Edgewater Steve: Ray Charles Interview

We just went to see "Ray" last week, (starring Jamie Foxx - nominated for Best Actor, Golden Globe), and I thought it timely to dig out my interview I had with Ray, back in 1976 for my college newspaper, the Western Courier . . . Here it is, in it's entirety from my backstage notes . . . Steve: "Where did it all begin?"
Ray: "I was 14, 15, 16, 17 years old when I formed a trio. [McSon Trio] All a part of growing up. Started in a small group, (the trio). Then made a good record - Baby Let Me Hold Your Hand. (1950) Atlantic bought my contract. [From Swingtime for $2500] - Worked about 2 years until I Got a Woman - A stepladder like thing."

. . . He was with Atlantic from 1952 until 1959, then moved to ABC, from 1959-1961 . . . The ground-breaking contract giving him 75% of proceeds, plus retention of his master recordings, (which even Frank Sinatra did not have, at the time),

Steve: "Tell me, where do you get your songs?"
Ray: "Songs I wrote myself. I Got a Woman, Hallelujah, I Love Her So!"

[Ray was credited as the first to mix Gospel with Blues, making R&B (soul) which outraged many in the church.]

Steve: "Where do you go from here?"
Ray: "Going to St. Louis. Came from Europe, (9 months a year)."

Steve: "How did you get your first break?"
Ray: "Didn't really have a break. My thing was a small continuation." If you start at 0, go to 1,2,3,4 - deadly serious when I started, I worked with different ??? (lo_ _ y [lost this word - possibly lovely ladies - referring to the Raelettes, formerly "The Cookies"]. In 1954 I recorded I Got a Woman [Became a hit in 1958].

[Ray was born Sept 23, 1930, in Albany, GA, making him 46 years old at this interview. Lived in L.A.]

Ray: "I don't live in Beverly Hills, or in an exclusive area like that. But in the city." [Moved to Beverly Hills, later].

Note: Ray moved to LA from Seattle, WA, where he was a star on the local club scene, and where he met and nurtured a lasting relationship with a young song writer - Quincy Jones.

Steve: "Who are your influences?"
Ray: "I like Joe Cocker. I love Stevie Wonder. Rufus, Aretha, Tony Bennet, Isley Brothers, Jackson Bros." [His mother, also named Aretha, was the most important person in his life, and of whom he still had visual memories. It was at the age of 7, when he went blind, later thought to be the result of glaucoma.]

Ray with Aretha Franklin in the 70's

Steve: "You're married?"
Ray: "Married. She was a Della singer, then had kids and 3 boys, who all stayed off the road."

Steve: "What is it you're trying to accomplish?"
Ray: "When you're good, you're GOOD. Period! I'm not a blues singer. I do a lot of different things. Loved Art Tatum, Nat Cole. I played Beethoven, Chopin, Bach. But I liked to play boogie woogie. I loved Artie Shaw. The cause of me studyin' clarinet. We put in 6 months a year of cold-blooded work. Actual work.

I try to relate at the moment of the song. A good singer is the same as a good actor. To be effective he has to become what he is singing. My dream was I never cared about being famous. I wanted to be great. I felt I wanted my peers to admire me. I was 17 or 18 when I made my first record." I'd like to make a movie and star. Movie: Ballads and Blues. Title Song: Light out of Darkness. I just like to be able to work with people with raw talent."

- End of Interview

[Note: In 1963 Ray Charles starred in his first feature film Ballad in Blue (British). In 1980 he was a featured star of the film The Blues Brothers. In 1988 he appeared in the feature Limit Up, where he played the part of God.]

Review of the Concert: (My Notes)

17 member orchestra - 4 trumpets, 4 trombones, bass, lead, 4 saxes, drums, electric piano. 5 singers

- Song 1.) Vibrating bass rhythm, not very loud, featuring mellow sax solo and trumpet (soft).

- Song 2.) Slow, jumpy, a lot of sax in unison featuring a baritone sax solo, and trumpet solo, short, with a lot of runs. Bass solo jumped around in range. Very original. - repeat or echo in style.

- Song 3.) Spain Very sad, sorrowful opening featuring a sustained suspended cymbal - very good effect. 4 taps of the drumsticks introduced the classic melody. Good electric piano (simulated electric Rhodes88) - block chord rhythm, very fast. One section flowed into another. Trumpet played a good improv at a suitable dynamic level. Not too loud. No mike was used. A fluid sax solo with an embrochure that caressed his notes. A Chic Corea song. Resolved in a high crescendo to climax.

- Song 4.) Featured grand piano (with pickups) solo. Chordy. Not too many runs. A tenor sax solo with trombones interrupted with low, metrical growls. Lead guitar popped in a short solo. Very good.

- Song 5.) Slow, rainy day Shadow of Your Smile - schmaltzy sax solo. Eased into each note with a slide from another pitch. Improvised a rather long segment.

- Song 6.) Electric piano opened this piece as trumpet slid into melody, followed by unison saxes. Featured a sax soloist prone to repetition. Slide trombone took over where the sax left off, and displayed a good rock-y version.

- Song 7.) . . . The spotlight tried to find the next solo, but missed and hit the front row, before finding the electric piano. Ray was nearly finished with his solo! A good tune (slow). . . .

Ray Charles appeared out of the dark. Took his time. He bounced on stage slapping his leg [wearing a brown tux.]

He almost missed the piano bench. He hugged himself and broke into a song while accompanying himself on piano. He danced while still seated. WIRED as hell!

Tenor sax solo ended at the exact moment Charles started to sing again. He ended it in a short "All right!"

- Song 8.) A song of hard times. "I'm Busted Now" Had a lot of character.

- Song 9.) Minor. Georgia on my Mind
(by Stuart Gorrell and Hoagy Carmichael). . . Comes out sweet and clear. Featured a wide range of piano work. Runs, chords. High notes and chords. Low tremolo . . ."Peace I find that keeps Georgia on my mind."

[Note: Shortly after he signed with Atlantic Records, in the 1950's, he backed out of a concert in Augusta, Georgia, where blacks were protesting segregated seating, resulting in his being sued (lost) and "banned from the state of Georgia, permanently".

However, three years, after this interview, in 1979 Ray Charles' classic rendition of Georgia On My Mind
was approved as the official Song of the State of Georgia, and Charles was invited to be present on the floor of the State Capital to sing its first performance as such. That same year, Charles was inducted into the Georgia Music Hall of Fame, the first performer to be so honored. ]

. . . The audience was hypnotized. A single dynamic broke the uncanny silence, as an organ softly backed his voice with a suspended vibrato chord in high register.

- Song 10.) Somewhat less fascinating solo with full band accompaniment (not too loud, though.) Unusual vocal - guttural . . . "Sometime I might find a lady friend with a million dollars of her own." . . . "I'm gonna be a mean mother." Ended in low register.

- Song 11.) Very soft, slow song featuring some million-dollar chords. A very earthy "Felt like I could melt into heaven." soap opera organ chords. Too much vibrato. "What a Break for Heavens Sakes" . . . He cracked trying to extend the melodic line. . . "I realized tonight what a break, for Heaven's Sakes." . . . Swayed from one side to another. Ended as he fell over on the last drum beat!

- Song 12.) Had a 'Choo-choo Train' rhythm. A great acoustic guitar - echo solo. Very excellent! The whole audience gradually began to clap to the beat with no coaxing from anyone on stage. . . "Made me rather jittery, Ah - ooo, ooh." Excellent song - had a distant rhythm like it was from beyond. Guitar interrupted with an echo-ey solo, every now and then. Quite a range.

- Song 13.) Am I Blue ?
(by Harry Akst) - Resembled a mellow Barry Manilow with Chopin piano accompaniment. This accompaniment did not fit the vocal style. Trumpet burst into a 'meow' like solo and took over. Then duelled with the piano rhythmically. Trumpet spoke to us from somewhere beyond the realm of jazz. "Sad and Lonely One, Yes I am, yes I am. Lawdy, was I gay? Till Today. Now he's gone, and we're through, am I blue - ooh - hoo!" Came from the very guts of both Charles and trumpet player. "All Right." . . .

Liner Notes:

5 female singers (The Raelettes) . Mr. Dick Benson told me: "For the first time, this morning, the Music Industry presented him with the "First National Music Award" [for his instrumental role in Rock 'n' Roll]. Ray said "It's nice to hear good stuff."

The Original Raelettes: Top: Ethel (Darlene) McCrea Left: Margie Hendricks Right: Patricia Lyles Bottom: Gwendolyn Berry

The 5 Raelettes backed Charles up - "Hoo-ha-ooh, My Love Grows in the Dark." . . . "We're gonna journey to the horizon. The name of that song was Love Train
(New Horizon). His voice was hoarse - mixed well with trombone.

Song notes:

- I Can't Stop Lovin' You (by Don Gibson) - "I will remain the same. Which means to say, girl, I'll keep on lovin' you." He gyrated on the piano bench. He just started to ramble on. The girls sang with full band accompaniment. At a very soft level, though.

- I Can See Clearly Now - Egotistical singers did an unintentional "funky chicken" as the band provided a driving rhythm.

- Drums opened the Charles version of America The Beautiful. Slow, sustained chords rendered it a thing of beauty.

http://www.raycharles.com/flash/atb.swf

- Charles reached over and pulled himself over to the electric piano. This song has no apparent meter. Very rubato. Unusual Hard Times [Mississippi] Really long . . . "Just Enough For the City." Even threw in a political joke.

Note: Ray built his first office building in 1961, and began his own recording studio RPM Intl., L.A., and formed Ray Charles Enterprises, comprised of Tangerine Records and Music, and Racer Music.

Ray, center, shares a laugh with Clint Eastwood, Cicely Tyson and Los Angeles City Council President Alex Padilla at a ceremony proclaiming Ray Charles Studios a city historic landmark April 30, 2004.

- Sad, empty, low - It's Cryin' Time Again (Buck Owens)

- He kept starting over on his electric piano solo, saying "Don't Stop I believe it was all right. "Let's Do it." - An Elvis Presley tune - Tell me What'd I Say (Ray Charles).

"In recognition of both his artistic and humanitarian achievements, Ray Charles received a Star on Hollywood Boulevard's "Walk of Fame" December 16, 1981, joining a host of illustrious entertainers who have been judged worthy of this honor by the Hollywood Historic Trust. " - from the official Ray Charles website.

His #1 hits include Georgia (1960), Hit The Road Jack (1961) and Can't Stop Lovin' You (1962).
This reporter's favorite, Unchain My Heart, (ends the movie), reached #9 on the charts, back in 1961.