“Heaven Help Us All” – a soulful spiritual Ray Charles recorded for his 1972 album, Message from the People – is actually a Ron Miller composition that was first performed by Stevie Wonder as both a single release and album track on 1970’s Signed, Sealed & Delivered LP.
From Mike Evans‘ 2009 biography, Ray Charles: Birth of Soul, we learn that “Heaven Help Us All” was Ray’s favorite track on A Message From the People. In 2004, Charles received a Grammy for his performance of the song with Gladys Knight from his Genius Loves Company album of duets.
A Message from the People would be among the last few albums released on ABC imprint, Tangerine, the label owned by Ray Charles. As the History of Rock website notes, “In 1973 Charles left ABC Records, retaining the rights to his ABC material and transferring his Tangerine operation to the new label Crossover.”
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LINK to Gospel +/- Sacred on Zero to 180
