Take Me Along!

I'm not sure what attracted me to this LP cover. Maybe it's because I always like the idea of getting on a big jet plane via one of those little drive-up ramps, like The Beatles or the president. (I flew to Ohio from St. Pete/Clearwater International, and they're like that.) Maybe it's the dated fashions. It could just be the slick glossy photo-quality cover. Whatever it was, it was enough for me to invest a dollar. The LP in questions is The Ray Charles Singers-Take Me Along! (Command/ABC RS 926 SD, 1968). Before you ask, no, it's not that Ray Charles. This Ray is the guy at the bottom of the ramp in the captain's hat. According to the liner notes, the title song was used as a commercial for United, and when the Ray Charles Singers recorded it, United saw a great opportunity for a tie-in, and loaned them one of their jets for a photo shoot. The people you see in the photo are actually members of the group on the LP. And the ladies in the group were quite miffed about only have their backsides on the album cover. Those are the breaks, ladies, those are the breaks.