The 25 Days of Great Singers Day 20: Ray Charles Ray Charles started out wanting to be Nat King Cole but he ended up taking it to an entirely new level. His gruff, growly voice seemed to punch you right in the gut when it needed to and make you feel entirely at ease the very next second. He had one of the most unique voices in popular music and its absolutely unmistakable. He was also a monster piano player rivaling his singing and songwriting in its prowess. Charles went completely blind by the age of seven due to glaucoma but never let that get in his way. By 1949 at the age of 19 he had his first national hit with Confession Blues. He had two more hits with Swing Time Records before singing with Atlantic in 1952. This is when he took off and didnt stop. Mess Around, It Should Have Been Me, and Dont You Know were big hits but in 1954 he recorded his own composition, I Got A Woman and it became his first No. 1 R&B hit and brought him to national prominence. Whatd I Say, Hit The Road Jack, Georgia on My Mind, Busted, Lets Go Get Stoned, Crying Time, and his incredible take on America the Beautiful all show just how singular a man he was. He had a mind-blowingly long career and influenced generations of singers to come including the man singing with him on the track here - Billy Joel. Enjoy Baby Grand recorded in 1986.
Posted on: Sat, 20 Dec 2014 19:11:36 +0000
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