Ray Charles with B.B. King - "Sinner's Prayer"
The idea of mixing the Blues and Christian music astonished me when I first heard Joe Nolan's "Get Behind Me Satan" (see my post) but I keep running across this seemingly antithetical mixture. Today's Song of the Day is probably it's pinnacle. "Sinner's Prayer" is a duet from Ray Charles's last album, Genius Loves Company, and features the R&B legend and Blues master B.B. King singing about a central theme in Christianity, sin. This tune does everything a great Blues piece should: it opens an emotional vein to bleed away the sorrow then revitalizes and cleanses through music. While both artists put their passions into this release I would dearly love to hear the session tracks. Sometimes it is tough to listen to a Blues song cold. Some sort of build-up is usually necessary to get into the groove. Hearing the unused tracks and the banter between the men as they got themselves into the mood through the various takes would likely be an unparalled experience. Alone, though, it's a vital part of my collection.