Say it ain't so! Says Ray, .....rolling in his grave..

Fox News has a story regarding the release of a follow up to the album, Genius Loves Company:

That was a collection of digitized duets, but the combination of Charles' untimely death and the movie "Ray," starring Jamie Foxx, drove the CD to sales of 3 million in the United States. It caused a Ray Charles renaissance of the first order.

So, what to do? Some at the Charles estate wanted a "Genius II," but the tracks didn't exist. Then someone remembered that Charles had recorded a bunch of duets years ago and hadn't released them.

The original tracks were recorded for Quincy Jones' now-defunct Qwest Records and produced by Phil Ramone. Almost none of the tracks were released. But "I'll Be Good to You," with Chaka Khan, was a hit in 1989. (It's unclear whether that song will be included on the new collection.)

But the plot thickens sickens...

Estate insiders thought: Wouldn't it be a great idea to release these duets? Maybe. But apparently they also felt the original collaborators were no longer relevant or commercial enough to market. Charles' collaborators on those tracks included Brandy, Brownstone, Chuckie Booker, B.B. King, En Vogue, Faith Evans and Stevie Wonder. In fact, there's supposedly a duet between Wonder and Charles on "Living for the City" that's supposed to be spectacular.

Critics of the Charles estate, however, tell me there's such a clamor to make more money from the deceased legend that insiders have gone too far this time. Apparently, all those artists who actually recorded with Charles in the studio have been "erased" and their vocals replaced by Patti LaBelle, Diana Ross and other artists considered bigger stars now.

It is not known whether the original singers have been notified that their vocals have been eliminated.

Two of the new vocalists are Alicia Keys and Ruben Studdard, neither of whom Charles even knew, critics charge. Additionally, there's the matter of LaBelle, who — though revered by many — was not particularly liked by Charles.

Question: If they're that interested in exploiting Mr. Charles, why don't they just dig up his corpse and put him on a soundstage with Michael Jackson?