"Sticks and Stones" is an R&B song, written by

Titus Turner Titus Lee Turner (May 1, 1933 – September 13, 1984) was an American R&B and East Coast blues singer and songwriter. His best-remembered recordings are "We Told You Not to Marry" and "Sound-Off". He also wrote "Leave My Kitten Alone", "St ...

. The song is best known in a 1960 version by

Ray Charles Ray Charles Robinson Sr. (September 23, 1930 – June 10, 2004) was an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. He is regarded as one of the most iconic and influential singers in history, and was often referred to by contemporaries as "The Ge ...

, who added the Latin drum part. It was his first R&B hit with

ABC-Paramount ABC Records was an American record label founded in New York City in 1955. It originated as the main popular music label operated by the Am-Par Record Corporation. Am-Par also created the Impulse! jazz label in 1960. It acquired many labels bef ...

, followed in 1961 with "

Hit The Road Jack "Hit the Road Jack" is a song written by the rhythm and blues singer Percy Mayfield and recorded by Ray Charles. The song was a US number 1 hit in 1961, and won a Grammy award for Best Rhythm and Blues Recording, becoming one of Charles' signat ...

". The song was also covered by

Jerry Lee Lewis Jerry Lee Lewis (September 29, 1935October 28, 2022) was an American singer, songwriter and pianist. Nicknamed "The Killer", he was described as "rock & roll's first great wild man". A pioneer of rock and roll and rockabilly music, Lewis made ...

The Zombies The Zombies are an English rock band formed in the early 1960s in St Albans and led by keyboardist and vocalist Rod Argent and vocalist Colin Blunstone. The group had a British and American hit in 1964 with "She's Not There". In the US, two fu ...

Wanda Jackson Wanda LaVonne Jackson (born October 20, 1937) is an American singer and songwriter. Since the 1950s, she has recorded and released music in the genres of rock, country and gospel. She was among the first women to have a career in rock and roll, ...

and

The Kingsmen The Kingsmen are a 1960s rock band from Portland, Oregon, United States. They are best known for their 1963 recording of R&B singer Richard Berry's "Louie Louie", which held the No. 2 spot on the ''Billboard'' charts for six weeks and ha ...

The Righteous Brothers The Righteous Brothers are an American musical duo originally formed by Bill Medley and Bobby Hatfield but now comprising Medley and Bucky Heard. Medley formed the group with Hatfield in 1963. They had first performed together in 1962 in the Los ...

on ''

Just Once in My Life "Just Once in My Life" is a song written by Gerry Goffin, Carole King and Phil Spector. The song was released by the Righteous Brothers in 1965 and reached No. 9 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. The Righteous Brothers' original After the success ...

'', as well as

Joe Cocker John Robert "Joe" Cocker (20 May 1944 – 22 December 2014) was an English singer known for his gritty, bluesy voice and dynamic stage performances that featured expressive body movements. Most of his best known singles were recordings of son ...

on '' Mad Dogs and Englishmen'', and

Elvis Costello Declan Patrick MacManus Order of the British Empire, OBE (born 25 August 1954), known professionally as Elvis Costello, is an English singer-songwriter and record producer. He has won multiple awards in his career, including a Grammy Award in ...

in 1994 on the extended play version of ''

Kojak Variety ''Kojak Variety'' is a 1995 album by Elvis Costello, composed of cover songs written by others. Rhino Records reissued an expanded, double-CD in 2004 containing a bonus disc. Background Costello said in the liner notes this was a "record of s ...

''.Franklin Bruno Elvis Costello's Armed Forces 2005- Page 117 "... logo; the left side of his face is covered in black makeup, the right in white. Half minstrel, half harlequin; halfJoso, half Caruso. "Sticks and Stones," a #2 R&B/#40 Pop hit released in May 1960, was Ray Charles' second single after leaving ..(The next was "Georgia on My Mind.") The song was written (with Henry Glover) and first recorded by Georgia R&B figure Titus Turner; Charles reworked the original in modest but decisive ways. The Latin (or perhaps Afro-Cuban) drum part, " In 1997, jazz singer

Roseanna Vitro Roseanna Elizabeth Vitro (born February 28, 1951) is a jazz singer and teacher from Arkansas. Biography Born Roseanna Elizabeth VitroScott Fredrickson and Gary W. Kennedy.Vitro (Wickliffe), Roseanna" In ''The New Grove Dictionary of Jazz'', 2 ...

included the tune in her tribute to Charles, '' Catchin’ Some Rays: The Music of Ray Charles''. In Australia The Vince Maloney Sect recorded the song in 1966. Vince went to England and joined The Bee Gees.

References

{{Reflist 1960 songs 1960 singles Ray Charles songs Songs written by Titus Turner