"Hit the Road, Jack!"

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With our concentrating on the hurry of life this week at Word and Song, a number of good songs came to mind. I would do more, but I have actually to hurry with this post, because Tony took ill late last night, and I need to tend to him today. Your prayers are appreciated. (He is stable, just bed-bound now, with a lessening fever.)

For Sometimes a Song today, I’ve planned all week to write up a hit by the great Ray Charles, whom I have discussed before here, with my all-time favorite of his, Georgia on My Mind. Charles was not just a great singer, musician, and arranger. He recorded almost 600 songs in his long career, recorded 74 albums, 348 of those songs his own compositions. The most productive single year in that prodigious career of recordings came for Ray in 1961, when he released 42 songs, one of which was among his best-sellers ever, “Hit the Road Jack.” Charles really was “king” of rhythm and blues in those days.

Of course, for releasing records it doesn’t hurt if a singer owns his own recording company, as Ray Charles did, with his Tangerine label. But for all of his own prolific talent, Ray was also a talent hunter. He found and hired as his own personal songwriter at fellow named Percy Mayfield, sometimes referred to as The Poet of the Blues, for his moving and melodious songs about life and love and trouble and loss. Mayfield had racked up a few big hits as a singer, too, before he signed on with Ray Charles. Unfortuately for him, a bad car accident disfigured him for life and ended his career as a performer. If not, he’d have given Ray Charles some competition on the performance end of the business,

During Percy Mayfield’s time as Ray Charles’ personal songwriter, Charles recorded 17 Mayfield songs. Some of the Mayfield tunes were more .. soulful .. than our choice for a week of hurrying by. But for sheer charm and male/female sparring in the ring, you just can’t beat this song. And it was pure Ray Charles who arranged the song with this back and forth dialogue between the offender and the offendee, sung to perfection by Margie Hendrix, member and sometime lead singer of Charles’ back-up singers, the Raelettes.

When a song comes together this way, it’s bound to be a hit. “Hit the Road, Jack!” has been comercially recorded 256 times, most recently in 2023, and works very well as an instrumental, as well. Hurry up and give this song a listen!