Ray Charles > Oh What A Beautiful Morning
Composed by Richard Rodgers & Oscar Hammerstein II

Can’t help myself, two Ray Charles beauties in one week! I’ve got an irrational RC cover love, this one in particular, in spite of the corny late-Basie charts.

Beautiful Week #5
Legends of Soul #26 
Legends of the Piano #9 
Legends of Pop #7
Cover #49 

Raul Malo > Beautiful Dreamer
Composed by Stephen Foster

My search for beautiful songs has turned up some great things this week, including this gem from an even more beautiful album, celebrating one of America’s first pop songwriters. The singer’s unfamiliar? Maybe you know him from The Mavericks.

Beautiful Week #4
Ballad #37
Legends of Pop #9

The Four Freshman > But Beautiful
Composed by Jimmy Van Heusen & Johnny Burke

I didn’t really know this famous song until I did an iTunes search and found that I owned six different versions. And the main thing I knew about The Four Freshman is their sound almost invented the Beach Boys. And an Amazon search didn’t turn up their version. But, it definitely lives up to its name.

Beautiful Week #3
Ballad #36 
Legends of Pop #8

Ray Charles > America the Beautiful
Composed by Katharine Lee Bates & Samuel A. Ward

Despite its ubiquity when I was young, I’m not sure I ever really heard this song until Ray imprinted it in my soul when I was in my 20s. Most young people don’t seem to know it now, so maybe he can still make a difference.

Beautiful Week #2
Ballad #35 
Legends of Soul #26 
Legends of the Piano #9 
Legends of Pop #7

Charles Lloyd > You Are So Beautiful
Composed by Billy Preston and Bruce Fisher, & maybe Dennis Wilson

Joe Cocker made this so popular, and it was covered so often that it became a standard. But, jazz musicians tend to only think of standards as the “Great American Songbook” songs of the pre-rock era. But, Charles Lloyd always defined his own standards.

Beautiful Week #1
Ballad #34 
Legends of the Saxophone #15