If you know anything about popular music you most certainly have heard of Ray Charles. If you are a fan of jazz, R&B and the blues you probably know his R&B recordings. But during the 1960s he succeeded as a cross over artist and placed over a dozen albums and over sixty singles on the Billboard popular music and R&B charts. From there he became a master of Country Western music, expanding the genera and proving the mass appeal of Country music.

Ray Charles is experiencing a resurgence again in 2026, with his music and legacy appearing across streaming platforms and social media,. But if you read Downbeat, Jazzwise, or All About Jazz you probably are aware of Ray Charles and Tangerine.

Ray Charles did the almost unthinkable at the time for a musician — In 1962 he started his own record company called Tangerine Records. And the label is back; The Ray Charles Foundation has been releasing much of his catalog of albums as newly mastered reissues from that era in high quality tangerine colored vinyl. It is just one more direction his work has taken since Ray Charles first went into a recording studio in 1949.

This episode is dedicated to Ann-Marie Rose who started listening to Ray Charles and buying his albums while still a junior high school student.

May 26, 2026 marks the 100th anniversary of the birth of jazz musician and trumpeter Miles Davis. Return To Vinyls Podcast presents a special episode honoring Miles Davis and his music on this 100 year milestone. The episode highlights some of the best compilation releases of Miles’ musical output.

Miles Davis explored a number of different directions during his tremendous career. The collections highlighted in this episode offer a convenient, cost-effective way to get the very best of Miles for Mile's fans and are also an excellent starting point for those new to jazz looking to discover Miles Davis at his best. Be it cool, modal, fusion or orchestral Miles did it all. And changed music in the process.

Musical families are not uncommon in all genera of music. But few have been as all encompassing as Rufus, Marvell, Vaneese and Carla Thomas were in soul music and the Stax record label. Rufus Thomas and his son and daughters didn’t just record for Stax and create some of the best known hits the label released— Rufus along with Carla were the catalyst that transformed a struggling studio into a global soul powerhouse.

Rufus was well known as the “World’s Oldest Teenager” and the “Funkiest Man Alive” and many of his own hits were dance hits based on animals. But his contribution was both musical and strategic, particularly in Stax's early years. Carla was known as the original “Queen of Soul.” While Marvell and Vaneese were important figures behind the scenes.