SONG OF THE DAY

“Unchain My Heart” by Ray Charles (Unchain My Heart single, ABC- Paramount, 1961). Written by Robert Sharp, Jr. (& Teddy Powell, see below).

INTERESTING FACTS (a la wikipedia)

– Sharp, a drug addict at the time, sold the song to Teddy Powell for $50. Powell demanded half the songwriting credit. Sharp later successfully fought for the rights to his song. In 1987, he was also able to renew the copyright for his publishing company, B. Sharp Music.

– Accompanied by his Raelettes, Charles sang about wanting to be free from a woman “who won’t let (him) go”. It was also accompanied by his longtime saxophonist, David “Fathead” Newman and other members of Charles’ band.

– The song reached #9 on the pop singles chart and #1 on the R&B singles chart.

– The song title was the working title of Charles’ 2004 biopic Ray.

– The song was recorded first in 1961 by Ray Charles, then in 1963 by Trini Lopez, and later by many others.

– In 1963, doo-wop band The Rivingtons covered “Unchain My Heart” on their Doin’ The Bird LP.

– The track was further popularized by Joe Cocker when he named his 1987 album after the song. His version of the song was re-released in 1992 and reached #17 in the UK. Also, the Australian government used the Joe Cocker version to promote the introduction of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) in 2000.

– Another a cappella group, The Bobs recorded a version in 1994.