BLIND, BUT GIFTED BY SUSANA VAZQUEZ

BLIND, BUT GIFTED

Hello there! My name is Ray Charles, but I am also known as “genius” and “father of soul”. Although some of you may not know who I am, I am one of the great musicians who introduced, and began soul music. Since I was a child, I faced a difficult life and had tremendously hard experiences that I had to learn to deal with but it is also because of these experiences that I became strong. 

I was born into a poor, christian family in a community on the western side of Greenville, Florida. As I was growing up, I began to loose my sight due to glaucoma, just after my little brother died. By the time I was seven years old, I was completely blind. I developed a strong interest and talent for music when I attended the Florida School of the Deaf and the Blind, where I studied several instruments like piano, saxophone, and clarinet - I had more of a passion for piano.

 My mother died  when I was fifteen, and my father died when I was seventeen. I was young, poor, and blind but had a unique, and extraordinary gift. Now, I was on my own and had to begin working. I had my talent, and my passion beside me, so I took advantage of that and began to play piano for bands, and started to save money to begin my career. By 1949, I was living in seattle and formed a maxim trio with which I had my first R&B hit, “Confession Blues”. 

I had a break through period with Atlantic Records in the 1950’s with my first singles that included “Drown in My Own Tears”, “It Should Have Been Me”, “I Got a Woman”, “Hit the Road Jack”, “Georgia on My Mind”, and others, which were all a combination of blues, gospel, and jazz. In 1962, I created new popular country albums which were the release of  genius + soul = jazz.

I was arrested in 1965 for possession of Heroin, which I had been addicted to for almost twenty years. This did not completely end my career but it did interfere with it. In the 1980’s, I had my final appearances in television, some movies, and in 1989, I had my first major pop hit in over twenty years with with "I'll Be Good toYou".

Ray charles died on June 10, 2004. He was an inspiration to many, including me. We can learn from him in many ways to not give up, and believe in ourselves because many of us are let down by our faults. Even though Ray was a blind man, the passion that he had, his faith, and his perseverance, is what lead him to becoming an incredible pianist and music composer and performer.