From 1949 to 1952 before he signed to Atlantic he was 19 to 22 years old. He first signed to Downbeat (which became Swingtime) Records. It's clear from listening to the Listen buttons here that almost all or all of these 16 songs are from this period. There are apparently 42 known songs from this period and 41 or 42 of them appear on The Complete Swing Time & Down Beat Recordings 1949-1945 and also on Ray Charles 45 Great Performances, both 2xCD sets. I'm a massive fan of this period. He sounds like a grown man already. Kissa Me Baby could be my favorite song of all time and I love rock and punk too. There's several songs where he has strong horns supporting him. There's none of the hokey back up singers like in I Can't Stop Loving You in these recordings. Frankly, this stuff is special. No massive 50's and 60's hits of his. [...]