Before his Sunday night gig opening for Earth, Wind and Fire, Hicks was interviewed by Jonathan Clark on Q104, a NYC classic rock station. Two cuts were played from the Taylor Hicks album: The Right Place and Soul Thing, each definitive in its own way. (And thanks to our anonymous tipster Bollox for the early heads up on this Saturday, this was definately a victory, but wonder how many other things like this we miss for the lack of well-tuned local ears) Anyway, here’s the interview:[audio=http://www.fileden.com/files/2007/6/3/1140363/TH-9-09-Q04.mp3]… and some context:Hicks mentions that watching Otis Redding and listening to him are two completely different things. Here’s Redding performing “Try a Little Tenderness” on a Stax European tour in ‘67.[youtube=http://youtube.com/watch?v=dael4sb42nI]But especially cool, for those of us with trivial minds, was what he said about his Ray Charles doll:We brought you an exclusive video of the Ray doll in action in this thread last summer, but I had no idea that Hicks’ doll was the very one that Charles had owned himself. Here’s the video again, in case you missed it the first time or are feeling too lazy to click back to the old post:[youtube=http://youtube.com/watch?v=9OJZOeVgcYA]…and don’t look at me, I didn’t do the begging.When we discussed last summer, reader Curious Joe found some interesting background on Little Ray. Here’s what he provided in comments. Joe, is there a link worth seeing?

Notable Chicago based design firm Beyond Design, Inc. was asked to create the animatronic Ray Charles Doll, [nicknamed] “Little Ray.”The mechanical doll sings and sways along to two of Ray Charles’ classic hits; “America the Beautiful” and “What’d I Say”.For Beyond Design, the project required a great deal of research including studying hundreds of photos and videos of Ray Charles in concert. Designers also spoke with a variety of people who are close to Ray to gain a full understanding of his signature moves and expressions. Key design elements developed using this research included the electronic keyboard, custom piano bench, Bally shoes with special attention to size and shape, signature clothing and facial expressions. Designers approached each part of the process with an aesthetic interpretation; realistic, but an overall impressionistic take on Ray’s character and personality. The team worked around the clock for four straight weeks, and the prototype came together on the coffee table in Ray’s dressing room at the Arie Crowne Theatre [Chicago] one hour before the show.Presenting Ray Charles a working prototype during his visit to Chicago this year was a major achievement, “…and to see him use it was simply a thrill!”, exclaimed the design team. After meeting “Little Ray” for the first time, Ray Charles had these things to say about the designers:Those cats! … they are good! And I don’t mean just good. I mean good! I just don’t understand how somebody could do that! I have never been more impressed with anything in my life. And that means a lot coming from me. Those guys have passion for what they do, and there’s not enough passion in the world today . . .

categories: music
 tags: , ,