RAY CHARLES
Ray Charles (September 23, 1930 – June 10, 2004) was an American singer, songwriter, musician and composer. He pioneered the genre of soul music during the 1950s by combining rhythm and blues, gospel, and blues styles into the music he recorded for Atlantic Records. He also contributed to the racial integration of country and pop music during the 1960’s with his crossover success on ABC Records. While he was with ABC, Charles became one of the first African-American musicians to be granted artistic control by a mainstream record company. Charles was blind from the age of seven. Frank Sinatra called him “the only true genius in show business”, although Charles downplayed this notion. In 2004, Rolling Stone ranked Charles at number ten on their list of the “100 Greatest Artists of All Time”, and number two on their November 2008 list of the “100 Greatest Singers of All Time”. (More from Wikipedia)
Adversity in life seems to be one of the sparks that have ignited many a talented musician over the years. The idea that being blind aids hearing and, thus, musical talent is nearly a cliché. Two of the greatest R&B artists of all time are blind: Stevie Wonder and Ray Charles; other notable blind musicians include José Feliciano, Clarence Carter, Terri Gibbs, Ronnie Millsap, and Doc Watson. There are many others who are less well known, such as Blind Lemon Jefferson (apparently the source of the name of the 1990’s band Blind Melon), Blind Willie Johnson, Blind Willie McTell, and (from the world of gospel music) the Blind Boys of Alabama and the Five Blind Boys of Mississippi (also called the Five Blind Boys of Alabama, the Original Five Blind Boys of Alabama and the Original Five Blind Boys of Mississippi). Frontman John Kay of Steppenwolf didn’t just wear sunglasses to look cool; he has a degenerative eye disease. There is no telling how many better known blind artists I am inadvertently omitting, there are so many.
(June 2011)
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The Iguanas were formed in Ann Arbor, Michigan (home of the University of Michigan) in 1963 by James Osterberg (drums) and Jim McLaughlin (guitar); they were still in junior high when they first played together at a talent show. In an interview just before the release in early December 2016 of his new book, Total Chaos: The Story of the Stooges, Iggy Pop told Rolling Stone: “We practiced playing ‘What’d I Say’ by Ray Charles and something called ‘Let There Be Drums’ by Sandy Nelson, which was my idea because it was a drum solo, right?”
(December 2016)
