Ray Charles appeared at the Minneapolis Auditorium on October 6, 1963.  Joann Neumer, reviewer for the Echo, was NOT impressed:

[His] inimitable styling was at rock bottom….  His “Big Band Sound” was too big.  “Georgia on my Mind” put half the audience to sleep and they were still a bit groggy when he wailed out a half-hearted rendition of “What’d I say.”  This wasted evening hid its consolation, however.

After the performance – one one of those spur-of-the-moment things – a friend and I wheedled Ray’s “valet” into letting us talk with the “High Priest.”  We found ourselves the next day in the Nicollet Hotel for a four hour jam session with Ray, his band and the Raelettes.

Small and wiry, Ray Charles is not the dynamic figure he is on record.  Nervous to the point of being antsy, his raspy drawling voice made quoting him impossible.  His singing and speech projection are at two different levels, sadly enough.

Stamina and durability are his two main assets.  After his Minneapolis concert, he sat up until 6 in the morning cutting and arranging the contents for his appearance in Iowa and Tennessee.  As he is extremely moody, he is also unpredictable.  Changing beats in the middle of a song account for his sometimes mediocre performances.