The Genius of Ray Charles: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

An audio cassette of Ray Charles “The Genius of Ray Charles" (1959).

2015.263.10a: An audio cassette tape. The cassette is white plastic with black type on each side. Both sides have headers reading: [THE GENIUS OF RAY CHARLES] on both Side 1 and Side 2, with lists of songs underneath. The Atlantic Records logo, copyright information, and the cassette number [CS 1312] are featured on both sides.

2015.263.10b: An audio cassette paper jacket. The jacket is portrait orientation, has a color image of Ray Charles singing and playing the piano, with text: [THE GENIUS OF/RAY CHARLES] in white, highlighted by pink and red at the top. A list of the songs on each side of the cassette is at the bottom in white type on a black background. The back of the jacket has a black background with white type that has copyright information and a barcode.

2015.263.10c: An audio cassette tape case made of clear plastic on the front and black plastic on the back. The case has interior holders to insert an audio cassette jacket.

Materials, dates and provenance

• Date: 1959
• Recorded by: Ray Charles, American, 1930 - 2004
• Published by: Atlantic Records, American, founded 1947
• Type: audio cassettes
• Medium: plastic , magnetic tape , ink on paper
• Dimensions: H x W x D (cassette): 2 1/2 × 4 × 1/2 in. (6.4 × 10.2 × 1.3 cm)
• Dimensions: H x W (jacket): 4 × 5 1/2 in. (10.2 × 14 cm)
• Dimensions: H x W x D (case): 2 3/4 × 4 5/16 × 11/16 in. (7 × 11 × 1.7 cm)
• Place depicted: New York City, New York, United States, North and Central America
• Topic: African American
• Topic: Instrumentalists (Musicians)
• Topic: Singers (Musicians)
• Topic: Soul (Music)
• Object number: 2015.263.10abc
• Credit Line: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of Timothy Anne Burnside
• Data Source: National Museum of African American History and Culture

Sources and reuse

Catalogue descriptions and facts adapted from National Museum of African American History and Culture through the Smithsonian's official Open Access dataset. This record explicitly marks its metadata CC0 1.0; formatting and selection have been changed. The underlying object's rights statement is: © 1959 Atlantic Recording Corporation Permission required for use. Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.