Jim Alfredson Posted June 10, 2004 Report Posted June 10, 2004 Just saw on MSNBC that Ray Charles died today. Can anyone confirm? I saw Ray live three times in the last 6 years or so. He always had a great band and put on a fantastic show. His music IS jazz. RIP. Quote
mgraham333 Posted June 10, 2004 Report Posted June 10, 2004 MSNBC.com and FoxNews.com both are running breaking news headlines at the top of the page. Quote
Jim Alfredson Posted June 10, 2004 Author Report Posted June 10, 2004 So far all the MSNBC website has is a banner with Ray Charles' spokesmen saying he died. Gonna spin some right now. I love Brother Ray. Quote
J.A.W. Posted June 10, 2004 Report Posted June 10, 2004 (edited) Saw it too - on MSNBC and CNN. Another great artist gone. Edited June 10, 2004 by J.A.W. Quote
brownie Posted June 10, 2004 Report Posted June 10, 2004 From AP: Grammy-Winning Crooner Ray Charles Dies BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. - Ray Charles, the Grammy-winning crooner credited with creating American soul music with a blend of gospel and blues in such crowd-pleasers as "What'd I Say" and "I Got A Woman" and heartfelt ballads like "Georgia on My Mind," died Thursday. He was 73.  Charles died at 11:35 a.m., surrounded by family and friends, said spokesman Jerry Digney. Charles last public appearance was alongside Clint Eastwood on April 30, when the city of Los Angeles designated the singers studios an historic landmark. Blind by age 7 and an orphan at 15, Charles spent his life shattering any notion of musical boundaries and defying easy definition. A gifted pianist and saxophonist, he dabbled in country, jazz, big band and blues, and put his stamp on it all with a deep, warm voice roughened by heartbreak from a hardscrabble childhood in the segregated South. "His sound was stunning — it was the blues, it was R&B, it was gospel, it was swing — it was all the stuff I was listening to before that but rolled into one amazing, soulful thing," singer Van Morrison (news) told Rolling Stone magazine in April 2004. Charles won nine of his 12 Grammy Awards between 1960 and 1966, including the best R&B recording three consecutive years ("Hit the Road Jack," "I Can't Stop Loving You" and "Busted"). Quote
Chrome Posted June 10, 2004 Report Posted June 10, 2004 Ray Charles, master of music who combined blues, gospel, country, dies at 73 Thursday, June 10, 2004 ASSOCIATED PRESS BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. - Ray Charles, the Grammy-winning crooner who blended gospel and blues in such crowd-pleasers as ``What'd I Say'' and heartfelt ballads like ``Georgia on My Mind,'' died Thursday, a spokesman said. He was 73. Charles died at his Beverly Hills home surrounded by family and friends, said spokesman Jerry Digney. Charles last public appearance was alongside Clint Eastwood on April 30, when the city of Los Angeles designated the singer's studios, built 40 years ago in central Los Angeles, as a historic landmark. Blind by age 7 and an orphan at 15, Charles spent his life shattering any notion of musical boundaries and defying easy definition. A gifted pianist and saxophonist, he dabbled in country, jazz, big band and blues, and put his stamp on it all with a deep, warm voice roughened by heartbreak from a hardscrabble childhood in the segregated South. ``His sound was stunning - it was the blues, it was R&B, it was gospel, it was swing - it was all the stuff I was listening to before that but rolled into one amazing, soulful thing,'' singer Van Morrison told Rolling Stone magazine in April. Charles won nine of his 12 Grammy Awards between 1960 and 1966, including the best R&B recording three consecutive years (``Hit the Road Jack,'' ``I Can't Stop Loving You'' and ``Busted''). His versions of other songs are also well known, including ``Makin' Whoopee'' and a stirring ``America the Beautiful.'' Hoagy Carmichael and Stuart Gorrell wrote ``Georgia on My Mind'' in 1931 but it didn't become Georgia's official state song until 1979, long after Charles turned it into an American standard. Also, as I was surfing around trying to verify, and I came across this tidbit. Apparently there will be a major movie on his life opening this fall with the following cast: Cast: Jamie Foxx (Ray Charles), Regina King (Margie Hendrix), Kerry Washington (Della Charles), Curtis Armstrong (Ahmet Ertegun), Patrick Bauchau (Dr. Hacker), Warwick Davis (Oberon), Aunjanue Ellis (Ruth Brown), Rick Gomez (Tom Dowd), Terrence Howard (Guitar Slim), David Krumholtz (Milt), Harry J. Lennix, Usher Raymond (Jackie Wilson), C.J. Sanders (Young Ray), Richard Schiff (Gerald "Jerry" Wexler), Larenz Tate (Quincy Jones), Ralph E. Tresvant (Sam Cooke), Robert Wisdom (Jack Lauderdale), Denise Y. Dowse (Marlene Andres), Chris Thomas King (Lowell Fulsom), Afemo Omilami (Mr. Johnson), Elizabeth Omilami (Mrs. Johnson) It will be called "Unchain my Heart" and be distributed by Universal. Quote
sheldonm Posted June 10, 2004 Report Posted June 10, 2004 (edited) Very sad news . Rest in Peace! Think I'll spin the Charles/Fathead disc as I have it here in my office. Edited June 10, 2004 by sheldonm Quote
Peter Johnson Posted June 10, 2004 Report Posted June 10, 2004 The "Afterlife Radio Jazz Orchestra" is really filling out its instrumentation this year. Good for them, sad for us. Rest in peace, brother Ray. Quote
Quincy Posted June 10, 2004 Report Posted June 10, 2004 Ah, what a voice, what artist. I can't find the exact quote, but I recall seeing him on a talk show years & years ago, maybe it was Johnny Carson. Somehow it came up that Ray contributed to a charity that sought a cure deafness. The host (had to be Johnny) noted that he thought it was interesting that a blind man would give to a deaf charity. Ray said something along the lines of "being blind is no big deal. But if I was deaf? A life without music?!" Quote
ghost of miles Posted June 10, 2004 Report Posted June 10, 2004 A very rough month indeed. Weirdly enough, I brought that Fathead Newman 32 Jazz set to work with me today... will spin it in lieu of Ray himself for now. Quote
Alexander Posted June 10, 2004 Report Posted June 10, 2004 Now THIS is a Goddamed tragedy. Screw Ronnie. Rest In Peace, Brother Ray. Think I'm gonna drown in my own tears... Quote
Homer Posted June 10, 2004 Report Posted June 10, 2004 Another sad day in music. My condolences to his family and friends. He left us with a treasure of music for which I'll always be thankful. God Bless you Ray Charles. Rest in peace. Quote
sheldonm Posted June 10, 2004 Report Posted June 10, 2004 Screw Ronnie. ...now that's a little cold coming from a fellow human being . Quote
desertblues Posted June 10, 2004 Report Posted June 10, 2004 How sad to hear "The Genius" has passed away! One of the very first lps I bought was "In Person" with that killer version of Drown In My Own Tears-wore out a couple of copies in fact. RIP Brother Ray... Quote
mikeweil Posted June 10, 2004 Report Posted June 10, 2004 I'm speechless. The early jazz sessions he did for Atlantic are among the discs I have spinning every month! RIP Brother RAY, and may you be a ray from the starry sky for us! Quote
king ubu Posted June 10, 2004 Report Posted June 10, 2004 Rest in peace. They're dying too fast for me to keep the pace... Quote
_forumlogo.png.a607ef20a6e0c299ab2aa6443aa1f32e.png)
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.