The King of Soul, Ray Charles
Discover the King By: Jarrett Monroe & Joshua Marquardt
Early Life
- Poor family
- brother passed at age 5
- Dad left him at young age
- Mother died at age 15
- Has eye disease called Glaucoma
- Went to a special school for the blind and deaf called St. Augustine
- Music gave him a way from escaping his problems
- Worked at nightclub playing piano
- Got an offer to move to Los Angeles, California and start a music career
- Worked as a Rail road mechanic
- Had a heroin addiction at 16
Ray's Influences
- Learned how to play piano from kind shop owner
- Spent many hours listening to music on the radio
- He said "Music's the only way I've ever thought about making a living."
- Percy Mayfield
- Played in a western band
Time Period
- Soviet union civil rights movement
- War of poverty
- President Kennedy gets assassinated in Texas by Lee Harvey Oswald
- There was a halt invasion on North Korea from our ally South Korea
- Lost the Vietnam war
- Coming out of World War1
http://a.scpr.org/i/e8b5138b6e61f3facda043af364db3a7/69088-full.jpg
The notes he used to play
- Soul
- Bluesy
- Lonely
- "My Jesus Is All the World To Me"
- "I got a Woman" 1954
- "Baby, let me hold your hand"
- "Gold Digger"
- Used the Saxophone, piano, vocals, and his voice (Raspy!)
The King's Life Secrets
- Dropped his last name so he wouldn't get confused with the boxer "Sugar Ray Robinson"
- Despised Elvis Presley for becoming a copier of African American Music.
- His music may resemble loneliness, but he had many friends
- Born September 23, 1930. In Albany, Georgia.
- Died on June 10, 2004 at the age of 73.
Gather the Emotions Deep Down and Let it Out
Spiffy Purple for the Soul King
Works Cited
· "Ray Charles." Biography for Beginners--African-American Leaders, Vol. 2. 2008: 49-57. SIRS Discoverer. Web. 08 Feb. 2016.