“Save The Bones For Henry Jones”

Hilarious and cool in every way, 1988’s “Save The Bones For Henry Jones” is arguably the best Ray Charles song of the 1980s and one of the highlights of his career. Especially the little-known part of his career; “Save The Bones For Henry Jones” is the final song on the Just Between Us LP, a record that had no singles and is rarely spoken of anymore. A true hidden diamond in Ray’s longer-than-known catalog. (The entirety of Just Between Us is equally recommended too, by the way.)

The song is a duet with Lou Rawls, and he and Ray trade verses and lines about their friend Henry Jones, a pal who’s all right but “don’t eat no meat”. The interplay is perfect between Lou and Ray; it’s a wonder they managed to capture such effortless and quick-witted bonhomie on tape. Behind their get-a-load-of-Henry anecdotes, Milt Jackson is busy on his vibraphone. Two albums were released of Ray and Milt’s more serious instrumental jazz recordings in the 1950s; it’s great to hear them together again thirty years later. Milt gets a sparkling solo in the middle of “Save The Bones For Henry Jones”.

Shaking their heads in wonder at their vegetarian friend against the backdrop of the hip, jazzy music, Ray, Lou and Milt make the most of “Save The Bones For Henry Jones”. It’s a song that should be on every Ray Charles best-of.

(Fun fact: Among the co-writers of “Save The Bones For Henry Jones” is one Henry Jones. The man could take a joke.)

Listen to “Save The Bones For Henry Jones”

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