RAY CHARLES - HIT THE ROAD JACK

Publicada: agost de 1961

Llistes: Regne Unit: #6 · Estats Units: #1 (2 setmanes)

L’any 1961, Ray Charles va publicar “Hit the Road Jack”, una ràfega de dos minuts de ritme i blues que esdevindria una de les cançons més icòniques de la seva carrera. Amb el seu format punyent de pregunta-resposta i un humor mordaç, el tema va enfilar-se fins al #1 del Billboard Hot 100, va guanyar un Grammy a la Millor Gravació R&B i es va consolidar com un dels grans èxits de l’artista, ja aleshores llegendari.

La cançó va ser escrita per Percy Mayfield, un talentós cantant i compositor de R&B conegut per les seves lletres poètiques. Mayfield va gravar una maqueta crua a cappella el 1960 i la va enviar a l’executiu musical Art Rupe. Ray Charles, sempre atent a bones cançons, en va veure el potencial i li va donar l’arranjament —i l’actitud— que necessitava.

Tot i durar només dos minuts, “Hit the Road Jack” conté una història completa. Charles interpreta un home desesperat que intenta tornar a la vida d’una dona, mentre Margie Hendricks —membre del grup de veus de Charles, The Raelettes— li respon amb un rebuig contundent: “Hit the road Jack, and don’t you come back no more.”(Fes la carretera Jack, i no tornis més).

L’intercanvi vocal és ple d’energia. La interpretació desafiant de Hendricks és la columna vertebral a la cançó, i la química entre tots dos —alimentada, en part, per una breu relació real— aporta una autenticitat palpable, encara que la lletra no fos autobiogràfica.

El 1961, Ray Charles ja era un nom conegut a tot arreu. Havia encadenat grans èxits com “I Got a Woman” i “What’d I Say”, fusionant gospel, blues i jazz en un so emotiu que ajudaria a donar forma al rock and roll. “Hit the Road Jack” va seguir el seu #1 del 1960 “Georgia On My Mind”, i va precedir “I Can’t Stop Loving You” del 1962 —una ratxa que confirmava el seu domini transversal tant en el públic negre com en el blanc.

La cançó va ocupar el #1 del Billboard Hot 100 durant dues setmanes a partir de l’octubre de 1961, i es va mantenir cinc setmanes al #1 de la llista R&B, convertint-se en el sisè número u de Charles en aquest gènere. Des d’aleshores, ha aparegut en innombrables pel·lícules, anuncis i referències culturals, convertint-se en un himne immediatament reconeixible de rebuig i independència.

RAY CHARLES - HIT THE ROAD JACK

Released : August 1961

Charts:  UK: #6 US: #1 (2 weeks)

In 1961, Ray Charles released “Hit the Road Jack”, a fiery, two-minute burst of rhythm and blues that would become one of the most iconic songs of his career. With its punchy call-and-response format and sly humor, the track shot to #1 on the Billboard Hot 100, earned Charles a Grammy Award for Best R&B Recording, and secured its place as a signature hit for the already-legendary artist.

The song was written by Percy Mayfield, a gifted R&B singer and songwriter known for his poetic lyrics. Mayfield recorded a raw a cappella demo in 1960 and sent it to music executive Art Rupe. Ray Charles, ever the savvy interpreter of great songwriting, saw its potential and gave it the arrangement—and the attitude—it needed.

Though “Hit the Road Jack” lasts just two minutes, it delivers a complete narrative. Charles plays the role of a desperate man trying to worm his way back into a woman’s life, while Margie Hendricks—a member of Charles’ backing group, The Raelettes—fires back with an unflinching rejection: “Hit the road Jack, and don’t you come back no more.”

Their vocal exchange crackles with energy. Hendricks’ defiant delivery gives the song its backbone, and the chemistry between the two—fueled in part by a brief real-life romance—adds authenticity to the performance, even if the lyrics weren’t drawn from personal experience.

By 1961, Ray Charles was already a household name. He’d scored massive hits like “I Got a Woman” and “What’d I Say”, blending gospel, blues, and jazz into a new, emotionally rich sound that would help shape rock and roll. “Hit the Road Jack” followed his 1960 #1 hit “Georgia On My Mind”, and preceded 1962’s “I Can’t Stop Loving You”—a run that confirmed his crossover dominance in both Black and white markets. The timing was key. The British Invasion had yet to land, and American charts were full of novelty songs and genre mashups. In that context, “Hit the Road Jack” stood out: catchy, confrontational, and impossible to ignore.

The song spent two weeks atop the Billboard Hot 100 starting in October 1961 and remained #1 on the R&B chart for five weeks, becoming Charles’ sixth R&B #1. It’s since appeared in countless films, commercials, and pop culture references—an instantly recognizable anthem of rejection and independence.