2004-7-10
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VOICE ONE:
This is Faith Lapidus.
VOICE TWO:
And this is Doug Johnson with PEOPLE IN AMERICA in VOA Special
English. Today we begin a two-part report about singer, songwriter,
and musician Ray Charles. His work will continue to have a lasting
influence on American music.
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VOICE ONE:
Ray Charles spent almost sixty years as a professional musician.
Millions of people around the world enjoy his recordings. If Ray
Charles only played the piano, he would have been considered one of
the best. If he had only sung his music, his voice would have made
him famous. If he had only played jazz music, the world would have
listened. But Ray Charles did all these things and more.
He played and sang rock-and-roll
and rhythm-and-blues songs. He sold millions of country and western
records, too. His work brought together different kinds of music and
different kinds of music fans. His influence on much of America's
popular music cannot be truly measured.
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VOICE ONE (CONTD):
That was Ray Charles and "One Mint Julep." He recorded that song
in nineteen-sixty-one on an album called "Genius Plus Soul Equals
Jazz." It is one of the many hundreds of records he recorded.
VOICE TWO:
Ray Charles Robinson was born in nineteen-thirty in Albany,
Georgia. When he was six years old, he began to suffer from the eye
disease glaucoma. The disease made him blind. He left the world of
sight forever and turned to the world of sound. He learned to love
sounds, especially music of all kinds.
Ray Charles taught himself to play
the organ, alto-saxophone, clarinet and trumpet. Yet there was a
special relationship between him and the piano. Here is part of the
song "Worried Mind." The style is country and western, with a heavy
influence of blues. Listen to his work on the piano, an instrument
he truly loved. You can almost see him smiling.
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VOICE ONE:
Ray Charles was fifteen years old when his mother died. Within a
year, he had left school to work. He began playing piano
professionally in African-American eating and drinking places in the
state of Florida.
A year later, he moved to the opposite corner of America:
Seattle, Washington. While in Seattle, he made forty records. But
none was a success.
VOICE TWO:
At that time, Ray Charles was trying to play the piano and sing
like the famous performer Nat King Cole. But he quickly learned
there was only one Nat King Cole. No one wanted to hear a copy, not
even a good copy.
So Charles started looking for his own musical sound. He began to
experiment. He tried mixing blues and jazz. He used some jazz styles
with the music that later was known as rock-and-roll. His
experiments soon became popular with many black Americans.
He played at dances around the country. He also sold some
records, mostly to black people. Few white Americans had heard of a
blind musician named Ray Charles.
VOICE ONE:
By the middle of the
nineteen-fifties, he had his own band. It was one of the most
popular black dance bands in the country. A group of women sang with
the band.
One night, Charles began playing a simple song. He told the women
to sing in a style known as call and response. In this style, the
lead singer asks a question or sings some words. The other singers
answer. This kind of singing was brought to America by black slaves
from Africa. It has remained very popular in black church music.
At the dance that night, Ray Charles put together simple piano
music, traditional call and response, and rock-and-roll. The result
was a revolution in American music. Soon after, Ray recorded that
song. It is called "What'd I Say?"
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VOICE TWO:
"What'd I Say?" sold millions of copies. Ray Charles no longer
just played at small dances for black people. He performed in large
theaters for big audiences of every color. He had found a sound like
no other. His style of music was filled with excitement. And those
who listened shared in that excitement.
By the end of the nineteen-fifties, Ray Charles had recorded many
hit songs. Most of his music was black rhythm-and-blues or soul
music. Yet white Americans were listening, too.
Charles did not want to play just one kind of music, even if it
was extremely popular. He began experimenting again, this time with
jazz. One album, "Black Coffee," is considered by experts to be one
of his very best jazz recordings. It shows that his piano work can
express many different feelings. Here is the song "Black Coffee"
from that album.
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VOICE ONE:
Ray Charles continued to make rhythm-and-blues and jazz records.
But that was still not enough for him. He had always loved
country-and-western music. So he decided to record a country album.
Music industry experts said he was
making a mistake. They told him not to do it. They said he would
lose many fans. The fans, they said, would not understand or like
this kind of music. Ray Charles did not listen to the experts. He
took a chance. And he was right. The public loved his
country-and-western songs. You can hear some of these
country-and-western songs next week, when we bring you the second
part of our report about Ray Charles.
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VOICE TWO:
This program was written by Paul Thompson. It was produced by
Lawan Davis. I'm Doug Johnson.
VOICE ONE:
And I'm Faith Lapidus. Join us next week for the second part of
our program on Ray Charles on People In America, in VOA Special
English.