Uncle Ray
Ray Charles died today. He set the stage for much of what passes for Soul and R&B these days, and his passing is another sad marker of the end of an era of what was, to me, real music.
I saw him once a few years ago at the Hollywood Bowl. He seemed terribly weak and frail even then and his voice was a thin echo of what it used to be, but even with all that it was a great night of music. I’m glad I got the chance to see him perform.
Bye, Ray. We’ll miss you.
I saw him Live at the Montreaux Jazz festival in Switzerland during the summer of ’78 (I was there performing with the University of Bridgeport Jazz Ensemble). He gave a fantstic show, and basically kept playing for more than an hour after he was supposed to have finished…encore after encore…
I was never much of a flag waver…but his voice over the slide show at the following link just breaks me up: http://www.raycharles.com/godblessamerica.swf
He was the real deal.
My primary Ray Charles memory: I’m dating an extremely hot blonde from Georgia. I’m in a “Flooky’s” hot dog stand. Garish yellow and black stripes. I thought I’d spin some music in the jukebox, and saw “Georgia” by Ray Charles.
The music starts. My date immediately bursts into tears and wants to go home. ALL THE WAY home.
Still, I will always love Ray Charles and his music.