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Ray Charles: Music
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As a singer, Ray Charles doesn't phrase like anyone else. He doesn't put the time where you think it's gonna be, but it's always perfect, always right. He knows how to play with time, like any great jazzman. But there was more to him than that voice -- he was ... writing these incredible songs. He was a great musician, an amazing record maker, a great producer and a wonderful arranger.
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The landmark album Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music, which marks Ray Charles' first full-length foray into the county genre, is issued. It tops the album chart for three and a half months and inspires a second volume later the same year.
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Ray Charles was taken into Police custody in 1965 after investigators found heroin in his possession. While that was a repeated offense, he made a deal that he would join a rehabilitation clinic. Upon his release, he had kicked the habit. Following, his career was both up and down, but he remained in the public’s eye by performing concerts all over the U.S. In The Blues Brothers, Ray Charles makes a cameo and sings on film. With the film’s popularity, people began searching for more types of soul music. Although he had a personal life that was up and down, along with a musical career that spanned decades, Ray Charles became an iconic representative of American mainstream music.
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Ray Charles was blinded by glaucoma at the age of six, but he did not let this disability hurt his pride or confidence. His music career began after he moved to Seattle in 1947. Within several years he had begun recording and within half a decade he had created his original style. His songs of the later 50's, although they were called R&B at the time, did a lot to pave the way for soul. In 1962, he shocked the world by making a sudden transition to country and western music, but his popularity did not decrease.
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Charles never knew exactly why he lost his sight, though there are sources which suggest Ray's blindness was due to glaucoma. He attended school at the St. Augustine School for the Deaf and the Blind in St. Augustine, Florida. He ... learned how to write music and play various musical instruments. While he was there, his mother died. His father died two years later.
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Ray Charles touched the lives of so many people, both blacks and whites. He didn't care what color you were, what country you were from. Just if you liked his music! He brought people together, with an understanding of equalty. He 'produces' way more than just great music. He pioneered soul.
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