Probably because Prince never connected to or mentioned Ray Charles

Remember the Ray Charles Pepsi commercial theme song ("The Right One")?...P did a cover of that. I also remember seeing P on an awards show (sitting next to Whitney Houston) watching Ray perform...P had his eyes closed and was swaying back and forth digging what Ray was doing...As Old Friends mentioned, he never made any comments of listening to Ray Charles in his 1980's/90's interviews.....Just like he never mentioned George Benson, Tony Maiden, Freddie Stone and Ike Turner were his guitar heroes until he worked with George, Larry and Chaka.

RJOrion said:

because according to a prior thread, Prince apparently hated Blind people

OldFriends4Sale said:

Probably because Prince never connected to or mentioned Ray Charles

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https://www.princevault.c...%27d_I_Say

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SPYZFAN1 said:

Remember the Ray Charles Pepsi commercial theme song ("The Right One")?...P did a cover of that.

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No, he sampled it. http://www.princevault.co...tle=Uh_Huh

He covered "What'd I Say," I'd call that a mention. I think he also teased "Georgia on My Mind," at least at a piano sound check.

RJOrion said:

because according to a prior thread, Prince apparently hated Blind people

no one said prince hated blind people.

as you might be aware, people often say questionable things about groups of people without even being aware of that. sometimes by accident, not conscious intention. they might even do this with groups they feel they have no ill or questionable feelings.

either way, you should look up the word 'nuance'.

https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/nuance

im not sure how much prince liked pre-late 60s/70s music.

obv he appreciated it and he studied it, he respected it, but idk how much he really *liked* it.

which is fair enough, it was before his youth.

im sure he knew of ray charles' importance, and knew his songs, esp as ray was a big influence on stevie wonder (also, im pretty sure ray and stevie owned their masters, or some of them, so im sure they were key reference points for him).

funkbabyandthebabysitters said:

im not sure how much prince liked pre-late 60s/70s music.

obv he appreciated it and he studied it, he respected it, but idk how much he really *liked* it.

which is fair enough, it was before his youth.

im sure he knew of ray charles' importance, and knew his songs, esp as ray was a big influence on stevie wonder (also, im pretty sure ray and stevie owned their masters, or some of them, so im sure they were key reference points for him).

take a look at that pro shoot from 1999 tour live in Houston b4 How Come U Don't Call me he plays an improvised bluesy piano jam and playing and singing is pure Ray

prince's piano style is not Little Richard or Stevie Wonder it's all about Ray.i'm sure he was a big fan of Ray.100%

SPYZFAN1 said:

Remember the Ray Charles Pepsi commercial theme song ("The Right One")?...P did a cover of that. I also remember seeing P on an awards show (sitting next to Whitney Houston) watching Ray perform...P had his eyes closed and was swaying back and forth digging what Ray was doing...As Old Friends mentioned, he never made any comments of listening to Ray Charles in his 1980's/90's interviews.....Just like he never mentioned George Benson, Tony Maiden, Freddie Stone and Ike Turner were his guitar heroes until he worked with George, Larry and Chaka.

but my friend he mention Tony Maiden and Ike more than a few times.i will do one quote "I was influenced by everybody,even Ike Turner

[Edited 2/8/21 11:06am]

RJOrion said:

because according to a prior thread, Prince apparently hated Blind people

His touch at the piano is really similar, but that could have been handed down through his pops or just something he was born with not emulated. His pacing with ballads and some of his call and response with the audience does have some obvious similarities once someone suggests comparing them. Touch, pacing and working an audience aren't really that obvious that he needed to bring it up. He might not have been aware of that or felt that kinship to Ray. He was drawing from all the greats, I don't think he sat around saying "Here I am, rephrasing my lyrics like Aretha" or whoever, but he definitely embodied some old styles in his original sound.

I remember him mentioning Turner and Maiden in Guitar Player (1999..the year, not the song). ..Outside of that of that interview, I've never heard/read him mention them. I was glad to read that he loved Nile Rogers playing (in P's later year interviews).

Prince and his dad used to play "What'd I Say" on the piano together.

RJOrion said:

because according to a prior thread, Prince apparently hated Blind people

LOL

There was this, too. A few weeks before he died, "the last time he played live with a band":


https://diffuser.fm/prince-ray-charles/