Hit the Road Jack

Fred, you can stay. Steve, you're OK. But Jack, you gotta go. This kiss-off anthem was written by Ray Charles' good friend Percy Mayfield, an R&B singer who was badly disfigured in a car accident soon after he started performing. Mayfield cut back his touring and made his mark as a prolific songwriter, with many of his compositions performed by Charles.

"Hit The Road Jack" is one of Ray Charles' most popular songs, riding all the way to #1 in 1961. He also went to #1 in 1960 with "Georgia On My Mind" and in 1962 with "I Can't Stop Loving You." Charles pre-dates rock and roll and certainly influenced it. He started recording in 1949 and built a huge following in the '50s with songs like "I Got A Woman" and "What'd I Say." By the early '60s he was well known to white audiences and was one of the biggest names in music.

This song runs an even 2 minutes but packs in a whole story, with Charles begging for forgiveness only to be rebuffed by his backing singers, who tell him to hit the road (Jack). In 1961 the British Invasion had yet to land and the charts were dominated by songs of many different styles, but upbeat tunes with a tinge of humor tended to do well. Other chart-toppers that year include "Big Bad John" by Jimmy Dean and "Mother-In-Law" by Ernie K. Doe.