Ray Charles
The Beginning
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On September 23, 1930 Aretha Williams and Baily Robinson had welcomed a new baby boy into their self-effacing home in Albany, Georgia; whereas America had welcomed a new age of R&B. He had been born into the great depression, without a loving father and had to work extra hard to help his family and be the man of the house. At the young age of seven, Ray's glaucoma had become irreversible by destroying any chance of vision by burning his corneas while staring into the sun to "find the light". However, his mother had made it clear to him that his blindness would not stop him from doing household chores. "You may be blind, but you're not stupid. You have things to do for yourself, and no one else is will do them for you."
Ray was accepted into Saint Augustine School of the Deaf and Blind to study composition and learn to play instruments such as piano, saxophone, and clarinet. Unfortunately, when both his parents had passed when he was the young age of fifteen, he moved to Florida to work as a musician. Earning just shy of five dollars a night. There he picked up his niche of wearing sunglasses in addition to his addiction to heroin. When he had finally earned enough money to move to Seattle in 1947, his hit song "Mess Around" had been his saving grace, making him known all across America.
Ray was accepted into Saint Augustine School of the Deaf and Blind to study composition and learn to play instruments such as piano, saxophone, and clarinet. Unfortunately, when both his parents had passed when he was the young age of fifteen, he moved to Florida to work as a musician. Earning just shy of five dollars a night. There he picked up his niche of wearing sunglasses in addition to his addiction to heroin. When he had finally earned enough money to move to Seattle in 1947, his hit song "Mess Around" had been his saving grace, making him known all across America.
"Mess Around" was known as "boogie woogie" music. With his Rag Time-Jazzy music he composed award winning pieces passed down from generation to generation. His influence has had a huge impact on modern day music and changed the outlook of R&B music used today.
Ray's Influence in Pop Culture
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"Telly" with Ray Charles and "Elmo"
His legacy had soon emerged into pop culture, and Ray had been initiated into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. He had performed one of his hits "You Got the Right One, Baby" in a Pepsi commercial and guest starred in a "Blues Brothers" movie. Bobble head and t-shirt prints among other commercial products had been released in mass productions in and out of his lifetime. The song, "I've Got a Woman" has lyrics that Kanye West had manipulated into his song, "Gold Digger" sung by Jamie Foxx. Jamie Foxx had also played Ray Charles in the Academy Award winning film, "Ray", based on Ray's life story, produced after his death. His songs changed the sound of R&B, and Jazz with his influence on Pop and Hip-Hop composers of today.
Achievements and Accomplishments
In his lifetime, he had composed 60 albums and played live in over 10,000 concerts. This man had something to be proud of; overcoming adversity. Not only was he a black artist in segregated times, but he was blind. Being able to play the piano is tough, but this man could do it without even looking at the keys. He had changed the way avid listeners of the Blues looked at the genre. People had said that his influenced by Nat King Cole, but he broke through the chains of disillusionment with the unique sounds of Gospel as well as Blues and made the genre new and trendy. He was honored with recognition and an award from the American Government known as the National Medal of the Arts.
Death
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Unfortunately, all good things must come to and end. On June 10th, 2004 Ray had died in his Cali mansion of liver disease. This in his case had been found out on accident with his hip replacement surgery. Among the thousands of mourners was the New York Times with their editorial on his entire life's accomplishments. Famous artists such as BB King, Willie Nelson, and Stevie Wonder were some of the musicians who performed at his funeral. The last album released by ABC-Paramount records "Genius Loves Company" debuted two months after his death. As stated in his autobiography, "Brother Ray", goodbye don't mean gone. He must have known of the legacy he would leave. Even though his heart no longer beats, his rhythm is still beating through the modern radio produced songs of today.
Cited Works
- http://www.biography.com/people/ray-charles-9245001?page=2
- http://muppet.wikia.com/wiki/File:Ray-charles-telly.jpg