lune 16. 2004
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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
.
».
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J ,
F ro m P O R T L A N D ,O R E G O N
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T A S T IN G S A T U R D A Y
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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
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all natural ingredients and never add preservatives, nitrites, or other artificial
ingredients. We have over 40 varieties in our collection made with either
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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 &
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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
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