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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (June 16, 2004)
lune 16. 2004 (Tijc ^fortlanh ©hseruer Page A 3 Remembering the Great Ray Charles Grammy winning R&B star was a crowd pleaser (A P )— Ray Charles, the Grammy - w inning cro o n er w ho blended g o s pel and b lu e s in su ch c ro w d - pleasers as "W h a l'd I S ay” and ballads like “G eo rg iao n My M ind,” died T hursday, a spokesm an said. He w as 73. C harles d ied at his B everly Hills hom e surrounded by fam ily and frie n d s, sa id s p o k e s m a n Je rry D igney. C harles last public appearance w as alongside C lint E astw ood on A pril 30, w hen the city o f L os A n geles designated the sin g er's stu dios, built 4 0 years ago in central Los A ngeles, as a historic land mark. Blind by age 7 and an orphan at 15, C harles spent his life shattering any notion o f m usical boundaries and defy in g easy d efin itio n . A gifted pianist and saxophonist, he dabbled in country, jazz , big band regated South. “H is sound w as stunning — it w as the blues, it w as R & B , it w as gospel, it w as sw ing — it w as all the stu ff I w as listening to before that but rolled in to o n e am azing, soulful thing,” singer Van M orrison told Rolling Stone m agazine in April. C h arles w on n in e o f h is 12 G ram m y A wards between 1960 and 1966, including the best R & B re cording three co n secu tiv e years (“ Hit the R oad Jack ,” “I C a n ’t Stop L oving Y ou" and "B usted"). H is versions o f oth er songs are also well know n, including "M akin' W hoopee” and a stirring “A m erica the B eautiful." H oagy C arm ichael and S tuart G orrell w rote “G eorgia on My M ind” in 1931 but it d id n ’t b ecom e G e o rg ia ’s o fficial state song until 1979, long after C harles turned it into an A m erican stan dard. “I w as bom w ith m usic inside me. T h at’s the only explanation 1 know of,” C harles said in his 1978 au to b io g ra p h y , “ B ro th e r R ay .” “M usic was one o f my p a rts ... Like my blood. It w as a force already with m e when Iarriv ed o n the scene. It w as a necessity for me, like food Ray Charles sings “Oh What a Beautiful M orning" at the March 3, 1 9 9 6 Easter Seal fundraiser in Pasadena, Calif. Despite being blind since age 7, Charles was a gifted pianist and saxophonist and dabbled in country, jazz, big band and blues. (AP photo) ences in South A frica. But politics d id n ’t take. He w as happiest playing m usic, sm iling and sw aying behind the p iano as his legs w aved in rhythm ic jo y . H is appeal spanned generations: He team ed w ith such d ispar ate m usicians as W illie N elson, C h ak a K han and EricC lapton, andappeared in m ovies including “The Blues B rothers.” C harles w as no angel. He could be m ercurial and his w om anizing w as leg endary. H e also struggled with a heroin addiction for n early 2 0 y ears before q u ittin g co ld tu rk ey in 1965 after an arrest at the B oston airport. Yet there w as a sen se o f h u m o r f about even that — he re leased both "I D o n ’t Need No D octor” and “L e t’s G o G et S to n ed ” in 1966. He later becam e reluctant to talk about the drug use, fearing it w ould I was born with music inside me. That 5 the only ■ r explanation ■x I know of. Grammy-winner Ray Charles early in his m usical career. and blues, and put his stam p on it all w ith a deep, w arm voice ro u g h e n e d by h e a r tb r e a k fro m a hardscrabble child h o o d in the seg- o r w ater.” C h a r le s c o n s id e r e d M a rtin L uther K ing Jr. a friend and once refused to play to segregated au d i taint how people thought o f his work. “I ’ve know n tim es w here I’ve felt terrible, but once I get to the stage and the band starts w ith the m usic, I d o n ’t know w hy but it's like you have pain and take an aspirin, and you d o n ’t feel it no m ore,” he once said. Ray C harles R obinson w as bom Sept. 23, 1930, in A lbany, G a. His lather, Bailey R obinson, w as a m e chanic and a handym an, and his m other, A retha, stacked boards in a saw m ill. His fam ily m oved to G ainesville, Fla., when C harles was an infant. “T alk about poor," C harles once said. "W e w ere on the bottom o f the ladder." C harles saw his brotherdrow n in the tub his m other used to do laun dry w hen he w as about 5 as the tam ily struggled through poverty at the height o f the D epression. His continued yf on page AS S cheduled F lights TO Riverside Resort Hotel & Casino j In Laughlin, Nevada . ». •* -* i J , F ro m P O R T L A N D ,O R E G O N To LAUGHLIN, NEVADA j VERSID ç JUNE SPECIAL ROOM & AIR PACKAGES Monday - Friday 4 - Night Stay and Thursday - Sunday 3 - Night Stay From $ 199* I (Price Includes All Taxes & Fees) •PRICES ARE PER PERSON, BASED O N DOUBLE OCCUPANCY. SINGLE OCCUPANCY SSC AOOfTIONAL CHARGE IN C L U D E S R O i i N n T B » ^ ^ AIRFARE. GROUND TRANSFERS ANO HOTEL LODGING AT THE R W E R S lW R E S O fi PR IttS A R E £ s >KT W RETROACTIVE . ANO MAY NOT BE AVAILABLE O N CERTAIN DEPARTURES OR AT TIME OF BOOKING DUE TO LIMITED SPACE TICKETS P R O INauO ESALLTAXES ANO FEES. SCHEOULEDAJR NEW S E A S O N S I Siqtwfttre, r i T A S T IN G S A T U R D A Y 1 1 :0 0 a m -5 :0 0 p m I We re one of the few places around where you can still find fresh, handcrafted sausages. You can watch us make ours in the meat department every day. They taste as good as they do because we use only the freshest, all natural ingredients and never add preservatives, nitrites, or other artificial ingredients. We have over 40 varieties in our collection made with either naturally raised chicken, ocean troll-caught Pacific Northwest salmon, locally grown pork and lamb, or free-range turkey. trx Mi 'W This Saturday we’ll be sampling from the dozens of sausages in our repertoire. Try some of our newer recipes like Hefe Beer Brats or Cheddarwurst. Or, enjoy old favorites like Pork Tarragon & Roasted Garlic or Roasted Red Pepper & Feta Lamb Sausage. Taste until your heart (and stomach) is content. A What better way to wash the brats down than with some cool summer brews? Brewers from Full Sail Brewing in Hood River and representatives from Lagunitas in Petaluma, California will be pouring beer samples as well. fke friendliest-store- in toum. E A S Y F U N TO S H O P • L O C A L L Y O W N E D & O P E R A T E D C O N C O R D IA O R E N C O S T A T IO N N E 3 3 r d & K illin g s w o r t h P o r t la n d O R 9 7 2 1 1 R A L E IG H H IL L S N E 6 1 s t & C o r n e ll R d . H ills b o r o O R 9 7 1 2 4 SELLW OOD 1214 SE T acom a 503 288 3838 O p e n 8 a m -1 0 p m 7 3 0 0 S W B e a v e r t o n - H ills d a le H w y . P o r t la n d O R 9 7 2 2 5 503 648 6968 O p e n 8 a rp -1 0 p m 5 0 3 .2 9 2 6 8 3 8 O p e n 8 a m -1 0 p m P o r t la n d O R 9 7 2 0 2 503 230 4949 O p e n 8 a m - 10p m