Ray Charles Has Passed

[Eric in Long Beach]

BEVERLY HILLS, California (AP) -- Ray Charles, the Grammy-winning crooner who blended gospel and blues in such crowd-pleasers as "What'd I Say" and heartfelt ballads like "Georgia on My Mind," died Thursday, a spokesman said. He was 73.

Charles died at his Beverly Hills home surrounded by family and friends, said spokesman Jerry Digney.

Charles' last public appearance was alongside Clint Eastwood on April 30, when the city of Los Angeles designated the singer's studios, built 40 years ago in central Los Angeles, as a historic landmark.

Blind by age 7 and an orphan at 15, Charles spent his life shattering any notion of musical boundaries and defying easy definition. A gifted pianist and saxophonist, he dabbled in country, jazz, big band and blues, and put his stamp on it all with a deep, warm voice roughened by heartbreak from a hardscrabble childhood in the segregated South.

"His sound was stunning -- it was the blues, it was R&B, it was gospel, it was swing -- it was all the stuff I was listening to before that but rolled into one amazing, soulful thing," singer Van Morrison told Rolling Stone magazine in April.

Charles won nine of his 12 Grammy Awards between 1960 and 1966, including the best R&B recording three consecutive years ("Hit the Road Jack," "I Can't Stop Loving You" and "Busted").

His versions of other songs are also well known, including "Makin' Whoopee" and a stirring "America the Beautiful." Hoagy Carmichael and Stuart Gorrell wrote "Georgia on My Mind" in 1931 but it didn't become Georgia's official state song until 1979, long after Charles turned it into an American standard.

[Eric in Long Beach]

I saw him on the news when Eastwood did the dedication mentioned above, and he didn't look good. But I had no idea he'd be gone so soon after.

[Rémi]

Oh man, that's such a terrible news. I can't believe that the genius left us.

[johnfoyle]

I discovered Ray via Elvis Costello in the early 1980's. This was because of some comparisons between Elvis' Almost Blue and Ray's Modern Sounds In Country Music. Both were cited as being projects that would introduce people to country music , being by artists not generally associated with the genre. Of course , Ray's album was not to be had in early 1980's Ireland. I finally tracked down a copy for a dollar in a junk shop in Goldsboro , North Carolina in the summer of 1982.

That , of course , had me wanting to get anything else by Ray. Modern Sounds... was the first album I got on CD in 1990 . I saw him in concert in Dublin in 1989 and at a festival show in Waterford in 1993. Both shows were disappointing , Ray and co. seeming to merely bang out the show with little feeling. Indeed my abiding image of the festival show was the highly visible sight of Ray's minder/manager having a constant shouting match with the promoter by the stageside.

Whatever - the fabulous recordings are still there. Besides the near perfect Atlantic recordings of the 1950's most of the 1960's ABC albums are worth seeking out. Rhino have re-issued a lot . Tragically his passing may have good effect in that maybe now they can release more. As Micheal Lydon told in his excellent biography , Ray could be difficult in persuading as regards re-releasing his back catalogue. Far too many 'Best of's' , not enough of the original albums. One album I would love to have on CD is Ray Charles Invites You To Listen ( 1967). Besides the definitive version of Yesterday he does a killer version of People.

Yes, in honour of Ray , it's time to dust of my turntable....

[Eric in Long Beach]

I love his scene in the first Blues Brothers movie. He gets it fired up!

[TRX-C]

I'm extremely saddened by this news. "Brother Ray" has been a part of my life since I was a kid. He is the reason there is soul music. Without him, there would be no James Brown, Otis Redding, no Sly and the Family Stone, and countless other soul powerhouses. Ray Charles was the first black artist who had control over his own career, being that he asked for, and received,rights to his recordings and masters, something that many white acts never had.

He credited Nat King Cole for inspiring him to do what he did for a living, but Ray was definitely an original. I can't think of too many artists with his proficient versatility. He influenced a myriad of pop, rock, country and R&B artists-Tom Jones, Billy Joel, Elvis Costello, Steve Winwood and countless others. He was the model to which they all aspired.

I think the last performance I saw him give will be the one by which I'll remember him. It was for Willie Nelson's 70th birthday, and Willie, Leon Russell and Ray performed Russell's"A Song For You". It began as a performance by a trio, but by the second chorus, Leon chose to simply accompany Ray on keyboards, and Willie stood by intensely watching while Ray continued to sing the song solo. By the beginning of the last chorus, Willie Nelson was in tears, held rapt by the emotion and beauty Ray infused in the tune. The power of that performance has stayed with me all this time, I think of it often. Not too many performers could have that effect over their audience, let alone their peers. That was the genius of Ray Charles.

[Rémi]

Music just won't be the same without him. I grew up listening to my dad's old Ray Charles records and always loved him.

Angelique's message moved in the good topic.

[Coda]

God rest his soul. I heard yesterday a story about Mr. Charles that said how he had resisted being pigeonholed into a certain genre...that he had done jazz and country and RB and other work, too.

I always loved his version of "Hit the Road Jack."

[Bud]

I don't remember seeing this -- guess who's on his final album, scheduled for release in August!

Legendary Ray Charles Passes Away
By: W. Andrew Powell on Jun 12, 04 @ 1:44 pm || Comments [1 so far]

Few musicians have been as respected and adored as Ray Charles, a true legend in the history of 20th century music who changed the face of blues and gospel while also impacting the entire industry. Sadly, on Thursday, June 10th, Ray Charles passed away at the age of 73. The Grammy-winning singer died in his Beverly Hills home surrounded by family and friends, according to spokesman Jerry Digney.

Charles was revered by many for such unforgettable songs as "What'd I Say", "I Got a Woman", and of course "Georgia on My Mind" and won a total of 12 Grammy Awards between 1960 and 1966. But Charles was no stranger to adversity and grew up with his share of troubles, including going blind by the age of 7, and later becoming an orphan at the age of 15.

Standing out from the crowd, Charles didn't stick to one sound and instead took influences from rhythm & blues, jazz, gospel music, and even the sounds of the big band era.

The city of Los Angeles recently designated the star's studios as an historical landmark while Koch records is releasing a compilation of duets on August 31st titled Genius Love Company that features Ray Charles singing with stars like Norah Jones, James Taylor, Elton John, Diana Krall, Van Morrison, just to name a few. On top of that a film starring Jamie Foxx will be released this October called Unchain My Heart: The Ray Charles Story.

As a serious music fan, I for one can say that'll I'll miss Mr. Charles and his amazing sound, especially now when it seems true legends are all too rare.

Source: http://www.thegate.ca/news/comments.php?id=550_0_1_0_C

[Rick]

God bless Ray Charles! Out of all the artists I grew up with, he was the most enduring. I remember hearing his song "Hit the Road, Jack" when it first became popular in the early 1960's, the same goes for "Georgia on My Mind."

Thursday afternoon (June 11) right after the news came out, one of the local talk radio guys here in Atlanta played Ray's rendition of "America the Beautiful" and said he did so to remember Ray and Ronald Reagan as well. I just lost it!javascript:emoticon(':cry:')
javascript:emoticon(':cry:') This last week has certainly been one in which I have come to better understand what Diana went through when she lost her mother, Rosemary Clooney, and Ray Brown, all at nearly the same time.

Thanks to Bud in Virginia for the hint on the duets with Ray Charles. I'll be looking for that one on August 31, particularly since it has Diana included!javascript:emoticon(':D')
javascript:emoticon(':D')

Ray Charles was certainly both a musical genius and an American hero, one who endured great adversity early in life and achieved great success despite those things. I will miss him greatly!

[Bud]

NPR's Scott Simon remembers Ray Charles, who died this week, with a musical selection.

http://www.npr.org/features/feature.php?wfId=1956133

[wanderer]

It's a sad moment for music. Music has lost a great musician, great talent and great man. RIP.

[FrimFramMan]

...not only was Ray Charles a great musician, he was a fine marksman with a pistol, despite being blind-as Eric has alluded to in recalling the scene from "The Blues Brothers".
Seriously-I'll always remember his smoking Rhodes piano to "What'd I Say". It was one of the first improvised piano parts I tried to pick out by listening to it on the record player at home and (by ear) picking it out note-by-note. Unfortunately-the familys old spinet was badly out-of-tune and the record player was 1/2 step sharp/flat and damned if it wasn't tough playing "What'd I Say" in the key of B.
Rosanna Vitro has a nice Charles tribute album-"Catchin' some Rays'" with a nice take on lots of his tunes.
He'll be missed-but his music will endure.

[Samantha]

Oh how I would have loved to be there for this....


MAYOR NAGIN HONORS RAY CHARLES (New Orleans)

Mayor C. Ray Nagin proclaimed June 19th as "Ray Day" in honor of Ray Charles and invited the public to a Jazz Funeral organized by the Black Men of Labor. Music legend Ray Charles, who died on Thursday June 10, had numerous connections to New Orleans, dating back to 1953 when he lived in the city and began performing at the legendary Dew Drop Inn on LaSalle Street. Frank Painia of the Dew Drop began booking Ray Charles at various venues in Louisiana and neighboring states. The singer, who went blind at age seven, began his career imitating Nat King Cole until he found a style of his own. Ray Charles recorded at the famous J&M Studio on Rampart St. The No 1. Rhythm and Blues single "The Things I Used To Do," featuring arrangements and piano by Ray Charles, was cut in New Orleans.

While in New Orleans, he also recorded several of his early Atlantic singles "Feelin' Sad" and "Don't You Know". Last year, Mr. Charles donated $1 million to Dillard University so it could create an endowed chair to study the culture of food in New Orleans. His film biography, "Unchain My Heart" was recently filmed in and around New Orleans. The movie, starring Jamie Foxx, will be released this year or next.

Ray Charles was supposed to perform at this year's Jazz and Heritage Festival but was forced to cancel when his health began to decline. "We are sorry that the music industry has lost such a talented musician," said Mayor Nagin. "But we are proud that he played a role in our city's musical history. We are happy to celebrate his life in a way that he would have enjoyed."

St. Augustine Church, 1210 Governor Nicholls St., will hold a memorial service for Ray Charles on Saturday, June 19, 2004 at 10:30 a.m. Following the service will be a jazz funeral, which will proceed to the Dew Drop Inn on LaSalle between 6th and Washington and end at Sweet Lorraine's Jazz Club, 1931 St. Claude Ave. For more information about the service and Jazz Funeral, contact Morgan Clevenger, 504-899-7827, jassfilms@msn.com.