Ray Charles

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Ray Charles

Ray Charles was a revolutionary pianist and a soul singer who helped shape the sound of rhythm and blues. He brought a soulful sound to everything from country music to pop standards to “God Bless America.” His birth name was Ray Charles Robinson, but he shortened it when he entered show business to avoid confusion with the famous boxer Sugar Ray Robinson. I chose Ray Charles as the topic for my paper after seeing the movie Ray. After viewing this film I realized that there was a lot of interesting information about Ray Charles that I had never heard about. Therefore, the focus of my paper is to learn who Ray Charles really was and to discuss his life and achievements.

The Early Years

Ray Charles was born in Albany, Georgia. Around the age of five, Charles began to go blind and by age seven he was totally blind. I was shocked when I learned this information because I had always thought that Ray Charles was blind from birth. Although many are not certain to the exact reasons as to why Charles went blind, it was believed to be the result of glaucoma. Just before his eyes began to fail him, he had seen his younger brother, George, drown in a washtub. This part of his life was well portrayed in the movie Ray. Ray states, “We were out in the backyard one day while my mom was in the house ironing some clothes. We were playing by a huge metal washtub full of water. And we were having gun the way boys do, pushing and jostling each other around. Now, I never did know just how it happened, but my brother somehow tilted over the rim of this tub and fell down, slid down into the water and slipped under. At first I thought he was still playing, but it finally dawned on me that he wasn’t moving. He wasn’t reacting. I tried to pull him out of the water, but by that time his clothes had gotten soaked through with water and he was just too heavy for me. So I ran in and got my mom, and she raced out back and snatched him out of the tub. She shook him, and breathed into his mouth, and pumped his little stomach, but it was too late.” (Internet source, 1) Witnessing his brother drown also had a serious effect on him in his later years. Young Ray Charles attended school at the St. Augustine School for the deaf and blind in St. Augustine, Florida as a charity case. While there he learned how to read Braille and to write music and play various instru...

... middle of paper ...

...thed. This theme is also apparent in all of the discussion that we had in class referring to the birth of African slave songs, the blues, jazz, and even spirituals. It seems that black people had to go through a struggle in order to produce great music. Black people also had to overcome their situations and I think Ray has proven to be a prime example. Despite of his handicap he did not let this bring him too far down. Ray Charles, eventually overcame sex, drugs and rock 'n' roll to live a long and prosperous life in the limelight, there are hundreds, if not thousands of anonymous artists who die of an overdose (even in this story, one of Ray's lovers ODs), waste away with a sexually transmitted disease, or simply wash out, unremembered and unfulfilled. Ray Charles may have passed away but his life and legacy along with his numerous musical hits will forever remain in our hearts.

Bibliography

Breznican, Anthony. Internet Source. November 5, 2004.

http://www.suntimes.com/output/movies/wkp-news-Ray05.html.

Ray Charles forever.com (I was not sure how to site this Because there was no author or title to the page however, The address is given) http://raycharlesforever.com.

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