Ray Charles

Sadness and joy at star's funeral
BBC correspondent in Los Angeles

A colourful and moving funeral service has been held in Los Angeles for the legendary music star Ray Charles.

The so-called Genius of Soul died last week aged 73.

Some 1,500 invited guests packed into LA's First African Methodist Episcopal Church for a celebration of his life.

As well as big names from the world of entertainment - BB King, Glen Campbell, and Willie Nelson to name a few - many civic luminaries from the city of Los Angeles were also on hand.

They included LA's Major James Hahn and police chief William Bratton.

Former President Bill Clinton was not at the service but he sent a message expressing his affection for the late musician.

Some 1,500 mourners packed the church in Los Angeles

Emotional outpouring

The service, a joyous event that prompted as many laughs as tears, was opened by Ray Charles' son, Rev Robert Robinson.

"If you would do something for my family today, why don't you stand on your feet and give God some praise - because we're here to celebrate God today and thank God for this man," he told the congregation.

"He's blessed us, he's blessed us. Say hallelujah, say hallelujah!"

The scene was set for an emotional outpouring of love for a virtuoso star that touched the lives of many.

"Long before I knew how much we had in common I knew there was a man that had a voice that touched my heart," explained Stevie Wonder, who said he did not realise Ray Charles was blind when he first heard his recordings.

"I knew that his voice made me feel like I wanted to love deeper, to care more and reach out and embrace the world," he said.

In his address, Rev Jesse Jackson told the congregation heaven now had a maestro.

"Ray, when you first get there, before you meet Count (Basie), before you meet Duke (Ellington), before you meet family and friends, there's a man over there, across the river who is giving sight to the blind!"

Praise

Several of the tributes highlighted Ray Charles' contribution to race relations.

"What pains me equally as much as knowing that we have in the physical state lost a genius, a king of song, is that Ray was not able to out-live hate and injustice," said Wonder.

Long-time friend Clint Eastwood praised Ray Charles as an educator.

"He worked so hard to be a perfectionist and entertain us all," he said. "He was a teacher who taught us about the blues, to people who didn't understand the blues. He taught us about country music.

"He re-instilled our interest in patriotic songs. Anything he touched was just good."

Hundreds of people gathered outside the church to pay their own respects.

"He was a wonderful man," said one fan. "I loved him dearly because I danced to a lot of his music and I went to a lot of his concerts."

"He was one of the greatest legends of the 20th century and he will live for more centuries than I think anyone else connected with music - he was a legend," added another.

The service itself had many musical highpoints. There were few dry eyes during Willie Nelson's rendition of Ray Charles' signature hit, Georgia On My Mind.

But Nelson also made the congregation smile. He was teased by the late star's long-time manager, Joe Adams, about always losing chess games to Ray Charles.

Nelson joked that after his last loss to his blind friend, he asked him: "Next time we play, can we turn the lights on?"

RAY CHARLES BIOPIC GETS GREEN LIGHT

A biopic about the life of late star RAY CHARLES, who died earlier this month, is to be released in October.

Charles had given the project, called 'Ray', the green light and met Jamie Foxx, the actor who would play him, several months ago. Foxx sings some of Charles' classics, though the legendary blues and soul man re-recorded many of his old hits for the film.

"Ray Charles okayed the script, and he was 100% supportive of what we were doing in telling his life story," music supervisor Curt Sobel told Billboard magazine. "Jamie only sang on the set, not in the studio. We felt that many of the older songs needed to have Ray's vocals."

The film is directed by Taylor Hackford, the man behind 1987’s classic ‘Chuck Berry: Hail Hail Rock and Roll’ - a documentary based around Berry’s 60th birthday concert in St Louis.

A soundtrack album for ‘Ray’ will be released in August.

Да... А еще сегодня в "Историях в деталях" опять сказали, что Рэй Чарльз - автор Georgia On My Mind... до чего ж у них поверхностные репортажи.... :-(

'Ray!' Soundtrack Boasts Live Cuts, DVD

The soundtrack to the forthcoming Ray Charles biopic "Ray!" features a combination of studio tracks and live recordings from the late "Genius of Soul." The 16-track set, due Aug. 24 via Atlantic/Rhino, will also be released in a special edition package with a bonus DVD.

Concert recordings of Charles performing "Hallelujah I Love Her So," "You Don't Know Me" and "Let the Good Times Roll" are included on the set. Filling it out are such classics as "Georgia on My Mind," "Hit the Road Jack" and "I Got a Woman."

As previously reported, "Ray!" is scheduled to open Oct. 27 in U.S. theaters. The film stars Jamie Foxx, who lip-syncs to recordings of Charles throughout the film.

The bonus DVD included with the limited-edition version of the soundtrack features four performance clips of Foxx as Charles, all created by the film's director, Tyler Hackford. Also included is the "Ray!" theatrical trailer and a photo gallery.

Charles, who died June 10 of complications relating to liver disease, had supported the film's creation and even contributed new recordings to the project.

"Ray Charles OK'ed the script, and he was 100% supportive of what we were doing in telling his life story," Curt Sobel, the film's music supervisor and music editor recently told Billboard."If there were [original recordings] that were unavailable, or if they didn't match the script, we had Ray come in and do the songs."

Here is the "Ray!" soundtrack list:

"Mess Around"
"I Got a Woman"
"Hallelujah I Love Her So" (live)
"Night Time Is the Right Time"
"Mary Ann"
"Hard Times"
"What'd I Say"
"Georgia on My Mind"
"Hit the Road Jack"
"Unchain My Heart"
"I Can't Stop Loving You"
"Born To Lose"
"Bye Bye Love"
"You Don't Know Me"
"Let the Good Times Roll"

Here is the bonus DVD track list:

"Mary Ann"
"Night Time Is the Right Time"/What'd I Say"
"Hard Times (No One Knows Better Than I)"
"Unchain My Heart"
• "Ray!" theatrical trailer
• Photo gallery

Спасибо большое, Primal Scream!!!

Пожалуйста!

Singer Charles' items go on sale

Some of singer Ray Charles items, including a pair of his trademark sunglasses, are to be auctioned off to raise money for homeless families.

The memorabilia, which also includes albums and photographs, will be auctioned in Los Angeles on 13 August.

The auction is part of a drive to raise $100,000 (£53,640) for the Joy Community Outreach To End Homelessness.

The charity is run by Mable John, who used to sing with Charles. The blues legend died from liver failure in June.

"I cannot put into words what he meant to me," said Ms John.

'Fitting tribute'

"But he was always giving to others. He gave us items every year we've held this auction. It's fitting we can help some people through the sale of some of his collection," she said.

Charles, the singer who made standards of songs such as I Can't Help Loving You and Georgia on My Mind, had provided the items before his death.

Other celebrities, including actress Whoopi Goldberg, singer Bonnie Raitt and the late actor John Ritter also gave memorabilia to the auction.

Ms John said she hoped fans of Charles would bit for items at the auction.

"This would be a fitting tribute to Ray," she said. "It's one last opportunity for him to serve those who cannot do for themselves."

Thanks, Primal Scream!

Иконка - "I Want To Hold Your Hand"! Но, такой ещё нет... пока...

Be my guest!

~> Primal Scream:
(См.иконку) :)

Elton Remembers Ray

(07/20/04) -- Sir Elton John was lucky enough to spend time with Ray Charles at the legend's last known recording session before his death on June 10th. The two piano men recorded a duet of Elton's 1976 hit "Sorry Seems to be the Hardest Word" for an upcoming Charles duet album. Elton says, "I was finishing off my album in Los Angeles in March and Ray was making a duets album and I was scheduled to do a song with him, and I knew he was pretty sick. We arranged for him to come down to the studio in Los Angeles. But I wasn't prepared for how sick he was. He was so frail, but so feisty and so adorable. I've kept all the outtakes of him talking to me, which I shall treasure forever. It was the most upsetting day for me and uplifting day at the same time. People were crying in the control room."

Ray Charles To Be Honored With Performing Arts Centre

Atlanta's Moorehouse College will hold a gala event on September 29 to launch the Ray Charles Performing Arts Centre project.

Charles received an honorary degree from the college and supported them financially with two $1 million donations.

With the opening of the Ray Charles Performing Arts Centre, the college will have an additional venue for training young talent.

"Over the years, Ray Charles has been a generous supporter of Morehouse, not only financially but also through his shared commitment to developing students who will be leaders and pioneers in the music industry," says Dr. Walter E. Massey, president of Morehouse College. "On Morehouse's campus, Charles' music, his voice and his camaraderie will not be soon forgotten."

The September 29 function will feature performances from Angie Stone, Michael McDonald, James Ingram and Gerald Levert. The event will also premiere the bio-movie 'Ray' starring Jamie Foxx.

Former US President Bill Clinton is co-chairman of the project with film maker Spike Lee, Quincy Jones and Charles' manager Joe Adams.

"For almost 50 years, we've called Ray 'the genius.' And, he is -- take it from me," says Adams, who managed the music superstar and was his business partner for some 46 years. "He was a man without borders or boundaries, creatively and culturally. Indeed, he and his talents are a gift to all communities."

EMI will release Charles' final album Genius Loves Company featuring duets. Songs include "Sorry Seems to Be the Hardest Word" (Elton John), "Sinner's Prayer" (B.B. King), "Here We Go Again" (Norah Jones), "It Was A Very Good Year" (Willie Nelson) and "Fever" (Natalie Cole).

I've been a devoted fan of Ray's since I first heard him as a kid," says Bonnie Raitt on working on Genius Loves Company. "'Do I Ever Cross Your Mind' was one of my favourites from his Country/Western albums and I think singing it as a duet makes it even more powerful. Getting to record with Ray has been a lifelong dream and being part of this project has been one of the proudest and most moving moments in my life."

Elton John adds, "It was amazing to sit in the studio and sing with him. It's so incredibly impressive to be with someone to which music had meant so much. It was a very emotional experience." Michael McDonald, who recorded "Hey Girl" for the CD with a full orchestra, declares, "To be singing with Ray Charles, two feet away from him, live with an orchestra was pretty unbelievable."

Genius Loves Company will be released on August 30.

Ray Charles Tribute Planned

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. - Friends of the late Ray Charles will sing his praises during a tribute concert planned for the fall.

Bill Cosby will host and Michael McDonald, James Ingram, Gerald Levert and Angie Stone are slated to perform at the Sept. 29 concert at the Beverly Hilton Hotel, publicist Jerry Digney said Wednesday.

Charles, famous for hit songs such as "What'd I Say," "Georgia on My Mind" and "Hit the Road, Jack," died June 10 of acute liver disease. He was 73.

The event will raise money for the $15 million Morehouse College Center for the Arts in Atlanta.

Charles gave the black liberal arts college $2 million to help fund the complex, which will contain a performance space in his name.

"This college is near and dear to his heart," Digney said. "He performed there, it's in his native Georgia, and it was where he received his honorary degree."

Mother of Ray Charles's Son Asks Court T

LOS ANGELES - The mother of Ray Charles's 16-year-old son has asked a court to increase child support for the teenager from $3,000 a month to at least $60,000.

Mary Anne den Bok filed a petition Tuesday in which she says additional money from Charles's estate would provide Corey Robinson den Bok with "the lifestyle he enjoyed" before his father's death June 10.

Her petition seeks a minimum figure of $60,000 a month but suggests the appropriate support should be $240,800 per month.

A hearing was scheduled for Sept. 27 in Los Angeles County Superior Court.

Calls to a Charles family representative, Jerry Digney, were not immediately returned Friday night.

The famed singer and musician was 73 when he died of acute liver disease at his Beverly Hills home. He left 12 children and, according to the petition, a $100 million estate.

Den Bok claimed Charles failed to pay child support for 18 months before December 2003. During that time, according to the petition, she lost income after moving her family into a rental property that contained toxic mold.

Den Bok claimed she developed mold-related health problems, was unable to work and cannot pay for her son's school tuition.

Musicians Honor Charles on Tribute Album
Mon Aug 30
AP

NEW YORK - It was a quiet moment in a recording studio between two old friends — the genius of soul and the king of blues.

Ray Charles and B.B. King were readying to record a bluesy number that married one's piano playing with the other's guitar picking when they took a few minutes to catch up.

"He seemed to be reminiscing a bit. I remember he said `If we had known we were going to live this long, we would have taken better care of ourselves,'" King told The Associated Press during a recent interview. "I told him `You bet.'"

It was the last time they would talk — or perform — together. Charles died a short time later of acute liver disease.

Their song, "Sinner's Prayer," a plea to God to forgive their trespasses, captures what neither could have known. It's one of 12 star-studded pairings on "Genius Loves Company," Charles' final album being released posthumously Tuesday by Concord Records and Hear Music.

"We wanted to make a record that would bring him back into the spotlight," said producer John Burk, who worked with Charles on the duets album. "The fact that it's his last record is a very sad thing for the music world."

Much like Charles' career, "Genius Loves Company" spans soul, rock 'n' roll, R&B, country, jazz and blues — and includes such guest stars as Norah Jones, Diana Krall and Johnny Mathis as well as King.


"Some of the songs I have been playing for years. Some were all-time favorites of mine that I'd never recorded. Others were songs by artists that I really liked," Charles said before his death.

He chose the artists he worked with based on either previous pairings, such as King, and those whose work he enjoyed but had never met, Burk said.

For example, Charles was "so turned on" to the idea of recording with Bonnie Raitt, Burk said he was sure the two must have known each other. But Raitt, who says her own music was influenced by the way Charles blended blues and country, met Charles for the first time in the studio the day they recorded "Do I Ever Cross Your Mind," a bittersweet love song that Charles first recorded in the 1980s.

"Rockets went off," she told the AP. "I could have sung `Row, row, row your boat' with him and been thrilled."

For other artists, it was the chance to work with an old friend.

Willie Nelson and Charles recorded Frank Sinatra's "It Was a Very Good Year." Gladys Knight and Charles, who recorded together several times, sang "Heaven Help Us All."

The only non-studio production on the album is Van Morrison's "Crazy Love." When Charles flew to New York to celebrate Morrison's induction into the Songwriters Hall of Fame, the two performed the song live.

Burk said the most emotional moment came between Charles and Elton John as the two recorded John's "Sorry Seems To Be The Hardest Word." It was the last song recorded for the album and the last one Charles ever sang, Burk said.

"There wasn't a dry eye in the recording booth," Burk said. "It's a very sad song, and there was just this emotion in the air."

During the recording of the album, Charles' health was deteriorating rapidly after undergoing hip surgery and being diagnosed with a failing liver

"He didn't really say anything to anybody about it. He didn't complain," Burk said. "It never really became an obstacle."

In fact, during the recording sessions, Charles maintained his legendary focus. Known for demanding excellence, he held to that standard during the making of "Genius Loves Company."

"His professionalism and his attention and focus were amazing," Raitt said. "I just think he was on it. That's what musicians call it, being on it."

King, who broke down while singing at Charles' funeral, said he hopes the album will cross generations and genres.

"You know, he's one of a kind, doing what he did and how he did it," he said. "Ray started before some of these kids were born. I hope they will take the memory of a great guy that has done so much great work."

"Ray Charles Live: In Concert with the Edmonton Symphony," a concert film shot in 1980 at Edmonton, Alberta's Jubilee Auditorium, will be released Sept. 21 on DVD.

The DVD includes Charles' performances of "Georgia on My Mind," "What'd I Say," "I Can't Stop Loving You" and "I Can See Clearly Now," among many others.

Sep. 11, 2004

Ray Charles duets sets a sales record

Shortly after Ray Charles signed with Concord, the jazz label did some fast research to see what feats had been accomplished by other artists' duets albums. With a stunning start of 202,000 copies, the posthumous "Genius Loves Company" scores the biggest opening week by any duets set since Nielsen SoundScan hung its shingle in 1991. "Genius" not only becomes Charles' highest-charting album in more than 40 years, it also enters The Billboard 200 at No. 2 in the week ended Sept. 5, beating out strong starts by Jill Scott (No. 3, 192,500) and LL Cool J (No. 4, 173,000). "Genius" owns the largest initial U.S. shipment of any album in Concord's 31-year history, 733,000, and the album's start marks the biggest SoundScan week ever by any of that label's titles. Although Frank Sinatra's much publicized "Duets" sold 339,000 copies during Christmas week of 1993, it began with 173,500 when it entered at No. 2 eight weeks earlier.