JERRY RAGOVOY: RIP

Sad news I just learned about; Jerry Ragovoy has passed away at age 80. I wrote about Ragovoy in 2009, after the release of an anthology of his best-known collaborations; please do check that out since it has more on his background and other songs.

I alluded to this in that post but Ragovoy was an incredibly prolific force in R&B who didn’t always get the recognition he deserved. I was amazed at how many incredible songs he touched, including a few of my all-time favorite soul songs by the likes of Aretha Franklin, Erma Franklin and Irma Thomas.

I just whipped together a quick tribute mix, mostly snippets of some of my favorite songs associated with him though I did put on all of Lorraine Ellison’s epic “Stay With Me Baby.” Do yourself a favor…when you get to that part of the song, crank it to 11, step back a bit, let the song crash over you (maybe sing along). Believe me, you will not regret it.

Jerry Ragovoy Tribute Mix

Songs used:

1. Irma Thomas: Time Is On My Side
2. Erma Franklin: Piece of My Heart
3. Howard Tate: Stop
4. Aretha Franklin: I Can’t Wait Until I See My Baby’s Face
5. Chacon y su Conjunto: Pata Pata
6. Howard Tate: Ain’t Nobody Home
7. Irma Thomas: The Hurt’s All Gone
8. Lorraine Ellison: Stay WIth Me

And don’t forget to check out that excellent Jerry Ragovoy anthology, Time Is On My Side.