"I Got a Woman"
1964 Italian re-release
Single byRay Charles
from the albumRay Charles
B-side	"Come Back"
Released	December 1954
Recorded	November 18, 1954
Studio	WGST studios,Atlanta, Georgia
Genre	Rhythm and blues soul
Length	2:51
Label	Atlantic (45-1050)
Songwriters	Ray Charles Renald Richard
Producer	Jerry Wexler
Ray Charles singles chronology
"Don't You Know" (1954) "I Got a Woman" (1954) "A Fool for You"" (1955)

"I Got a Woman" (originally titled "I've Got a Woman")^[1] is a song co-written and recorded by AmericanR&B andsoul musicianRay Charles.Atlantic Records released the song as a single in December 1954, with "Come Back Baby" as the B-side. Both songs later appeared on the 1957 albumRay Charles (subsequently reissued asHallelujah I Love Her So).

The song builds on "It Must Be Jesus" by the Southern Tones, which Ray Charles was listening to on the radio while on the road with his band in the summer of 1954, as well as a bridge inspired byBig Bill Broonzy's "Living on Easy Street". He and a member of his band, trumpeter Renald Richard, wrote a song that was built along agospel-frenetic pace with secular lyrics and ajazz-inspiredrhythm and blues (R&B) background. The song would be one of theprototypes for what later became termed as "soul music" after Charles released "What'd I Say" nearly five years later.^[2]

The song was recorded on November 18, 1954, in theAtlanta studios ofGeorgia Tech radio stationWGST. It was a hit—Charles' first—climbing quickly to number one on theR&B charts in January 1955.^[3] Charles told thePop Chronicles that he performed this song for about a year before he recorded it.^[4] The song would lead to more hits for Charles during this period when he was withAtlantic. It was later ranked No. 239 onRolling Stone's list of the500 Greatest Songs of All Time, one of Charles' five songs on the list.^[5] A re-recorded version by Ray Charles, entitled "I Gotta Woman" (ABC-Paramount 10649) reached No. 79 on theBillboard Hot 100 in 1965.^[6]

In 1990, the 1954 recording of the song by Ray Charles on Atlantic Records was inducted into theGrammy Hall of Fame.^[7]

Elvis Presley recorded his versions of the song on January 10, 1956, atRCA's studio in Nashville, Tennessee.^[12] The single did not chart, although it was a staple in most of Presley's shows during the 1950s and when he returned to perform live in 1969 all the way through 1977.

From February 17 to 20, 1962, French musicianJohnny Hallyday (who is considered the French version of Presley), for the first time inNashville, at theBradley Studios, recorded sixteen songs performed entirely in English, which would result in Hallyday's foreign-language and English-language debut and seventh studio album overall,Sings America's Rockin' Hits (1962),^[13] produced by legendary producerShelby Singleton. These sessions included "I Got a Woman", which would be released as the album's only single in March 1962,^[14] with the album being released one month later.^[15] Hallyday's version peaked at Number 31 on the French Belgian charts in July 1962 and did not chart in any anglophone markets.^[16]

1. "I Got a Woman" – 3:10^[17]
2. "Be-Bop-a-Lula" – 2:36
3. "Maybellene" – 2:02
4. "Blueberry Hill" – 2:35

The Beatles recorded two versions of the song forBBC Radio. The first version was recorded on 16 July 1963 at theBBCParis Theatre inLondon for thePop Go the Beatles radio show. This version was first released in 1994 on theLive at the BBC compilation.

The second version the band recorded was recorded on 31 March 1964 at thePlayhouse Theatre in London for theSaturday Club radio show. This version was released in 2013 for theOn Air – Live at the BBC Volume 2 compilation and is shorter than theLive at the BBC version.^[19]

Other versions that have made thepop or R&B charts in the US are those byJimmy McGriff from his albumI've Got a Woman (No. 20 pop, No. 5 R&B, 1962),Freddie Scott from his albumFreddie Scott Sings (No. 48 pop, 1963), andRicky Nelson from his albumFor Your Sweet Love (No. 49 pop, 1963).^[6]

Johnny Cash &June Carter Cash covered the song on their duet albumCarryin' On with Johnny Cash & June Carter in 1967. And again, in 1968 on Cash's infamous prison concert albumAt Folsom Prison.

Therock bandDire Straits mention the song in their song "Walk of Life", from their 1985 albumBrothers in Arms at 2:44.

Kanye West's song "Gold Digger" from his 2005 albumLate Registration contains samples of "I Got a Woman"; one particular line is repeated throughout the song in the background. Aninterpolation byJamie Foxx, who portrayed Charles in the 2004 biopicRay, of "I Got a Woman" serves as the introduction to "Gold Digger".

TheJohn Mayer Trio covered the song in their 2005 live albumTry!.^[20]

• 1954 songs
• 1955 singles
• Songs written by Ray Charles
• Ray Charles songs
• Elvis Presley songs
• Bill Haley songs
• The Beatles songs
• Hep Stars songs
• Van Morrison songs
• Grammy Hall of Fame Award recipients
• Atlantic Records singles
• Song recordings produced by Jerry Wexler

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