sidewinder Posted June 11, 2004 Report Share Posted June 11, 2004 RIP - this is very sad news. It was only a few weeks ago that Ray was on the TV featured on that Clint Eastwood documentary made as part of 'The Blues' series. He was obviously not at all well when this was filmed, with breathing difficulties very evident. Nevertheless the great enthusiasm and soul of Brother Ray as he demonstrated the blues and reminisced with Clint shone through big time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skeith Posted June 11, 2004 Report Share Posted June 11, 2004 Good bye Brother Ray and thanks for the music!!!!!!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maren Posted June 11, 2004 Report Share Posted June 11, 2004 Sad, sad, sad. Really glad the city of LA honored him back in April while he was able to be there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Man with the Golden Arm Posted June 11, 2004 Report Share Posted June 11, 2004 Sad news, indeed. As a kid, one of my first concerts was Gladys Knight & the Pips with Ray as the opener. It was at an in the round place in Cleveland called The Front Row and the folks scored seats, yes, in the front row. Got to watch Ray spin by many times that night and still remember it fondly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John L Posted June 11, 2004 Report Share Posted June 11, 2004 I have learned not to be suprised at the lack of awareness of the general American public about their great musical artists. But this is Ray Charles. When the American mass media first heard of his passing, it appears that they needed some time to figure out who he was. The first headline that appeared everywhere only identified him as an American pop musican who once won a Grammy. Unbelievable! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JSngry Posted June 11, 2004 Report Share Posted June 11, 2004 I have learned not to be suprised at the lack of awareness of the general American public about their great musical artists. No shit. Look at the caption on this picture from today's online New York Times: George Wein, above, a titan of jazz festivals Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2004/06/11/arts/music/11JAZZ.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
catesta Posted June 11, 2004 Report Share Posted June 11, 2004 XM Radio Channel 70 (Real Jazz) is paying tribute to Ray Charles all day. I heard an interview this morning with "Fathead" Newman, he was talking about the greatness of Ray Charles. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
7/4 Posted June 11, 2004 Report Share Posted June 11, 2004 I have learned not to be suprised at the lack of awareness of the general American public about their great musical artists. No shit. Look at the caption on this picture from today's online New York Times: George Wein, above, a titan of jazz festivals Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2004/06/11/arts/music/11JAZZ.html Ornette! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JSngry Posted June 11, 2004 Report Share Posted June 11, 2004 No, that's George Wein, a titan of jazz festivals. Can't you read? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
7/4 Posted June 11, 2004 Report Share Posted June 11, 2004 Wrong glasses maybe? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maren Posted June 12, 2004 Report Share Posted June 12, 2004 No, that's George Wein, a titan of jazz festivals. Can't you read? Well, somebody fixed it... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chuck Nessa Posted June 12, 2004 Report Share Posted June 12, 2004 (edited) All this stuff about Ray has me digging up memories (both good and not so good) about working with Ray at the Chicago Jazz Festival. I "forced" Mr Charles (with money) to perform with a recreation of his old band with Fathead, Hank, Marcus, etc. It was both wonderful and a bummer at the same time. If I have time to sort this stuff out (in my scrambled head), I will post some details. I am trying to sort out the complete personnel. I think we used Pretty Purdie on drums and unfortunately, Phil Upchurch on bass! I wanted to include Don Wilkerson in the band, but Fathead and Hank said "there will be nothing for him to play". My favorite memory is Hank kissing me after the gig and him saying "People been trying to do this for years, and you finally did it". I'm not certain Ray felt the same way. I don't think that sort of thing happened again. Edited June 12, 2004 by Chuck Nessa Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sheldonm Posted June 12, 2004 Report Share Posted June 12, 2004 I have learned not to be suprised at the lack of awareness of the general American public about their great musical artists. No shit. Look at the caption on this picture from today's online New York Times: George Wein, above, a titan of jazz festivals Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2004/06/11/arts/music/11JAZZ.html George looks a little different from the last time I saw him! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shrugs Posted June 12, 2004 Report Share Posted June 12, 2004 www.wwoz.org is spinnin Ray right now if ya need an assist. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Al Posted June 12, 2004 Report Share Posted June 12, 2004 I have learned not to be suprised at the lack of awareness of the general American public about their great musical artists. But this is Ray Charles. When the American mass media first heard of his passing, it appears that they needed some time to figure out who he was. The first headline that appeared everywhere only identified him as an American pop musican who once won a Grammy. Unbelievable! Shoulda seen the front page of the Ft. Worth Star Telegram this morning: a HUGE color picture of Charles, with the words VOICE OF A LIFETIME in big letters. It dwarfed any coverage of Reagan's passing. He was the definitive American musician. If the ONLY thing he'd done was his supreme version of "America the Beautiful," he would've assured his legendary status. (As a sidenote, I always liked that scene in the movie The Sandlot where the kids are playing a game on the 4th of July and all the kids start watching the fireworks goin' off, while Ray's "America" plays in the background. Chokes me up every time) Thankfully, he gave us so much more. Thank you, Ray Charles. I'd say RIP, but a soul like his didn't ever give the impression that he'd want to rest: he's likely swingin' the cherubim right now! So play on, Brother Ray; play on! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chrome Posted June 14, 2004 Report Share Posted June 14, 2004 From Slate: It's a Shame About Ray The passing of an American musical icon. By Stanley Crouch Posted Friday, June 11, 2004, at 3:35 PM PT Ray Charles The true giants of American music are going fast these days, and the loss of Ray Charles is the latest example. We cannot stay in any previous period, artistic or historical. We can be bitter about the inevitable or we can recognize that this is a fact, as real as the fact of cold death. One of my favorite Ray Charles moments occurred during an interview with Dick Cavett, about 35 years ago. On that particular evening, I and everyone watching saw something special. The two men sat in their chairs and spoke in that measured tone that can soon become boring in television unless something happens to lend an extra dimension to the conversation. Cavett, with all of his liberal certainty, was consistently shocked by Charles' answers to his questions. As the interview went on, one could see Cavett realize he had made some miscalculations. He'd assumed that because Charles was both black and blind, the interview would be given over to whining and crying about how hard it was for a Negro with a handicap in a country that was as racist as it was disdainful of the crippled, the blind, and the deaf. But Charles surprised us all, black or white. He spoke of his self-determination, his independence, and how he had been well prepared to live his life as a sightless Negro by his mother. Charles told Cavett that his mother had never allowed him to escape any household duties or chores because of his blindness. His mother, he said, made sure that he made up his bed, cleaned up his room, washed dishes, and did whatever the other children were required to do. Her son was going to be prepared to live in the world, and she had no time for debilitating self-pity. She told him that there were always at least two ways things could be done: the way everyone else did them, and the way he would have to discover for himself. Charles continued, telling Cavett how much he enjoyed riding on motorcycles and how much pleasure he drew from flying. Cavett, by then, had become cautious; he realized that he was in the presence of a black man who did not fit any of the clichés of the day and who had decided not to play a part that would make everyone happy by arousing their pity—always the problem of the handicapped genius. Charles said to him that if he were in a plane and something happened to the pilot, he had no doubt that he could safely land the plane in if he had a good ground crew guiding him. He might get banged up, but he would not be killed, Charles said with absolute confidence. It was that kind of confidence that gave a charismatic clarity to Ray Charles' music and that allowed him to last much longer than any of the trends that brought him to public attention. Charles maintained his position in our pantheon of the rightly honored because his importance did not depend on audience whims. While he may have benefited from a couple of trends in his long career, his talent allowed him to transcend the high tide of momentary public fixation that dooms so many careers in popular entertainment. He was one of the invincibles—there were always plenty of people in America, and the world over, who wanted to hear his distinct sound. His sound was his own, even though he had begun as a Nat Cole imitator. (It is always stunning to realize that an original artist had to build his or her own style along the way.) Charles could raise the heat on the bandstand and in the audience by the nature of his beat and by his extreme tempo control, which he made clear with his version of "Drown in My Own Tears," so slow that every drop of skill in his fellow musicians had to be brought forward to keep from either dragging it down or rushing it out of frustration. In his classic "Baby, It's Cold Outside," with the incomparable Betty Carter, he created one of the finest examples of romantic give-and-take between man and woman that we have in American music. Then there were his versions of Tin Pan Alley standards that always simmered with his special kind of soul. He conquered country-and-western music, and he sang "America the Beautiful" as it had never been sung before, with power and irony. We don't even need to talk about rhythm and blues or the blues or his love of jazz. He had a full house of talent. But perhaps what Ray Charles did with all of his authority was help make the country and the world as blind as he was. Charles was one of those special few who expands the democratic experience by proving that neither color nor a handicap mean that one is less a man or less a woman. We couldn't ask more of a person in 73 years. He used every second. ----------------------------------------------------- Admittedly, I never saw the original Cavett/Charles interview, and know nothing about Cavett's views on race, etc., but I can't help but wonder if Cavett was surprised that any blind person, black or white, was talking about flying airplanes and riding motorcycles. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RainyDay Posted June 14, 2004 Report Share Posted June 14, 2004 CBS Sunday Morning did an excellent tribute to Charles yesterday. The focus was how Charles had affected other musical genres. Also, a local comedian, Brian Copeland, has a Sunday talk show and he shared his experiences meeting Charles and opening for him on numerous occasions. Copeland said there were three people in entertainment he'd had the chance to work with who were nothing but gracious and he named Ray Charles, Smokey Robinson, and of course I forgot the third one. While it's true Charles will never really die since his music will live on, it's still a hard loss to take. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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