Ray Hits the Road, Jack
 

An American classic has passed today. Ray Charles, who had long been in failing health, joined the Choir Celestial today.

Ray fused the Blues into the popular American consciousness like no one else. Snarling, moaning, shouting...nobody could wrestle a song into submission like Ray. And no one could put their own indelible mark on a piece. "Georgia on My Mind" had been put to paper for over 20 years before he sang it, but when you think of that song, you probably think of Ray.

From "Wha'd I Say?" to "Hit the Road, Jack", and perhaps one of the most memorable renditions of "America the Beautiful", Ray Charles' appeal crossed barriers of race, age and nationality. His resurgence in the popular American culture following his "Blues Brothers" appearance ("Shake A Tail Feather") resulted in a string of classic Pepsi commercials, a lot of public appearances, and a whole new audience for Ray.

My mother introduced me to Ray Charles. His voice, at once gritty yet silky, will be forever engraved in my memory. Thanks for teaching me what the Blues can sound like in the hands of a master, Ray.

What can I say Els? You said it best. I just saw the news about this...sad. But, he lived a full life. Peace Ray.

"Georgia on My Mind" had been put to paper for over 20 years before he sang it, but when you think of that song, you probably think of Ray.

Damn straight. He was one of the best and I'll have to have a drink for him, tonight. It is a shame we have to lose these legends to time.

here's to Ray.

Now THIS is a celebrity I'm going to miss.

Crap.

"If I could moan like a mourning dove..."

He had a tiny, but positive, impact on my life. I liked him. He was always fun to watch and listen to.

I am truly sad about this. We have lost a truly great American today and sadly his death is overshadowed by the death of a loser who happened to be elected president. This week the biggest loss by far is Ray Charles.

Ray went blind when he was a kid and he saw his brother drown to death. Now they are together again. His music will remain to keep us company.

That piece of news really spoiled the evening. Can't say that I'm a big fan but I loved hearing him singing. Great man. Hear you in heaven.

My feelings exactly. :(

The worst part for me is now he can hear me singing along.:blush: But it's your fault, Ray, I just can't help myself. As soon as I hear you on the radio, you possess me and my soul.
Goodbye, old friend.:(

I was blessed to have heard Georgia on My Mind at the Laser show on the side of Stone Mountain back in 88. If you can get through that without welling up you are a bigger man or woman than me.

This weekend, I will watch the Blues Brothers and pay my respects to ole Ray.

Counting all of your posts to date, since I joined the Cellar, I have to say that, in my opinion, that is the single most offensive post you have ever made.

It provides a gaping view into what looks to be a mind in such turmoil, and with so much inconsistency and self-recrimination that the only word I can conjure is pity. For you.

Damn, first Vincent Price, now Ray Charles....all of the good ones are being lost.

RIP, Ray. :(

A real shame...he'll be missed.

Who will be #3?

It's a sad day. Unfortunately, with flags already flying at half mast for President Reagan, Georgia will not have any way to honor one of it's favorite sons.

Have no fear. I'm sure Georgia will have a celebration worthy of an artist of Ray's calibre.

My friend took a still photo of Ray from "The Blues Brothers", when he pulled out the pistol and shot at the wall to scare the kid, put it on a shirt, and added the slogan, "Ray's Security Services". Gets laughs every time.

Go easy, Ray.

Counting every one of your posts and opinions I've ever cared about on the cellar, that's still zero.

Save some pity for me, because (for once) I agree with every word Radar wrote, apart from the phrasing that makes it sound as if Ray witnessing his brother's death -> Ray going blind was a cause-effect relationship.

My previous post in this thread said the same thing with less descriptive phrasing, that's all.

As far as the cause-effect relationship of his blindness and his brother's drowning death, Ray himself said it was the last thing he ever saw. I don't know if there was any physical trauma that might have caused it.

he had congenital glaucoma

Originally posted by vsp No, it really didn't. You let it be known that you do not wish to participate in mourning Reagan - you let everyone know where you stand without expressing a detailed opinion.

What Radar did that many of us find incredibly rude and undeniably self-important was to (attempt to) invalidate the respect we were paying. It is an individual's decision to pay or not pay respect. It is beyond uncalled for and entirely unacceptable to directly challence someone's choice in that matter during the "mourning - pay respect" period.

You and Radar are free to despise Reagan. I might be interested in having that debate sometime. But now is clearly not the time. And I establish a clear separation between you and Radar in as much as you have the good sense to know that being disrespecful to the dead is really about being disrespectful to those who respect the dead. A subtley completely lost on the self-appointed would-be ruler of the universe.

Well said and true.

Enough!
This thread is about Ray, Sweet Brother Ray, who was and still is of great importance to me. His music flows through my life.

As a kid I can remember sleeping over for the first time at my friend Robin's house. You know, the sleepover is like discovering a whole new world. The siblings, how the parents are, the smell of their house, the way they eat dinner....I remember in the morning it was her dad, a Navy officer, that made us scrambled eggs. We helped in the kitchen. He was cool and funny. No TV on, he was playing Ray Charles, singing along. It was perfect. I wanted to live there.

Ray played jazz, blues, gospel, country, pop. It was all his music. He created soul by laying it open. His music was joy.

I remember Discovering Ray's early 50s recordings in the late 80s and opened a whole new appreciation for his genius. If you dont own it I would highly recommend the terrific 3 cd box set "The Birth of Soul". It is simply essential music. Ray, the amazing band, the Rayettes. Go buy it now.

I am so lucky to have the music of Ray Charles floating through my life and lifting me up. He gave such a loving gift. He was a genius. Thank you Ray. You be my baby....Don't give me no maybe!

Yes, it really did. I chose my words carefully. How you choose to interpret them is another matter.

Back to Ray... one thing I loved about him was that he was capable of laughing at himself, which is a rare but welcome trait.

I remember an episode of Saturday Night Live where Ray was the musical guest. Michael O'Donoghue came out to give Ray an award -- a painting, to be precise, to be placed in the headquarters of a foundation dedicated to finding a cure for blindness. O'Donoghue did his best to describe the rich colors, the fine detail, etc., and summed it up with "I guess you really kinda have to see it," hoping that someday Ray would be able to do so.

O'Donoghue then rips the protective paper cover off the painting... and it's nothing but a picture frame with the words "PLEASE DON'T TELL HIM" written on the backing.

Ray thanks O'Donoghue profusely for the gracious gift, and O'Donoghue leaves. At that point, Ray turns to the audience and explains that there are a bunch of big black guys waiting to jump O'Donoghue in the parking lot and beat the hell out of him, but since it's meant to be a surprise, "...please don't tell him."

Priceless.

I've been listening to that the last couple of days...awesome stuff.

Blues in not my thing, never really has been (does that mean I have no soul?) but Ray's music seemed to cross that divide on the back of a wave of...

No, wait, I have it!

He's a muse! The Archangel of Music. The Archtype of Arai.

Beestie, I think you're over reacting, but this thread is not the place to debate it.:)

I heard part of a 1998 interview with Ray Charles on NPR this evening. They played a clip of "Georgia on My Mind".

While I didn't quite cry, I do confess that I got a little misty eyed.

While they certainly have their faults, some of the most decent human being were musicians.

In the last 12 months we've lost Johnny Cash and now Ray Charles.

We were talking about Ray and his brilliance tonight.

One thing we couldn't figure out though ... one of our guys had heard an interview with him some years ago in which he talked about some of the demons which had plagued his life, including drug addiction.

Now, you can't just go down to the corner grocery and cop some heroin. Who was buying for him?

His "staff", "friends", entourage, groupies. Even tiny little stars have people who are willing to do whatever it takes to be in the group. Mega stars (Ray), have the world offered to them, every day.:)

Celebrities seldom buy their own.

...unless they're Rush Limbaugh.

He had his maid do it.

Oh, and did you hear? The Massachusetts gay marriage law ended Limbaugh's third marriage!

Heroine was pretty rampant in the 40-50s jazz world. Some survived it, many didnt.

The old-style Jazz Junkies (the William S. Burroughs type) are very different from today's young 3 bundle a day junkies.

The old style junky knows he's a junky.

The 3 bundle a day kids deny that they have a habit, even when they are in sweating, sniffling, puking withdrawal.