Ray Charles has died at the age of 73. While Reagan's death will obviously gain more attention, and rightfully so, Ray's death has far more emotional impact on me. He was a music legend who recorded classic songs in a number of genres - gospel, blues, soul, jazz, even country. Van Morrison, another of my all time favorite singers and songwriters, said of Charles,
"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."
Indeed. Ray Charles was the embodiment of soul - if you aren't moved by his amazing version of Georgia On My Mind, it can only be said that you are devoid of one. He once said of himself,
"Music's been around a long time, and there's going to be music long after Ray Charles is dead. I just want to make my mark, leave something musically good behind.'
You certainly did that, Ray. You set a standard that few have ever met. You will be missed by music fans everywhere.
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OHhhhh I didn't know about his death until right now honey. How sad. His "Georgia On My Mind" was one of his best, and I always liked "I Got A Woman" plus "I Can't Stop Loving You" too. We will miss Ray Charles. He could get right into your heart with his music.
Welcome home, honey. :)
I used to wonder where Joe Cocker got his passionate sound and spasmodic movements until I saw an interview in which the singer cited Ray Charles as an inspiration. Next time I saw Cocker, he didn't seem so odd. I'll never forget Flip Wilson's comedy routine in which he suggests that Queen Isabella sent Columbus to America "to find Ray Charles."
I used to wonder where Joe Cocker got his passionate sound and spasmodic movements until I saw an interview in which the singer cited Ray Charles as an inspiration. Next time I saw Cocker, he didn't seem so odd.
I'll tell you one thing - Joe Cocker is an incredible performer. I saw him live in the summer of 1990, with Stevie Ray Vaughan (a couple months before he died, as I recall). I was there to see Stevie Ray, but walked away a huge Joe Cocker fan. I went there expecting to snooze through Cocker's set and the truth is that he blew Stevie Ray off the stage. I was amazed.
After watching the services today for Pres. Ronald Reagan, I noticed several times the media reflected on the close friendship between he and Ray Charles.
Ray Charles sang and played American The Beautiful at the Republican Convention when Reagan gave his acceptance speech on his reelection.
Several times Ray Charles was invited to the White House as the President's guest and not just to entertain.
While I am at it here, let me say I thought seeing all the former presidents and their wives sitting together made me feel good. They honored Reagan not just as a president but as a man.
Margaret Thatcher, the elder Geo Bush and Pres. Bush all spoke. It was especially moving to see the video tape done by Margaret Thatcher. She called him Ronny and called him her political soul mate. She was unable to speak live because of short term memory loss as a result of 3 strokes. She did however insist on being there for the services.
I truly think that was the loveliest speech President Bush ever gave.
Rest In Peace Ray Charles and your friend President Ronald Reagan, you both brought many smiles to our faces and served our country well.
Been a bad week for musician deaths. Along with Brother Ray we lost jazz saxophonist Steve Lacy on the 4th to liver cancer and had the body of Richard Hell and the Voidoids/Lou Reed guitarist Robert Quine discovered in his New York apartment the next day, dead of an apparent suicide.
As Nietzsche said, behind remarkable artists one often finds a mediocre man. Unfortunately, I know a few musicians who've worked with Charles over the years, and they uniformly describe behaviors that to me signal that Charles was a real demeaning a**hole. Qua a man, he was worse than mediocre.
Celebrate the art then, but let's not mistakenly venerate the man.
I have also heard from musicians that Ray was extremely demanding and a perfectionist, and could be hell to work for as a result.