Ray Charles legend lives on
2004-06-11 07:37
Los Angeles - Embattled US pop icon Michael Jackson on Thursday paid tribute to musical great Ray Charles, calling the late crooner's contribution to music "unequalled".
"I am saddened to hear of the death of my friend, Ray Charles," Jackson said in a statement. "He was a true legend - an American treasure.
"His music is timeless; his contributions to the music industry - unequalled; and his influence, unparalleled. His caring and humility spoke volumes.
"He paved the way for so many of us, and I will forever remember him in my heart," Jackson said, hours after Charles' death.
The crooner last appeared in public on April 30 alongside film star Clint Eastwood when his Los Angeles studios were designated an historic landmark.
Eastwood said on Thursday that Charles was a man he "particularly admired, both as a friend and as an artist. We had a great time recently reminiscing together, and we will all miss him very much."
"Ray Charles was a true original, a musical genius and a friend and brother to me," said Joe Adams, his longtime manager and friend.
"He pioneered a new style and opened the door for many young performers to follow."
Surrounded by family and friends
The legendary US musician Ray Charles, dubbed the "genius of soul" during his acclaimed six-decade career, died on Thursday of liver disease at age 73.
The 13-time Grammy-award winner, famed for his jazz, blues and gospel-influenced tunes, died in his Beverly Hills home, surrounded by his family and friends, publicist Jerry Digney said.
"It's devastating," Digney said. "He's been ailing for a while now and it started out with a hip situation and went from there to other things, primarily the liver."
Charles went blind at age seven, but songs such as Georgia on My Mind and I Can't Stop Loving You, made him a household name who had the rare honour of being enshrined in the US halls of fame of rhythm and blues, jazz and rock.
"Music to me is just like breathing. I have to have it. It's part of me," Charles once told an interviewer of his rags-to-riches career.
Last August, he cancelled part of his US concert tour for the first time in 53 years and underwent hip replacement surgery in December.
'A great shock'
As doctors treated him, other ailments were diagnosed. Liver disease set in and he eventually succumbed to complications from it.
But even as his health failed, the musician had been planning to tour again in mid-June. The sudden setback in his recovery was "a great shock to all", Digney said.
Charles celebrated the 10 000th concert of his 58-year career early last year and gave his last performance on July 20, 2003.
As a performer who could read music by Braille, play the piano, the clarinet and saxophone by the time he was 15, Charles was at home with orchestras, alone on stage with his grand piano and fellow bandmates or singing a capella.
Charles was born Ray Charles Robinson to a poor family in Albany in the southeastern state of Georgia on September 30, 1930, at the height of racial segregation in the United States, and was orphaned by the age of 15.
After glaucoma rendered him blind, Charles was sent to a school for the deaf and blind in Florida, where his gift and lifelong passion for music emerged.
In the 1940s, the young pianist made his way to the northwestern city of Seattle where he played in nightclubs, modelling himself on the late legend Nat "King" Cole.
'Heart as grand as his talents'
There, he met a young Quincy Jones, the renowned music producer, and they became lifelong friends and musical collaborators.
He developed his own unique style, mixing various musical genres, and first recorded in 1949. In 1955, his experiments culminated in the release of I Got a Woman which mixed gospel tunes with his nightclub sound.
"I was raised in the church and was around blues and would hear all these musicians on the jukeboxes and then I would go to revival meetings on Sunday morning," he once said.
In 1965, Charles ran into trouble with the law when he was arrested for possession of heroin and jailed for one year.
Just before his death, Charles completed a duets album called Genius Loves Company, that featured Norah Jones, BB King, Willie Nelson, country star Bonnie Raitt, Gladys Knight and crooner Johnny Mathis.
During his career, the Recording Academy honoured him with 12 Grammy awards and a lifetime achievement award in 1987.
"The world is a quieter place as we mourn the passing" of Charles, said the body's president, Neil Portnow.
"With a mix of blues, gospel, jazz and soul, Mr Charles was the pre-eminent American musician - with a heart as grand as his talents. The Academy has lost a dear friend and the world has lost a musical legend."
The charismatic musician is survived by 11 children, 20 grandchildren and five great grandchildren. A memorial service will be held next week in Los Angeles.
On the net:
www.raycharles.com