Post by PapaPaul69 on Jun 10, 2004 15:25:21 GMT -5
Some singers, if they're lucky, have a signature song in a signature style. Ray Charles (news) had a signature songbook that refused to be defined by genre.
Charles, whose collection of hits instantly identifiable with his throaty growl and piano licks included "Georgia on My Mind," "Unchain My Heart," "I Can't Stop Loving You," "Hit the Road Jack," "What'd I Say" and the most soulful "God Bless America" around, died Thursday morning of complications due to liver disease, his publicist said. He was 73.
Charles' health had been in steep decline since undergoing hip-replacement surgery last November. At the time, the previously indefatigable performer, who'd battled emphysema and liver problems, said he felt terrific. A full recovery was expected and plans for a tour this March were broached.
But as the months passed, no tour materialized; Charles appeared increasingly frail.
On April 30, he attended the historical dedication of his legendary RPM recording studios in Los Angeles. At the event, attended by jazz aficionado Clint Eastwood (news), among other starry friends, Charles was confined to a wheelchair, his legendary voice reduced to a whisper.
"I'm a little weak now, but I'm going to get stronger," Charles promised.
Hip problems forced Charles off the road, where he'd logged more than 10,000 shows, in July 2003. The subsequently scrapped summer tour marked the first time in his 53-year career that Charles had been grounded.
Born Sept. 23, 1930, in Albany, Georgia, the "Genius of Soul" became a recording star in the 1950s. His sound spanned R&B, soul, gospel and country.
In his far-flung career, he won 13 Grammys (news - web sites), earned three Emmy nominations, scored the prestigious Kennedy Center Honors, and notched a place in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1986.
Also classical Songs of Charles sang the Beatles among other things What I'd Say
Charles, whose collection of hits instantly identifiable with his throaty growl and piano licks included "Georgia on My Mind," "Unchain My Heart," "I Can't Stop Loving You," "Hit the Road Jack," "What'd I Say" and the most soulful "God Bless America" around, died Thursday morning of complications due to liver disease, his publicist said. He was 73.
Charles' health had been in steep decline since undergoing hip-replacement surgery last November. At the time, the previously indefatigable performer, who'd battled emphysema and liver problems, said he felt terrific. A full recovery was expected and plans for a tour this March were broached.
But as the months passed, no tour materialized; Charles appeared increasingly frail.
On April 30, he attended the historical dedication of his legendary RPM recording studios in Los Angeles. At the event, attended by jazz aficionado Clint Eastwood (news), among other starry friends, Charles was confined to a wheelchair, his legendary voice reduced to a whisper.
"I'm a little weak now, but I'm going to get stronger," Charles promised.
Hip problems forced Charles off the road, where he'd logged more than 10,000 shows, in July 2003. The subsequently scrapped summer tour marked the first time in his 53-year career that Charles had been grounded.
Born Sept. 23, 1930, in Albany, Georgia, the "Genius of Soul" became a recording star in the 1950s. His sound spanned R&B, soul, gospel and country.
In his far-flung career, he won 13 Grammys (news - web sites), earned three Emmy nominations, scored the prestigious Kennedy Center Honors, and notched a place in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1986.
Also classical Songs of Charles sang the Beatles among other things What I'd Say