| The Raelettes | |
| Background: | group_or_band |
| Alias: | Ray Charles and the Raelettes |
| Origin: | United States |
| Genre: | R&B, pop, soul |
| Occupation: | Girl group |
| Years Active: | 1950s–2000s |
| Label: | Tangerine/ABC-Paramount |
| Associated Acts: | Ray Charles The Cookies |
| Past Members: | *Merry Clayton
|
The Raelettes (or occasionally The Raelets or The Raeletts) were an American girl group formed in 1958 to provide backing vocals for Ray Charles. They were reformed from the group The Cookies. Between 1966 and 1973, the Raelettes recorded on Tangerine Records as a separate act produced and accompanied by Charles.
Reformed by Ray Charles from the all-girl singing group The Cookies, Charles first invited The Cookies for a recording session in New York City, in August 1956, where they taped "Lonely Avenue", "I Want To Know" and "Leave My Woman Alone". The Cookies' lineup at the time consisted of Margie Hendrix, Dorothy Jones, and Darlene McCrea.
The Raelettes were officially established in 1958. The first lineup consisted of Darlene McCrea, Margie Hendricks, Patricia Lyles, and Gwendolyn Berry.[1] The Raelettes were an integral part of Charles' organization and provided backing vocals on various hits, such as "Night Time Is the Right Time" (1958), "What'd I Say" (1959) and "Hit the Road Jack" (1961).[2]
In the early years, Margie Hendrix was the Raelette's foremost member. Ray Charles said about her: "Aretha, Gladys, Etta James — these gals are all bad, but on any given night, Margie will scare you to death."[3] Ray and Margie had many affairs, but she started using drugs and alcohol and after a final argument in 1964, she was fired from the Raelettes and later died in 1973.
The group always consisted of 4 or 5 singers. The ever-changing lineup included Minnie Riperton, Merry Clayton, Clydie King of the Blackberries, Edna Wright of Honey Cone, and latter-day Supreme Susaye Greene.
Charles also produced and played piano on solo singles for various Raelettes. He formed Tangerine Records in 1962, and the Raeletts released three top 40 R&B hits between 1967 and 1971: "One Hurt Deserves Another" (1967), "I'm Gettin' 'Long All Right" (1968), and "Bad Water" (1971). The compilation Souled Out was released in 1970, featuring songs R&B duo Ike & Tina Turner had recorded for Tangerine.
In the 1970s, Mable John sang lead vocals and the Raelttes toured independent of Charles. After she left the Raelettes returned to the background for good, with various lineups backing Charles until his death in 2004.
| Year | Label & Cat No. | Peak chart positions | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US [6] | US R&B | ||||||
| "One Hurt Deserves Another" b/w "One Room Paradise" | 1967 | Tangerine 972 | align=center | 76 | align=center | 24 | |
| "Into Something Fine" b/w "Lover's Blues" | Tangerine 976 | align=center | — | align=center | — | ||
| "I Want to Thank You" b/w "It's Almost Here" | 1968 | Tangerine 986 | align=center | — | align=center | 47 | |
| "I'm Gettin' 'Long All Right" b/w "All I Need Is His Love" | Tangerine 984 | align=center | — | align=center | 23 | ||
| "I Want To (Do Everything for You)" b/w "Keep It to Yourself" | 1970 | Tangerine 1006 | align=center | 96 | align=center | 39 | |
| "Bad Water" b/w "That Goes to Show You" | 1971 | Tangerine 1014 | align=center | 58 | align=center | 40 | |
| "Here I Go Again" b/w "Leave My Man Alone" | Tangerine 1017 | align=center | 101 | align=center | — | ||
| "Come Get It, I Got It" b/w "Try a Little Kindness" | 1972 | Tangerine 1024 | align=center | — | align=center | — | |
| "You Must Be Doing Alright" b/w "You Have a Way with Me" | 1973 | Tangerine 1029 | align=center | — | align=center | — | |
| "If You Wanna Keep Him" b/w "Many Rivers to Cross" | Tangerine 1031 | align=center | — | align=center | — | ||
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart. | |||||||