Lets here it for brother Ray :cool: Kansas City here he comes :MILD:
Hi, A Legend has past away. Ray Charles Robinson was born in September 23rd 1930. He was born into a poor family during the depression. He was born with sight. This failed after the blood disease glaucoma left him blind as a child. From here he attended St Agustine, a deaf & blind school in Florida. Here, he learnt & developed his passion for music. After his mother died, he left & "hit the road" as a Nat "King" Cole stylist. After struggling to make ends meet, he then moved to Seattle where he started to make a name for himself. He cut his first records around 1948, toured with Lowell Fulsom, worked with Guitar Slim and got a band together to back Ruth Brown, one of the big R&B stars at the time. He signed to Atlantic records & had a big R&B hit in 1955 with "I got a woman". What made this stand out was the use of a gospel-ish moan of emotion over a tight horn driven rhythm arrangement. The beginings of soul music. He had a string of hits which had that emotional feel driven by a more sophisticated beat. His first big crossover hit was " What'd I say" with it's call & respond gossip pleading vocals with enough elements to appeal to the rock & roll crowd. His recording featured sessions with the jazz musicans as well as doing R&B stuff. In the early 60s he signed to ABC and his deal gave he more complete control. Here he devloped his style blending pop, R&B, soul, country, Blues & Jazz; all done with that emotional "grit" that he had developed. A string of hits such as Unchain my heart, Hit the road Jack, I can't stop lovin you, Crying Time, You are my sunshine etc. These all showed his wide range of styles. He had the first country soul album, " Modern sounds in country & western music " in 1962. This was a big seller & ground breaking album. Things didn't always go his way. He got hooked on heroin & was arrested in 1965. He took the best part of a year to sort himself out This didn't stop him when he came back in 1966. The hits continued. He was also part of the civil rights movement along with Martin Luther King rasing money & offering support. Later on his music would go more towards the middle of the road but he had already set the standards & been a big influence to popular music. He carried on recording & performing into the 70s 80s, 90s, & 00s. He had become an American Institution enduring himself to new generations with things like concerts, with appearences in Diet Pepsi ads, cameos in films like Blues Brothers & Naked 33 1/3 & guest on albums by ther likes of Arthea Franklin, John Lee Hooker, Billy Joel, Quincy Jones, Barbara Streisand, INXS etc. Artists like Joe Cocker, Van Morrison, steve Winwood & Stevie Wonder owe a lot to Ray Charles's vocal style and phasing. Stevie Wonder refered to him as uncle Ray. Ray Charles was never just a soul singer. He has a more allround ability which showed in his music. This is one reason why it has lasted the test of time. Ray Charles RIP SCIDB
SCIDB, That was a fascinating summary on the life of Ray Charles. Thanks for that! The man was a true legend and one whose musical talent I've always admired. May he R.I.P. Enjoy the music, Lawrie.
