When Becca Krueger sang Ray Charles’ “Hit the Road Jack,” her smouldering take on the R&B classic had fans coming back again and again to the 10 million view video. It’s easy to understand why, as the New York City songstress brought a velvety jazz vocal to the song, with a truckload of soul and feeling throughout. Her band delivered a swinging pulse that perfectly accented Krueger’s vocals, and the chemistry they showed throughout had listeners hooked.
Krueger saved the best for last, as Greg Kimble hit the stage at 2:16 and traded lines with Krueger, upping the energy to a frenetic pace. The band weren’t left out of the fun, as they provided gospel-style group vocals that Krueger and Kimble vamped over, giving the closing sections a new feel and bringing the song to a thunderous conclusion. The Music Man always has time for a Ray Charles cover, and Krueger and her band certainly hit this one for six!
Krueger’s cover of “Hit the Road Jack” really hit the algorithm, as it quickly became her most popular video on YouTube. Viewers really enjoyed her take on the song and added comments such as “One of the very few voices that can sing this song with the right amount of passion and whisper in her voice” and “Fantastically great! Becca’s singing is very nuanced and appealing, I’ll be looking for more from the band who performed this rock and roll masterpiece!”
Krueger has quite the collection of covers on YouTube, which she delivered in her distinctive vocal style. Her second most popular performance on the platform is her cover of Frankie Valli’s hit “Can’t Take My Eyes Off You.” This cover shows off a different side of Krueger’s style, as she performs it with a lone acoustic guitarist, giving the performance a chill vibe while leaving plenty of room for plenty of vocal fireworks.
Ray Charles released “Hit the Road Jack” in August 1961, and scored a Billboard Hot 100 hit with the R&B tune. The song was written by Percy Mayfield, and he also recorded an a cappella demo of it prior to the Charles version. Ray Charles scored Gold certifications for “Hit the Road Jack” in Germany, Spain, and the UK, as well as Platinum certifications in Italy and New Zealand. The song has since become his signature tune, and has remained a firm fan favorite. The Music Man readers might be interested to learn that it is currently his most popular track on Spotify by a large margin, with 493 million streams.