RIP RAY CHARLES

Rob The Badger · 11 Jun 2004, 11:32

Copy and pasted from another forum I frequent. . .

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmp...u/obit_charles

Grammy-Winning Crooner Ray Charles Dies

5 minutes ago

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. - Ray Charles (news), 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.

Canadian Press Photo

Slideshow: Music Legend Ray Charles Dies at 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 (news) 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 (news) 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.

**Diane** · 11 Jun 2004, 17:05

Thanks for opening this topic Rob. I was very saddened this morning to learn of the death of another of the worlds great music legends.

Diane

*AndyK* · 11 Jun 2004, 17:18

Sad news indeed.

R. · 11 Jun 2004, 19:20

Quote:

Originally Posted by AndyK

Sad news indeed.

Very.

dottie · 11 Jun 2004, 22:29

Ray Charles often sang 'Take these Chains from my Heart' (and set me free)..... Ray Charles has now broken free from these earthly chains.

Just because your gone 'I'll can'nt stop loving you'.and your music....

A lot of memories happy and sad wrapped up in Ray's music, truly a giant of a man..........wil be very sadly missed.........

shadow1000001 · 12 Jun 2004, 03:18

very sad

11 Jun 2004, 11:32	#1
Rob The Badger Too sexy for this post Join Date: 14.04.2002 Location: Manchester, UK Posts: 2,895	RIP RAY CHARLES Copy and pasted from another forum I frequent. . . http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmp...u/obit_charles Grammy-Winning Crooner Ray Charles Dies 5 minutes ago BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. - Ray Charles (news), 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. Canadian Press Photo Slideshow: Music Legend Ray Charles Dies at 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 (news) 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 (news) 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.

11 Jun 2004, 17:05	#2
Diane Super Moderator Join Date: 04.02.2003 Location: Guernsey, Channel Islands Posts: 3,462	Thanks for opening this topic Rob. I was very saddened this morning to learn of the death of another of the worlds great music legends. Diane

11 Jun 2004, 17:18	#3
AndyK Relentless Join Date: 21.11.2003 Location: Over the top..... seeing what's on the other side Posts: 18,694	Sad news indeed.

11 Jun 2004, 22:29	#5
dottie queen post- whore extraordinaire Join Date: 29.01.2003 Location: Still Rockin' at "72" Posts: 13,181	Ray Charles often sang 'Take these Chains from my Heart' (and set me free)..... Ray Charles has now broken free from these earthly chains. Just because your gone 'I'll can'nt stop loving you'.and your music.... A lot of memories happy and sad wrapped up in Ray's music, truly a giant of a man..........wil be very sadly missed.........

12 Jun 2004, 03:18	#6
shadow1000001 Mega Loafer Join Date: 10.07.2003 Location: Red Deer, Alberta, Canada Posts: 2,580	very sad