Life and Music of Ray Charles Essay - 1128 Words

Life and Music of Ray Charles The history of musicians is a very interesting subject. There are thousands and millions of interesting types of musicians. Ray Charles was a very talented musician. His focus was on Soul Music, which was Jazz combined with Gospel music. Jazz was also a big focus of his music. Ray Charles wasn’t like other musicians. He was a blind musician. Many often wonder how someone can be blind and also be a musician, but Ray Charles was a fine example to show that it was possible. Ray Charles was born on September 23, 1930, in Albany, Georgia. His family was a very poor family. His father’s name was Baily and his mother’s name was Aretha. He was born during the Great Depression. When he was still just an infant†¦show more content†¦The blindness never stopped Ray one bit. He acted as if he could see it all. He felt that he was closer with the music since he truly felt it and didn’t just read it off a piece of paper like all oth er musicians. Ray had a great attitude towards his music and the surrounding of music. The first recordings of his career were published in Tampa, Florida in 1947. After his recordings Ray formed his own group called McSon Trio and also moved to Los Angeles. That was merely the start of his musical career. He was soon to be a very well known musician. The group’s albums and singles that they released were some of the biggest hits of that time. He went on about his musical career and recorded his first commercial record, with over a million sold, in 1953. In January of 1986 Ray was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. He made his own style of music. He mixed and combined many genres of music to create the style he liked. For many years to come he continued to throw smash hits one after another. Ray had to get admitted to a drug program after being arrested several times in his career for drugs. He got help with his drug problem and continued his music. Within that tim e he came up with his hit ‘Crying Time’. That song won Two Grammy awards. After that hit he got caught up with the law once again so he got five year suspension. From that point on his career went downhill. He had a few hit albumShow MoreRelatedImpact of Music on Culture Essay960 Words   |  4 PagesPerhaps the most formative years for rock and roll were from 1945 to 1964. It is evident that the social climate of the time period shaped music. However, the music also shaped the social climate. The musical meaning of the songs of the era is vital to an understanding of the social implications of the music. On a primitive level, the lyrics of a song give some insight into its musical meaning. Often, however, the lyrics paint an incomplete picture of a song’s true social significance. 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