “weary” singing “Old Man River” is too much for Christmas. His version of “Over the Rainbow” has so much gravity one worries for Dorothy and her little dog getting that balloon off the ground.
I do however like his version of the song below, and as he has one of my favorite voices of all time. So he lands at song 31.
The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire) (Ray Charles Version)
Now there was a Ray song that was perfect for that spot but my theme of listening to reinterpretations left an opening.
It’s a one-year membership to the Jelly of the Month Club.
Clark griswold
That Spirit of Christmas (Rob Thomas, Bebe Winans Version)
This is an original song from the Christmas Vacation movie. Ray is singing while Clark, stuck in the attic, is tearfully watching the home videos of Griswold past.
A few years back not even the seemingly infinite Spotify catalog had the Vacation version licensed. The above version is one I found and has been one of my favorites since. So this one rounds out song 32 on the list.
Thanks for reading!
Happy Saturday to all, and to all a good night!
BONUS RAY
I triple-dog dare you not to sing along!
Over the Rainbow (Ray Charles Version)
Photo by Gautam Krishnan on Unsplash
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