Ray Charles on my mind
News agencies have made a big to-do of the death of Ronald Reagan lately, but in
my mind, today his death was overshadowed by the death of Ray Charles.
Obviously there’s no comparison between what Reagan did for our country as a
president and what Ray did for music, but I honor Ray Charles today
anyway. Plenty of other sites today will be detailing the contributions of
Reagan, but I will devote my time today to Ray Charles.
Ray Charles, the Grammy-winning crooner who blended gospel and blues in such
crowd-pleasers as "What’d I Say" and ballads like "Georgia on My
Mind," died today. He was 73. He death was due to a
liver disease he had developed.
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.
Charles went blind when he was 7, became an orphan at the age of 15, and grew up
very poor.
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").
"I was born with music inside me. That’s the only explanation I know
of," Charles said in his 1978 autobiography, "Brother Ray."
"Music was one of my parts … Like my blood. It was a force already with
me when I arrived on the scene. It was a necessity for me, like food or
water."
Today is a sad day indeed. The great musicians are dying, and being
replaced with stepford musicians (britney spears for example).
June 11th, 2004 at 3:14 pm
sad sad sad… i didnt even know. stoopid reagan’s death is overshadowing everything…
June 11th, 2004 at 3:43 pm
Whoa, Stupid Reagan? I agree it may be overexposure, but there is no doubt that he was one of the greatest presidents ever. Ray Charles was a great musician, but he was no president of the United States.
Ray Charles will get his credit on the next music award ceremony.
June 11th, 2004 at 8:03 pm
Careful now….. she said stoopid. There’s a difference. (ask Alice Cooper)
I agree that the media controls a lot of what we deal with emotionally. I have to admit that reading this was the first I had heard about Ray Charles’ death.
As a musician, I admire Ray Charles and have benefited from his style and the part of his soul that he put into his music.
Funny thing about these Presidents…… we judge them so harshly while they are in office. But let a few decades go by and we cherish their contribution to Democracy. I’d go into my rant about how many of the guns that are killing our troops in Iraq today were funded by Mr Reagan, but I don’t want to take away from Ray Charles. (and please don’t)
Let’s hope that we deal with genre-changing musicians as liberally as we do Presidents. Ray Charles was a pioneer, and a talent that is rare. I believe that music exists within us, like the voice of our ancestors. The rythym of the earth pulses within us all. Some are more able to hear/feel it than others. When I hit the big red Record button, I play what I hear in my head; what is fed by my heart. The music is in the air, waiting for us to find it. I am in debt to Ray Charles for doing that so well.
June 11th, 2004 at 11:42 pm
Truer words were never spoken. Ray Charles’ impact on today’s music is incredible. I will be mourning his death for some time…. It is a sad day indeed.
June 28th, 2004 at 2:38 am
Yeah…well the same thing happened the week Mother Teresa passed away. Princess Diana was the spotlight death of the week…SHAME on the media!
July 11th, 2004 at 7:13 pm
Shame on us for consuming it. Without us, they wouldn’t be in business…….
November 16th, 2004 at 2:15 pm
It sucks that we lost another one of the greats. i know I’ll miss him dearly, his music has had many direct influences on my life as an inspiring musician. His song always on my mind, will always remind me of my best friend. no matter what has happend to each or us or what war we are going through, she was always on my mind. God bless you Charles for all the memories. and take care Brandy