Ray Charles Rehearsal, 'They Can't Take That Away From Me', 'Yesterday' 

Men, working with Ray Charles, was no walk in the park. The man was a consummated perfectionist, when it came to his music. I would had hated to be the guy incharge of that orchestra. He lost his vision as a child, but gained twice as much hearing. Amazing talent! 👏👏👏

He knew EXACTLY what he wanted....he knew EXACTLY how the sound should be....he knew what EVERY instrument should be doing....he knew it ALL !!! I ADORE this brutha. omg

Everyone is looking around and Ray is the only one listening.

2:47 how impressive , that violin player shouldn't have forgotten this moment at all , unique in a life ! Ray you're great !!

Ray's ear for music is freekn incredible. What handicap? The man was in complete control of his environment...

Wow! The amount of emotion in the singing! That's soul! And the amount of 'swing'! That's jazz!

Okay so hes extremely talented and working very hard. This rehursal is clearly needed, and Ray still says excuse me and please. Lesson learned. If you're a badass you dont have to remind everyone by being a jerk. Be like Ray and keep it together! Solid!!

Notice how he got them right tho. They starting following him and it fell together. Says a lot about them as well, good musicians can adjust and learn quickly.

Remember not just practice makes perfect but perfect practice makes perfect

I watch this vid once every week to learn something about life

The sound that comes out of Ray's mouth even when he's speaking is pure magic

He wrote the songs ,sung the songs , played the songs , and he helped the director run the orchestra all while being BLIND. He has music in different genres ,i mean the man was a musical genius possibly the GOAT ❤

Just an amazing man. Sinatra wasn't the only one who did it his way.

Man it was so hard to get that gospel, soul, r&b, blues, jazz, big band, country orchestration sound together. But the man knew what he wanted. And he could hear every sound that was missing. Thank you this was a great video. I loved watching the rehearsal👍

Ray Charles and Quincy Jones met when they were teenagers and became life long best friends. Both of them are geniuses.

What a thrill it is to see and hear this Ray Charles rehearsal. Goosebumps

This is a precious gem peek at a genius Ray Charles rehearsal .

The master being a master of what he knows more about than anyone. No one can do it like Ray Charles could.

What an amazing ear and feel he has. And he definitely knows what he wants to do :)

I have always loved those many lush ballads Ray did with strings, such a Ruby. This shows me what a big hand he had in those arrangements.

What an absolute legendary voice. A whole lotta soul!

Ray was so cool. What a wonderful video. It shows music as a universal language right there in action before the camera.

It seems to me he could control the environment itself. I saw him in Memphis at an outdoor concert. It was pouring rain, when he started playing... the suddenly stopped!

Can’t imagine what that feels like. Can’t see what’s going on but he feels it all. What a guy. So sad he is gone, but at least his voice, piano playing and his spirit lives on.

What an amazing communicator- positive in such a way that even after being corrected the musicians smile and try harder

That man was running the show!

This was like a boat trying to leave the dock in stormy weather to reach the calmer side

This man's Ears are a national treasure. My God!

The level Ray had was just incredible.

A genius at overcoming adversity.

I got to see Ray Charles live back in the 90’s. It was an event that left an indelible mark on my soul. An unbelievable talent we will never see the like of again in our lifetimes...

He hears it and he knows what he wants. That’s amazing. All they have to do is follow.

This is what we call genius. It's on full display.

Thank goodness for the traveling drummer. He’s conducting the conductor because he knows the charts inside out. I had to do that as a pianist depending on the local conductor. Usually they got the charts in advance; up to them to look ‘em over before the act shows up. And YES Ray!!! Watta genius. Thanks for posting. Cool stuff.

One of a kind. We should all feel damn lucky that we were on this planet the same time as Mr. Charles. He's missed.

Perfect pitch, perfect timing, etc makes this amazing musician an awesome icon

This sure provided much insight in the musical talent and creative ability of Ray Charles. Priceless.

The real pro knows to get every little detail just right. And he knows every little detail. That's how such people can achieve stellar performances.

What an incredible musician Ray was! And what a wonderful experience it must be to learn from him in the orchestra!

He has total mastery of the music especially the changes - knows you have to have that flatted 13th and ninth - and rhythm - and knows about ballad playing, that it has to be slow.

“You don’t need eyes to have a VISION and follow through.”

McCartney said Ray's version of Eleanor Rigby was his all-time favorite Beatle cover.

Man sees through sound, he is master of the sound..!!

We get to see how vital a conductor … It’s like a conductor is like another keyboardist 🎹 playing the whole entire orchestra behind a soloist 🤗🙏🏽💥

One of America's greatest treasures. Ray was noted for being a hard task master- especially with his members of his own band. I love how the piece finally comes together- and it is exquisite! My goodness- this is lovely.

Wow ~ Fascinating. A masterclass in getting other musicians to up their game,. (Thank goodness for the drummer keeping the conductor on track.)

There will never be a voice like that.....

What a Wondrous thing to have a whole entire orchestra to follow You like that 🤗🙏🏽💥🙏🏽

Ray was being nice here, he was one tough ass if you were in his band. But he was a living, breathing channel of music, rhythm and soul like pretty much nobody else, ever.

Perfect Pitch Ray!!!

Also respect to the conductor, the orchestra and the arranger, and of course the greatest of respect to brother Ray

Clearly, like all geniuses Ray hears the complete performance in his head. Great ear and timing, plus intoxicating phrasing and nuance! No words adequate to describe it, at least I cannot find them...and words are my claim to fame!

When you practice, NO WAY to stay bad, you will only get better. When you are what you do, NO WAY to be similar to others in the same field.

Great musician and a great friend. Ray was and remains the one and only "HIGH PRIEST" of Soul.

Thank u for sharing this vid. He was a musical genius just incredible. He stay relevant his whole life time just remarkable.

He's incredible! Saw him in concert in the 1960's. Perfect!

Ray's Master Class!

A music friend of mine Joe 'funky' Harris of Washington DC an Son of Bill 'guitar' Harris, who was also of the DC Covers, did two stints with Ray on bass. Joe told me one time during a gig, he really got into it and was really feeling those notes out. After the gig Ray's manager walked up to him and said: Ray wants to talk to you. He was thinking he really played well. Ray said: I heard you playing over there. You were playing with a lot of enthusiasm, but playing off script. I got a formula that I have been using a long time and it works. Get back on board and play in the system I have developed. He said it was a hard lesson that he never forgot. James Brown had that type of ear too. He could hear every single note coming from every single musician. James Brown would cuss you out and kick you out of rehearsal.

They can`t take that away from Ray, he was a consummate musicians musician !

Simply Amazing! Brilliant!!

Amazing how much time he spent just on the preamble, which most people don't pay any attention. Ray wants everything to be perfect. I saw him perform live in the early 80's and he yell at band members who were off the beat, etc. When you're handicapped, people take advantage of you a thousand different ways. Ray does not accept that, just like his momma taught him. No apologies necessary.

Awesome!

Thank you for posting this. People tend to forget how brilliant Ray Charles was.

Oozing with talent!

Amazing man, In the history of music.

Mr. Charles was a Perfectionist. His ear for music was next to none. Very Accurate, every note, perfect timing. Master of Music, Lucifer lost his 👑

I don't even know what to say...Ray's version of Yesterday in the '60's made me realize the piano was the way to go. I never hear this version or of it but he just nailed it. And one more esoteric point...the camera points to the innards of the piano and you can see the hammers and escapements and everything, which just make this video about sound and the sound that Ray Charles made.

He was music. “Brother Ray” by David Ritz is utterly brilliant and inspirational. There are no excuses. God has made miracles of us all.

Once in a lifetime blessing to the music community!

A Musical Genius

love and respect....true cat, and the fact that he produced Jimmy Scott's album, which i deeply love, doubles my respect for Ray...big heart...amazing musician and singer...etc

Even Ray Charles could do what most jazz constellations fails to do nowadays... Make it sound balanced and swingy...

I just love his music every since I was 4 or 5 years old and now I am 62 years old and love it more now I understand more appreciate it more

This is a real Genius at work !!!!

Thank you Mr. Ray Charles for sharing your great musicianship and artistry

Oh god... what would I give to have had played there...

Kinda masterclass gently upping everyone’s game and effort they put in to where he wants em . Indefatigable Ray, yay 👍👍

Fabulous! Really cool to see and hear!

My guitar teacher & mentor recorded with Ray when he was a member of Atlantic Records House Band.

This is majestic

Magic. They keep trying to change it but that won’t happen.

The way Ray heard his music in his head it was PERFECT. So....to perform it LIVE for an audience...he wants it EXACTLY the way he hears it in his head : PERFECT...and he's not gonna settle for anything less. So, if he's hard on the band, it's only because he wants to give the audience a DIAMOND. PRINCE was exactly the same way as a musician and a band leader. His rehearsals and sound checks were MONSTER.

Fenomenal...

When u wanna kill everyone stage and the soundcrew but u remember the camera is rolling. Ray was notorious for being a savage when it came to musicianship

Play Brother Ray, Play and sing to us . . . .

We need all very talented popular musicians to teach how to play music the right way!! We got way too much trash music today it's pathetic!!! RIP Ray Charles! We miss you!!

Very passionate, Ray Charles 💙👊

The Soul Genius Dr. Ray Charles.

YES, man is an absolute genius and didn't lose a touch of talent his whole damn life

Would had loved for him and Prince to work together. They both had the ear for the notes. That perfect pitch. Not all of us can hear that the way they did.

what a legend

Amazing

Wow that's awesome how he listens and hears the how note is played that's awesome god bless him

Thanks for this upload

A Musical Genuis....at work!! The phenomenal,....Brotha Ray Charles.... Vocals/ Music....Wow!!!!! It all came together, As the saying goes: "Gone but not/ never forgotten".... Rest in Glory....Ray😔🍂

The Legend!!!!

Ladies and gentlemen, Mr. Ray Charles.

I only heard him live once at SF's Masonic auditorium and yes this tune was a highlight.

Musical Genius.

what a beautiful jewel of memory