Yes Indeed! cover art

  Studio Album · No. 3

Yes Indeed! Songwriting Credits by Ray Charles

1958 Atlantic 14 tracks 36 min

Produced by Ahmet Ertegun, Jerry Wexler

Atlantic R&BGospelBlues
57%
Authorship
Collaborator

Holds writing credit on 8 of 14 tracks

Authorship Breakdown 8 / 14 documented

Who wrote the songs?

Scored across the 14 tracks with documented writers, by whether Ray Charles carries a lyricist or composer credit.

57%
8 trackswritten by Ray Charles 6 tracksoutside writers
Ray Charles's roles on this album

Share of the 14 tracks where a band member is credited, by role.

Lyricist57%
Composer57%
Producer0%
Performer100%

By the Numbers

14
Tracks
7
Lyricists
2
Producers
1958
Released
Data Insight

Yes Indeed! continued Atlantic's strategy of compiling Ray Charles's chart hits into LP form, a format more commercially reliable than albums of new material. The fourteen tracks span his Atlantic period from 1954 to 1958, with gospel-soaked workouts like "Drown in My Own Tears" and the raw earthiness of "Hallelujah, I Love Her So" alongside raw rhythm-and-blues output. Produced by Ahmet Ertegun and Jerry Wexler, the album finds Charles at the peak of his Atlantic phase, just before he would leave for ABC-Paramount and transform into a pop crossover phenomenon. The sound is deliberately unpolished, with live-feeling studio sessions where Charles served as de facto arranger, and it captures an intensity that his later, more orchestrated recordings would soften.

Yes Indeed! is a studio album by Ray Charles, released in 1958 on Atlantic Records and produced by Ahmet Ertegun and Jerry Wexler, continuing the soul and gospel-influenced R&B formula that Charles had established on the 1957 albums while expanding the range of the material to include more blues-influenced and uptempo content. Charles wrote or co-wrote several tracks; 'Talkin' 'Bout You,' 'What Kind of Man Are You,' and 'Get on the Right Track Baby' are among the principal tracks, reflecting the Atlantic-era Charles at his most directly blues-influenced. The album reflects the mature Charles Atlantic formula, small group R&B with gospel-influenced vocals, jazz piano, and the particular Baptist emotional intensity that gave his Atlantic recordings their defining character, at a moment before his commercial breakthrough on 'What'd I Say' (1959) expanded his audience dramatically. Yes Indeed! is primarily regarded as a consistent statement of the mid-Atlantic period Charles rather than a defining release, but it captures the same authentic synthesis of gospel, jazz, and blues that makes the entire Atlantic catalog significant as documentation of the invention of soul music. The album is part of the core Atlantic body of work, along with the 1957 self-titled album and The Genius of Ray Charles, that constitutes the documentary record of the invention of soul music, and its consistent quality within the genre Charles was simultaneously creating makes it an essential document of the Atlantic period even in the absence of a single defining track.

Track Listing & Credits 14 tracks

Written by the artist Written by outside writers
#TitleLyricist(s)Composer(s)Producer(s)Performers
1
What Would I Do Without You
Ray Charles Ray Charles Ahmet ErtegunJerry Wexler Ray Charles (Vocals, Piano)
2
It's All Right
Ray Charles Ray Charles Ahmet ErtegunJerry Wexler Ray Charles (Vocals, Piano)
3
I Want to Know
Ray Charles Ray Charles Ahmet ErtegunJerry Wexler Ray Charles (Vocals, Piano)
4
Yes Indeed!
Sy Oliver Sy Oliver Ahmet ErtegunJerry Wexler Ray Charles (Vocals, Piano)
5
Get on the Right Track Baby
Titus Turner Titus Turner Ahmet ErtegunJerry Wexler Ray Charles (Vocals, Piano)
6
Talkin' 'Bout You
Ray Charles Ray Charles Ahmet ErtegunJerry Wexler Ray Charles (Vocals, Piano)
7
Swanee River Rock (Talkin' 'Bout That River)
Ray Charles Ray Charles Ahmet ErtegunJerry Wexler Ray Charles (Vocals, Piano)
8
Lonely Avenue
Doc Pomus Doc Pomus Ahmet ErtegunJerry Wexler Ray Charles (Vocals, Piano)
9
Blackjack
Ray Charles Ray Charles Ahmet ErtegunJerry Wexler Ray Charles (Vocals, Piano)
10
The Sun's Gonna Shine Again
Sam Sweet Sam Sweet Ahmet ErtegunJerry Wexler Ray Charles (Vocals, Piano)
11
I Had a Dream
Ray Charles Ray Charles Ahmet ErtegunJerry Wexler Ray Charles (Vocals, Piano)
12
I Want a Little Girl
Billy Moll Murray Mencher Ahmet ErtegunJerry Wexler Ray Charles (Vocals, Piano)
13
Heartbreaker
A. Nugetre A. Nugetre Ahmet ErtegunJerry Wexler Ray Charles (Vocals, Piano)
14
Leave My Woman Alone
Ray Charles Ray Charles Ahmet ErtegunJerry Wexler Ray Charles (Vocals, Piano)

Songwriter & Credit Spotlight 10 contributors

More from Ray Charles

Frequently Asked Questions Yes Indeed!

When did Ray Charles release Yes Indeed! on Atlantic Records?
Yes Indeed! was released by Atlantic Records in 1958. The compilation spans recordings from Charles's Atlantic sessions between 1954 and 1958.
Was Yes Indeed! an original studio album or a compilation of Ray Charles's Atlantic singles?
Yes Indeed! is a compilation of previously released Atlantic singles rather than new studio recordings. Like the 1957 debut LP, it collects chart hits from Charles's early career into album form.
Who produced Ray Charles's Yes Indeed! album?
Yes Indeed! was produced by Ahmet Ertegun and Jerry Wexler at Atlantic Records.
Which gospel-influenced tracks appear on Ray Charles's Yes Indeed! album?
"Drown in My Own Tears," a slow blues ballad with Charles's most intensely gospel-influenced vocal delivery, is the centerpiece gospel-influenced track on Yes Indeed!. "Hallelujah, I Love Her So" and "This Little Girl of Mine" also reflect Charles's gospel roots applied to secular material.
How does Yes Indeed! differ from the 1957 Ray Charles Atlantic debut album?
Both are Atlantic singles compilations, but Yes Indeed! covers a slightly later and more consistent period of Charles's output, 1954-1958, and leans more heavily on the gospel-blues fusion that defined his Atlantic identity. The 1957 album drew from his earliest recordings; Yes Indeed! reflects his mature Atlantic sound.
What was the last Ray Charles album released on Atlantic Records before he moved to ABC-Paramount?
Yes Indeed! (1958) and The Genius of Ray Charles (1959) were his final Atlantic albums before the move. Yes Indeed! is a singles compilation; The Genius of Ray Charles was his last fully produced album-length statement for Atlantic.

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