Here We Go Again (1967)

"Here We Go Again" is a country music standard written by Don Lanier and Red Steagall that first became notable as a single by Ray Charles from his 1967 album Ray Charles Invites You to Listen. It was produced by Joe Adams for ABC Records/Tangerine Records. To date, this version of the song has been the biggest commercial success, spending twelve consecutive weeks on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart, peaking at number 15.

The most notable cover version is a duet by Charles and Norah Jones, which appeared on the 2004 album Genius Loves Company. This version has been the biggest critical success. After Genius Loves Company was released, "Here We Go Again" earned Grammy Awards for Record of the Year and Best Pop Collaboration at the 47th Grammy Awards in February 2005, posthumously for Charles, who died before the album's release. Another notable version by Nancy Sinatra charted for five weeks in 1969. Johnny Duncan charted the song on Billboard's Hot Country Songs chart for five weeks in 1972, while Roy Clark did so for seven weeks in 1982.

The song has been covered in a wide variety of musical genres. In total, five different versions have been listed on the music charts. Although its two most successful versions have been rhythm and blues recordings, many of its other notable covers were featured on country music albums. "Here We Go Again" was first covered in an instrumental jazz format, and many of the more recent covers have been sung as duets, such as one with Willie Nelson and Norah Jones with Wynton Marsalis accompanying. The song was released on their 2011 tribute album Here We Go Again: Celebrating the Genius of Ray Charles. The song lent its name to Red Steagall's 2007 album as well. Cover versions have appeared on compilation albums by a number of artists, even some who did not release "Here We Go Again" as a single.

Original version

In November 1959, after twelve years as a professional musician, Ray Charles signed with ABC Records, following the expiration of his Atlantic Records contract. According to Will Friedwald in A Biographical Guide to the Great Jazz and Pop Singers, "His first four ABC albums were all primarily devoted to standards..." In the 1960s, he experienced crossover success with both rhythm and blues and country music. Because Charles was signed to ABC as a rhythm and blues singer, he decided to wait until his contract was up for its three-year renewal before experimenting with country music, although he wanted to do so sooner. With the assistance of ABC executive Sid Feller, he gathered a set of country songs to record, despite the wishes of ABC. The release of his 1962 country albums Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music and its follow-up Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music, Vol. 2 broadened the appeal of his music to the mainstream. At this point, Charles began to appeal more to a white audience. In 1962 he founded his own record label, Tangerine Records, which ABC-Paramount Records promoted and distributed.

"Here We Go Again" was recorded during a phase in Charles' career when he was focused on performing country music. Thus, "Here We Go Again" was a country music song released by the Tangerine label ABC-Paramount, but performed in Charles' rhythm and blues style. However, his works did not bear the Tangerine label until 1968. Feller left ABC in 1965, but he returned to arrange Charles' 1967 album, Ray Charles Invites You to Listen. Joe Adams produced and engineered the album, which included "Here We Go Again".

First released by Charles in 1967, "Here We Go Again" was written by Don Lanier and Rod Steagall and published by the Dirk Music Company. Charles recorded it at RPM International Studios, Los Angeles, and the song was listed as the sixth of ten tracks on Ray Charles Invites You to Listen. Starting in 1987, it was included in numerous greatest hits and compilation albums. When Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music was reissued in 1988, the song was added as a bonus track. It was also included on the 1988 album Ray Charles Anthology.

Composition

According to the sheet music published by Dirk Music, "Here We Go Again" is set in 128 time with a slow shuffle tempo of sixty-nine beats per minute. The song is written in the key of B♭ major. It is primarily a country song, but contains gospel influences. According to Matthew Greenwald of AllMusic, "'Here We Go Again' is a soulful ballad in the Southern blues tradition. Lyrically, it has a resignation and pain that makes the blues, simply, what it is. The recording has a simple and sterling gospel arrangement and, in retrospect, is one of Charles' finer attempts in the studio from the 1960s."

Reception

Greenwald described the original version of "Here We Go Again" as "Another excellent example of how Ray Charles was able to fuse blues and country". In a review for the single, a writer for Billboard magazine wrote that the song could easily be a "blockbuster" for Charles.