73 years old, died at home
Damn. That's two great ones.
Oh Nooooo. I loved it when he sang Georgia on my mind. I love all of his songs.
Bummer...
His rendition of America The Beautiful kept me sane after 9/11.
Now on top of Reagan Week, the libs will have to put up with endless renditions of Ray Charles singing "America the Beautiful."
Poor babies.
That's sad news. His rendition of "America the Beatiful" is an American treasure. A great talent.
Always seemed classy...waiting to get disappointed.
We are sure losing a lot of good Americans this week. My prayers to his family and for him. Music has lost a giant.
WOW! I really, really liked Ray Charles.
No one sang 'Ruby'; 'Georgia'; or especially, 'America the Beautiful' like he did. Makes the hair on the back of your neck stand up! WOW!
Another great man who has passed over...so sad
Aw, damn.
AP Story that just crossed:
Grammy-Winning Crooner Ray Charles Dies
BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. - Ray Charles (news), the Grammy-winning crooner credited with creating American soul music with a blend of gospel and blues in such crowd-pleasers as "What'd I Say" and "I Got A Woman" and heartfelt ballads like "Georgia on My Mind," died Thursday. He was 73.
Charles died at 11:35 a.m., surrounded by family and friends, said spokesman Jerry Digney.
Charles last public appearance was alongside Clint Eastwood (news) on April 30, when the city of Los Angeles designated the singers studios an historic landmark.
Blind by age 7 and an orphan at 15, Charles spent his life shattering any notion of musical boundaries and defying easy definition. A gifted pianist and saxophonist, he dabbled in country, jazz, big band and blues, and put his stamp on it all with a deep, warm voice roughened by heartbreak from a hardscrabble childhood in the segregated South.
"His sound was stunning — it was the blues, it was R&B, it was gospel, it was swing — it was all the stuff I was listening to before that but rolled into one amazing, soulful thing," singer Van Morrison (news) told Rolling Stone magazine in April 2004.
Charles won nine of his 12 Grammy Awards between 1960 and 1966, including the best R&B recording three consecutive years ("Hit the Road Jack," "I Can't Stop Loving You" and "Busted").
I can't believe it.
Ray Charles is the Man.
Dang. I hate this.
Darn. He was a great musician.
Ray Charles was one of the greats.
Hubby says Ray sang "America the Beautiful" at the Republican Convention in 1984 for Ronnie and Nancy... wow, what a picture this pulls together for me.
:-(
R.I.P. Ray Charles and thanks for the wonderful music you left behind.