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VOICE ONE:
This is Faith Lapidus.
VOICE TWO:
And this is Doug Johnson with People In America in VOA SpecialEnglish.
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VOICE ONE:
Last week, we began the story of a blind musician who had a hugeinfluence on American popular music. He was famous for hisrecordings of jazz, rock-and-roll, blues and country music. His namewas Ray Charles Robinson. But the world knew him better as RayCharles.
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The name of that song is “Let’s Go Get Stoned.” It is an exampleof Ray Charles’ own kind of music-his own sound. He worked hard forseveral years to create that sound. No one ever tried it before. Hemixed black church music, blues and rock-and-roll. The sound wasextremely successful. In the nineteen-fifties, his records began tosell millions of copies.
At the same time, Ray Charles recorded jazz music. Those recordssold well, too. Critics said they were new and exciting. Listen tohis jazz song, “Sweet Sixteen Bars.”
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VOICE ONE:
Ray Charles became famous because he could play blues, rock andjazz. He also liked other kinds of music. He told record companyofficials that he wanted to record an album of country-and-westernmusic.
The president of the record company told him it would be amistake. He said Ray’s fans would not buy the album. Charlesdisagreed. He said he believed he would gain many new fans toreplace the few he might lose. He produced the album and it was animmediate success.
The album was called “ModernSounds in Country and Western Music.” Many of the songs were majorhits. One of the most popular was “I Can’t Stop Loving You.” It is acountry-and-western song with Ray Charles’ sound of blues and blackchurch music.
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VOICE TWO:
Ray Charles lived in a world of sound. For six months each yearhe traveled with his orchestra, performing in theaters. For theother six months, he worked in his recording studio in Los Angles,California. He did much of the recording work to produce his ownalbums.
Ray Charles would often say that sound and music were his life’sblood. In fact, he said many times that he would not trade hismusical ability for the ability to see again.
You begin to understand what soundmeant to Ray Charles when you learn that he helped create andsupport the Robinson Foundation for Hearing Disorders. Thisorganization helps people deal with the loss of their hearing.
You might think Ray Charles would have given his time and moneyto help the blind. He did not. He once said, “Being blind is myhandicap. But ears are my opportunity.” He said losing his hearingwould have ended his life.
VOICE ONE:
Ray Charles lived a long life that included his share ofproblems. There was a time when he used illegal drugs. He wasmarried and divorced several times. Yet the Ray Charles sound, andhis success, continued.
He received twelve Grammy Awards from the recording industry. Hewas one of the first musicians to be elected to the Rock-and-RollHall of Fame. Several universities honored him. So did the Frenchand American governments. His home state of Georgia made hisrecording of “Georgia on My Mind” the official state song.
Several years ago, Ray Charles was asked to sing at a politicalconvention. He performed the song “America the Beautiful.” Manypeople thought his recording was the best ever made.
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VOICE TWO:
Ray Charles always said he owed most of his success to hismother. He said when he was a boy, she taught him a valuable lesson.She told him, “You can do anything you want to do. You cannot useyour eyes. But you can work hard and use your brain.”
Ray Charles died June tenth,two-thousand-four at the age of seventy-three. Music experts say hedid more than anyone in the twentieth century to change Americanpopular music.
VOICE ONE:
More than one-hundred years ago, Alice Cary wrote a poem thatcould have been written for Ray Charles. She wrote:
My soul is full of whispered song, —
My blindness is my sight;
The shadows that I feared so long
Are full of life and light.
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VOICE TWO:
This program was written by Paul Thompson. It was produced byLawan Davis. This is Doug Johnson.
VOICE ONE:
And this is Faith Lapidus. Join us again next week for anotherPEOPLE IN AMERICA program in VOA Special English.