Hit the Road Jack

This article is about the Ray Charles song. For other uses, see Hit the Road Jack (disambiguation).

"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,^[4] and won a Grammy Award for Best Rhythm and Blues Recording, becoming one of Charles' signature songs.^[5]

"Hit the Road Jack"
Single by Ray Charles
from the album The Genius Hits the Road
B-side	"The Danger Zone"
Released	August 1961[1]
Recorded	June 1961
Genre	R&B[2][3]
Length	2:00
Label	ABC-Paramount
Songwriter(s)	Percy Mayfield
Producer(s)	Sid Feller
Ray Charles singles chronology
"One Mint Julep" (1961) "Hit the Road Jack" (1961) "I Can’t Stop Loving You" (1962)

Background

The song was written by Percy Mayfield, who first recorded it in 1960 as an a cappella demo sent to music executive Art Rupe. It became famous after it was recorded by the singer-songwriter-pianist Ray Charles, with The Raelettes vocalist Margie Hendrix.

Charles's recording hit number one for two weeks on the Billboard Hot 100, beginning on Monday, October 9, 1961. "Hit the Road Jack" won a Grammy Award for Best Rhythm and Blues Recording. The song was number one on the R&B Sides chart for five weeks, thereby becoming Charles's sixth number-one on that chart. The song was ranked number 387 on Rolling Stone magazine's 2010 list of "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time"; it had ranked at number 377 on the original 2004 list.^[6][7]

In 2013, the 1961 recording by Ray Charles on the ABC-Paramount label was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame.^[8]

The Chantels released an answer song, "Well, I Told You" which charted at No. 29.^[9]

Charts and certifications

Charts Chart (1961) Peak position Australia (Kent Music Report)[10] 3 Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[11] 13 New Zealand (Lever Hit Parade)[12] 1 Sweden (Tio i Topp)[13] 1 UK Singles (OCC)[14] 6 US Billboard Hot 100[15] 1 US Hot R&B Sides (Billboard)[15] 1 Chart (2011) Peak position France (SNEP)[16] 90

Certifications Region Certification Certified units/sales Germany (BVMI)[17] Gold 300,000‡ Italy (FIMI)[18] sales since 2009 Platinum 100,000‡ New Zealand (RMNZ)[19] Platinum 30,000‡ Spain (PROMUSICAE)[20] Gold 30,000‡ United Kingdom (BPI)[21] Gold 400,000‡ ‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

The Stampeders version

In 1976, Canadian band the Stampeders released a version of the song taken from their album Steamin' featuring DJ Wolfman Jack. The song reached No. 6 in Canada, No. 40 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and No. 41 on the US Cash Box Top 100.^[22][23][24] The single features a conversation between Wolfman Jack and "Cornelius" -- the real name of Stampeders bassist Ronnie King.