Question: Did Ray sing backup vocals on his own song?
Answer: During the sessions for Ray Charles' haunting, bluesy 1959 number "I Believe To My Soul," the singer -- always insisting on perfection -- became dissatisfied with the way the Raelettes, his backup vocal group, were handling the arrangement. So he dismissed them and simply recorded all four tracks himself. The result is spooky and impressive at once. (The movie "Ray" has the Raelettes leaving the studio because of Ray's infidelity, but his sessions were always much more professional than that.)
