Ray Charles at $tarbucks...??

[MikeHunt]

Tell me what'd I say? Ray Charles plays Starbucks

Reuters, 03.23.04, 4:49 PM ET

By Steve James

NEW YORK, March 23 (Reuters) - Hey Momma, don't you treat me wrong, Ray Charles just landed the ultimate coffee house gig.

The legendary pop, country, jazz and blues singer's next album -- a collection of duets with the likes of Elton John, Norah Jones and B.B. King -- is coming to a Starbucks near you.

The Charles CD marks a new collaboration between jazz recording label Concord Records and Starbucks Corp. (nasdaq: SBUX - news - people)

It also marks another step by Seattle-based Starbucks into the entertainment world a week after unveiling plans to offer its customers an opportunity to record five songs for $6.99, plus additional tracks at 99 cents apiece, while waiting for their cappuccino or latte orders. Starbucks is teaming up with Hewlett-Packard Co. (nyse: HPQ - news - people) for that project.

"While discovering new music has been an important part of the Starbucks Experience, this recording marks the first time that Starbucks will be involved with the creation of music from such legendary icons," Don MacKinnon, Starbucks' vice president for music and entertainment, said of the Charles project.

The recently completed CD, recorded at Charles' studio in Los Angeles, features the 73-year-old singer performing songs with such artists as Diana Krall, Michael McDonald, Johnny Mathis and Willie Nelson.

Jo Foster, spokeswoman for Concord, said the idea grew out of last year's "Out of Sight" album by Latin jazz artist Poncho Sanchez, on which Charles sat in for a track.

"The rapport between Charles and Concord grew and the idea went from there," said Foster. "Ray picked the songs and they are rather poignant for his time of life," she said, noting that his duet with John is the British singer's plaintive "Sorry (Seems to be the Hardest Word)"

The Concord "Duets" CD is scheduled for an Aug. 31 release and is Charles' first new recording since 2001. Featured tracks include: "Here We Go Again" (Norah Jones); "Sinner's Prayer" (B.B. King); "Sweet Potato Pie" (James Taylor); "Hey Girl" (Michael McDonald); "(Do I Ever) Cross Your Mind" (Bonnie Raitt); and "It Was A Very Good Year" (Willie Nelson).

Last year, Charles was forced to cancel most of a U.S. tour because of hip surgery and last month he canceled a show in New York as he continues to recuperate.

Starbucks is not the only food or restaurant company getting into the music business. On Monday, the Los Angeles Times reported that Sony Corp. is working out a deal to promote the launch of its download music service through fast-food chain McDonald's Corp. (nyse: MCD - news - people).

According to the newspaper, McDonald's is expected to commit about $30 million in advertising to the partnership in exchange for unspecified discounts to license some songs from Sony's new download service, Sony Connect.

Those songs would then be offered to McDonald's patrons for free with the purchase of certain menu items, with customers receiving codes they can use online for the downloads.

And last October, Apple Computer Inc. (nasdaq: AAPL - news - people) announced a marketing alliance with PepsiCo Inc. (nyse: PEP - news - people) to promote its iTunes service. Under that tie-in, Apple said it would offer 100 million free song downloads to consumers who find winning codes under the caps of their soft drinks.