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..." Charles recorded it at RPM International Studios, Los Angeles, 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 {{Listen According to the sheet music published by Dirk Music, "Here We Go Again" is set in 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, 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". The original version debuted at number 79 on the
Billboard Hot 100 chart in the May 20, 1967, issue and number 48 on the
US Billboard Hot Rhythm & Blues Singles top 50 chart on June 10, 1967. For the weeks ending July 15, 22 and 29, the song spent three weeks at its peak position of number 15 on the Hot 100 chart. It spent July 22 and 29 at its peak position of number 5 on the Hot Rhythm & Blues Singles chart. By August 12, it fell out the Hot 100 chart, ending a 12-week run. It remained on the Hot Rhythm & Blues Singles chart for 13 weeks ending on September 2. "Here We Go Again" was Charles' last single to enter the top twenty of the Hot 100. For the year 1967 the song finished at number 80 on the
US Billboard Year-End Hot 100 chart and 33 on the Year-End Hot Rhythm & Blues Singles chart. Abroad, it debuted on the
UK Singles Chart top 40 at number 38 on July 8, 1967, which would be its peak. It totalled 3 non-consecutive weeks on the chart. In the Netherlands, "Here We Go Again" appeared on the
singles chart at number 10 on July 15, 1967, and later peaked at number three. According to
Will Friedwald, this song is an example of Charles vocalizing in what would ordinarily be a generally extraneous manner for dramatic effect by using a different voice than he had ever previously exhibited. He sang "... not just using the squeak—using a whole new kind of squeak, in fact—for additional coloring on the sidelines, but making it the heart of the matter, literally squeaking out the words and notes in harmony with
the Raelettes" (his
background singers).
Track listing •
7-inch single • "Here We Go Again" – 3:14 • "Somebody Ought to Write a Book About It" – 3:02 According to AllMusic, the solo version is listed at lengths between 3:14 and 3:20 on various albums. "
In the Heat of the Night" also had a Dunhill credit but a different number for both Dunhill and ABC. ==Nancy Sinatra version==