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.

Generally in the arts and entertainment world you get one chance. If you are lucky you will have some success and maybe even a big hit. If you are very lucky you will have sustained success and a string of hits. Well maybe for a few years anyway.

But in most cases that mixture of familiarity and uniqueness that combine to create something new and that special something the work brings to the world will fade as culture and taste moves on to new things. Sure there are those that get a second chance after a period of a few years out of the limelight. But it is rare indeed for any artist to have success three times with gaps of six to ten years between.

Helen Humes did just that. She could sing the blues, she could do jazz and she could sing popular standards and ballads. As she said, “I do all three, I am just a singer.” And when Count Basie lost the great Billie Holiday he turned to Helen Humes to take her place.

Drums were probably the first musical instrument created by humans. Drum beats are natural —be it heartbeats or the sounds of nature. The oldest drum ever found goes back over 7,500 years. In modern music, drums always played a role to set the beat, keep the rhythm and energize the music. But the role of percussionists started changing around the time of WWII. Drummers like Buddy Rich and Gene Krupa started moving drums from the back row to center stage where it took on a more important and dominate role; leading to the drums becoming an instrument of personal expression and improvisation. Buddy Rich became a band leader, a practice once limited to horns in big bands and pianos in small groups. He has been called the world's greatest drummer.

This is a special edition of Return To Vinyls on Buddy Rich in honor of our sponsorship of the Buddy Rich Tribute Concert Featuring Joe Pulice at the Sheldon Theatre Red Wing MN. Feb 7th 2026

There are great musicians and singers that transcend musical genera and boundaries. But how about someone who started with a very silly novelty rock and roll song, but ended up a night club act and a Las Vegas star that rivaled Frank Sinatra doing jazz standards while still appealing to young teens and adult audiences at the same time.

Big band swing and rock and roll were not just worlds apart, but the two had zero respect for each other. Yet Bobby Darin was able to do just that. He moved back and forth between swing and rock and roll. But big band swing and rock and roll had moved on...

But 70 years later his music lives on with a smash Broadway play that brings the nightclub experience to a new audience.

Return to Vinyls podcast is about music: jazz, soul and the blues. From the classics era to today's artists who draw inspiration from the classics. It is also about the creative process and how artists deal with the obstacles that can get in the way of doing what they do best. Give us a listen.

It is not unusual for a song to come out and basically be ignored, but then it is plucked from obscurity and used in a movie or TV show. And all of the sudden it is everywhere. Downloads or streaming make that a pretty easy task. But what about back in the days when vinyl was the only choice?

What if Clint Eastwood, known for his great fondness for jazz, took one of those now forgotten songs two years later and used it in a feature film. That is exactly what happened with Roberta Flack’s "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face" and Eastwood’s directorial debut, the 1971 film "Play Misty for Me." The song became a number 1 hit and achieved the remarkable feat of becoming the Billboard Year-End top selling single of 1972. Something no sleeper hit had done before or since.

"Roberta Flack First Takes" has been released in a new mastering and pressing. Add to that her demo recordings made before that album, called "Roberta Flack Lost Takes." Together they show a star rising from the unknown and lighting up the music world. Both are now available on 180 gram vinyl and the music is amazing.