Mary Ann (Ray Charles song)

"Mary Ann"
"Mary Ann"
Single by Ray Charles
Released	1956
Genre	Rhythm & blues, blues
Length	2:48
Label	Atlantic
Songwriter(s)	Ray Charles
Ray Charles singles chronology

"Mary Ann" is a song written and performed by Ray Charles and released in 1956 as a single on the Atlantic Records label. It was the fourth Ray Charles song to reach No. 1 on the Billboard Best Selling Rhythm & Blues chart. The song is set to a Latin beat, but switches into a swing rhythm, an alternation that adds fun for the dancers.^[1] It has been described as "a sexy blues,"^[1] and "a lightly lascivious tune."^[2]

The song was written about Mary Ann Fisher (1923–2004),^[3] a singer who had recently joined Charles band as a featured vocalist in his touring shows. Despite Charles' marriage, the two became lovers, and Fisher appears on a number of his Atlantic recordings. Fisher left Ray Charles in 1958 after he had added the Raelettes, formerly the Cookies, as female vocal backup to his band.^[4]^[5]^[6]^[7]

References

^ ^a ^b Michael Lydon (2004). Ray Charles: Man and Music, Updated Commemorative Edition. Routledge. p. 127. ISBN 0203498321.
^ Scott Schinder (2008). Icons of Rock. ABC-CLIO. p. 39. ISBN 978-0313338465.
^ Mary Ann Fisher, History Inspired. Retrieved 9 October 2016
^ Lydon 2004, p. 122.
^ Carin T. Ford (2007). Ray Charles: "I was Born with Music Inside Me". Enslow Publishers, Inc. p. 66. ISBN 978-0766027015.
^ David Ritz, Ray Charles (2009). Brother Ray: Ray Charles' Own Story. Da Capo Press. pp. 167–169. ISBN 978-0786728039.
^ Ritz, David. 2009. Faith In Time: The Life of Jimmy Scott. Da Capo Press. P 122-125

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[p127-1] Michael Lydon (2004). Ray Charles: Man and Music, Updated Commemorative Edition. Routledge. p. 127. ISBN 0203498321.

[2] Scott Schinder (2008). Icons of Rock. ABC-CLIO. p. 39. ISBN 978-0313338465.

[3] Mary Ann Fisher, History Inspired. Retrieved 9 October 2016

[4] Lydon 2004, p. 122.

[5] Carin T. Ford (2007). Ray Charles: "I was Born with Music Inside Me". Enslow Publishers, Inc. p. 66. ISBN 978-0766027015.

[6] David Ritz, Ray Charles (2009). Brother Ray: Ray Charles' Own Story. Da Capo Press. pp. 167–169. ISBN 978-0786728039.

[7] Ritz, David. 2009. Faith In Time: The Life of Jimmy Scott. Da Capo Press. P 122-125

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