Talk:Ray Charles

The Diet Pepsi commercial put him back in the public eye. Something wrong with that? I never really liked anything after he left Atlantic and the tightest blues band in the land behind and I'm a lifelong Coke drinker, but you can't expect people to stay in a low-paying bag forever. It's called show business, you know. Ortolan88

True, and he has a right to do what he wants. I don't think artists should do commercials for large corporations with a history of racial discrimination and selling addictive, teeth-rotting, carcinogenic, sugary and nutrition-free products through misleading ads that promote unhealthy body images and vapid consumerism. If he wanted to have a career again, he should have tried to make more innovative and pioneering music, not sell soft drinks to an increasingly obese nation. Tokerboy 01:16 Nov 15, 2002 (UTC)

If you keep talking like that, your face might freeze in that position, or didn't your mama warn you? Ortolan88

Anyway, it's all about money, so principles need not apply.Christopher Mahan

Try living without it. Ortolan88

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In a 60 Minutes profile, he admitted to Ed Bradley that he would "audition" his female back-up singers.

If this is supposed to mean he had sex with his back-up singers it should say that rather than beating around the bush with vague wording. If it is not in fact supposed to mean that, it should be removed as it is misleading. -Branddobbe 05:27, Jun 11, 2004 (UTC)

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There is an autobiography by Ray Charles himself at http://www.raycharles.com/ This might help to extend the early years section a bit, currently the article starts with having lost both parent at the age of 15. At the age of 15 his autobiography is on page 3 of 7, see http://www.raycharles.com/auto3.htm

"I wasn't quite 15 when my mama died. That was the most devastating thing in my whole experience -- bar nothing, period. ... From that moment on, I was completely in another world. I couldn't eat, I couldn't sleep ...

That episode with Ma Beck [an elderly lady] shook me out of my depression. It really started me on my way. After that I told myself that I must do what my mom would have expected me to do. And so the two greatest tragedies in my life -- losing my brother and then my mom -- were, strangely enough, extraordinarily positive for me. What I've accomplished since then, really, grows out of my coming to terms with those events."

Regards Vittorio Brambilla

Famous

I have put him on the List of famous people. --Patricknoddy 20:25, 15 Sep 2004 (UTC)User:Patricknoddy --Patricknoddy 20:25, 15 Sep 2004 (UTC)User talk:Patricknoddy 16:24 September 15, 2004 (EDT)

== Removed sentence == (he was a good person, so stop hating)

I have removed the second sentence from the following paragraph:

From the time of his switch from straight rhythm and blues with a combo, Charles was often accused of selling out. There is a problem defining the difference between seeking a wider audience and selling out. Charles left behind his classic formulation of rhythm and blues to sing country music, pop songs, and soft-drink commercials. In the process, he went from a niche audience to worldwide fame.

It seemed out of place, not to mention somewhat pedantic. I think the idea is implied by the rest of the paragraph, anyway. Problem is, the shorter paragraph seems even more redundant than the original. I have not attempted a rewording. - dcljr 00:41, 24 Sep 2004 (UTC)

"Charles was able to see"

In the section talking about the movie, it is stated that "Charles was able to see the completed film." This needs to be reworded. While I'm sure he attended a showing of it, and heard it, I 100% doubt he saw it. -sYn pHrEAk

Which was first?

I found this biography page when I was looking for more info about Ray Charles. It's seems eerily similar. The question I have is who "borrowed" from whom. I didn't see the required wikipedia disclaimer on the webpage, so I'm concerned that either rocksite.info is using wikipedia without attribution.

Was Ray Charles ever banned from performing in Georgia?

I don't know the history of Ray Charles at all. But from my internet research the "Ban in Georgia" seems to be a movie device. All references, I saw, to the ban not talking about the movie "Ray" deny that it ever took place, save for this reference. So I question that "fact".

Charles was never banned in Georgia. The newspaper headlines they show in the movie "Ray" are fake. See this link: [1]. It's a newspaper article from Augusta, the city where Charles cancelled the segregated concert. The cancelation cost Charles about $800, although the movie makes it sound like he made a major sacrifice for the cause of civil rights.

Eleanor Rigby

There's no mentioning of his cover performance for the Beatles' "Eleanor Rigby". Might not be his most important achievement, but the Beatles said themselves that he sang it better than they did.

He didn't regain eye sight and lose it again boxing... did he?

The following quote is at the end of the second paragraph in the "Middle Years" section. Is this true? If not, could someone remove it?

Shortly following the release of his album Ray Charles temporarily regained his sight and enjoyed limited success as a small-time "boxer. Ray Charles went blind again after a blow to the temple at the hands of Eddie "Big Guns" Martin (21-4 carrer record) in December of 1959."

the other side of his South Africa Tour

While there is no doubt that Charles' Tour of South Africa in 1981 was indeed controversial, there are a few aspects of the tour that are often overlooked:

- Most Western acts which played in South Africa performed at the Sun City Casino in the former "Homeland" of Bophuthatswana. Ray pointedly did NOT play there, but rather in Johannesburg, Cape Town, Durban, and several other cities including Soweto.

- All concerts were integrated, which at the time was against the law. This was especially relevant to the series of concerts in Johannesburg, which were performed at Linder Auditorium, then the exclusive purview of white-only audiences. Additionally, seating was truly open, not integrated in the sense that people of color would "sit upstairs".

- The Ray Charles Orchestra was an integrated collection of black, white and Latino musicians. Again, this was illegal, but Ray had as a given that he would tour with his band.

- The opening act for the tour was a then young-and-rising Johnny Clegg and his band Jaluka, another integrated local band. Their importance in the history of contemporary South African music can be read about on this site: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Juluka

Aretha Franklyn??

"Ray Charles Robinson was born in Albany, Georgia to poor sharecroppers parents, Bailey and Aretha Franklyn". Aretha Franklyn????? This is wrong, isn't it?Tompw 14:08, 19 February 2006 (UTC)

Featured?

The article looks pretty good. Doesn't it qualify as a featured article?

Removed lines

but is probably a result of trachoma. (* Note - there are sources which attribute Ray's blindness to glaucoma. However Ray Charles' symptoms and subsequent blindness are inconsistent with glaucoma. Moreover, childhood glaucoma is a rare condition, while trachoma was — and still is — a leading (and preventable) cause of blindness.)

While humanly possible that it was trachoma, that disease is almost non-existent in the United States although a leading cause of blindness world-wide. Congential Glaucoma is much more frequent in the United States. An ophthalmologist could determine this easily, one way or the other. If Mr. Charles declines to make the information public, that is his decision. As a medical question, there is no mystery. PokerpoodlepokerpoodlePokerpoodle

Although trachoma was still a problem in the Southeast when Charles was born, I agree that there is no verifiable information about Charles having the disease. Consistent with the diagnosis of congential glaucoma, the biography on his official website states "Charles was not born blind - he lost his sight to undiagnosed glaucoma at age seven." [2] -AED 00:08, 18 April 2006 (UTC)

Death of Father

I just watched the movie. Ick pooh for historical accuracy. According to the wiki text he was divorced from Bea two years before his appearance in Georgia in 1979.

http://www.pbs.org/wnet/americanmasters/database/charles_r.html

This article states the death of his father was twenty years after the death of his mother, but PBS in the link above states two years.

Ray Charles on Deafness

Ray Charles has said that deafness is the worst thing that anyone could be afflicted with, because people would be unable to hear music... as a blind person this was quite a statement. Can anyone provide the exact quote or a source for this... - Abscissa 04:29, 1 June 2006 (UTC)

Brand

Does anyone know Ray's piano brand of choice? I didn't pass over it in the article. And if I did, I guess I wasn't reading hard enough. Or I am going insane. Or both. :) But just to be sure...anyone? :) TommyBoy76 02:08, 12 June 2006 (UTC)

criticisms ?

Why does he have a section of criticisms? Bob Dylan doesn't have any critisms nor does Joni Mitchell or Bruce Springsteen so why does he ? It seems as if this entry is biased against him. Should they not have critism sections too?