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Ray Charles


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I heard form a reliable source that his health is deteriorating. From what I understand he's been fighting cancer but has discontinued treatment.

What an amazing life he's had, though! How many artists have trancended as many genres as him? Rock, R&B, country, jazz, pop, etc. He brings a classy element to anything he does, IMHO. His music is always uplifting and comforting.

A true icon in every sense of the word. He's one of those guys that you wish would be around forever............. :tup

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I noticed recently on Alan Lankin's site that he's listed as having a new CD due on Concord, duets with, among others, that famous daughter who inspires such mixed reactions round here.

Natalie Cole??? Nancy Sinatra??? Karen Mantler??? Pyeng Threadgill??? New York's local NBC weatherwoman Audrey Puente??? ;););)

Oh, you mean

Anoushka Shankar???

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Don't mean to hijack this serious topic with jokes -- just saw a news story that Ray Charles' studio in Los Angeles will be dedicated by the city on April 30 as a historic landmark, with a big event. Does seem like the kind of honor that might be inspired by knowing someone's on the decline and wanting to give him something while he's still able to enjoy it.

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Here's a report from CNN.com:

Frail Ray Charles vows to get stronger

Friday, April 30, 2004 Posted: 10:37 PM EDT (0237 GMT)

LOS ANGELES, California (Reuters) -- American music icon Ray Charles, whose voice gave birth to soul music, has been reduced to a whisper, and cannot stand without support.

The 73-year-old singer/songwriter turned up late in a motorized wheelchair to his own party Friday, when the City of Los Angeles conferred historic building status on his longtime recording complex in a rundown part of the city.

Propped up at the podium by handlers, the frail entertainer, who recently had hip replacement surgery, could barely be heard as he spoke into the microphone.

"I'm a little weak now, but I'm gonna get stronger," he said, before posing briefly for photos with luminaries including Clint Eastwood, and then being whisked away.

His demeanor was a far cry from the wildly enthusiastic Charles known to millions of fans for more than half a century.

A prolific performer, Charles has been off the road for almost a year so that he could undergo a hip replacement. Unspecified complications forced him to scrap plans to resume touring with a performance in New York last month.

A recent tabloid report claimed Charles was dying of liver cancer and that funeral arrangements were being made. But Joe Adams, Charles's business associate for 46 years, told Reuters, "I can't give any credence to the story. ... They seem to know more than I do."

But Adams did not seem optimistic that Charles would return to the road.

"I hope so. It's his life, but he'll be 74 in September and it's kind of adding up," he said. "He wants to get out there now, because that's his communication. It's his therapy also. I don't know whether he'll go back out again or not."

Even with his health problems, Charles has been busy working on a CD of duets with such performers as Elton John, Norah Jones, B.B. King, Diana Krall, Johnny Mathis and Willie Nelson. It is slated for release at the end of summer.

Charles' biographer, David Ritz, who has known him since the mid-1970s, said, "I think his physicality has changed, but not his character," he said.

Charles, who went blind from glaucoma as a youngster, is often credited with inventing soul music. He scored his first national hit in 1955 with "I've Got A Woman." Subsequent hits included "What'd I Say," "Georgia on My Mind" and "Hit the Road, Jack."

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I can't imagine wanting to hear this duets CD if he's trying to perform in his present state. I bet that will be tough to listen to, if its the last he leaves us.

Hang tough, Brother Ray!

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Thanks for the info, Dan. I have a hard listening to a favorite artist when he or she is recorded too far past their prime. I prefer to remember them in a more favorable light. I do realize that continuing to makes records may help keep hope alive, so I'm not totally against it as a theraputic practice, but it's often a little hard to listen to. It often seems to me that the record company is trying to squeeze every last bit of profit w/o regard for dignity or quality.

Is that a fair assessment? I can't in good conscience buy some of these products, even though I may LOVE the artist.

God bless you, Brother Ray............

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