Ray Charles

綽號(hào)：天才　Genius　雷兄弟　Brother Ray
他一生共結(jié)婚兩次，曾有很多女朋友，并且子孫滿堂，生前共有12個(gè)子女，20個(gè)孫輩，5個(gè)曾孫輩。
6歲時(shí)因青光眼而失明。
在拍攝一則汽車(chē)廣告時(shí)，他在無(wú)人幫助的情況下獨(dú)自駕車(chē)穿過(guò)了“死亡谷沙漠”。雷說(shuō)這是他一生中最興奮的經(jīng)歷。
他著名的金曲《ICan’tStopLovingYou》在1962年的美國(guó)公告牌排行榜上連續(xù)五周蟬聯(lián)第一位。
1986年進(jìn)入美國(guó)搖滾名人堂。
1987年，獲得格萊美終身成就獎(jiǎng)。
他曾經(jīng)沉溺于毒品不能自拔20多年，直到1965年在波士頓機(jī)場(chǎng)因吸毒被捕后，他才從此徹底遠(yuǎn)離毒品。
1998年，獲得瑞典皇家音樂(lè)學(xué)院頒發(fā)的“保拉音樂(lè)獎(jiǎng)”。
1999年，他被俄亥俄州的威爾伯福斯大學(xué)授予人文學(xué)榮譽(yù)博士學(xué)位。
2003年秋做了臀部置換手術(shù)，為此他取消了自己的演唱會(huì)，這是他入行53年來(lái)首次取消演唱會(huì)。
雖然雷雙目失明，但他是一個(gè)狂熱的象棋愛(ài)好者，他曾在演唱會(huì)上和片場(chǎng)和他人進(jìn)行象棋比賽。
他曾經(jīng)鼓勵(lì)過(guò)眾多失明的音樂(lè)人繼續(xù)他們的音樂(lè)事業(yè)，如羅尼·米薩普和泰瑞·吉珀斯等。
2004年，他入選《滾石》雜志評(píng)選的史上最偉大的10位搖滾藝人。
他逝世后，好萊塢為了紀(jì)念他拍攝了他的傳記電影《雷》，雷由黑人演員杰米·�？怂拱缪�。
小簡(jiǎn)介
“其實(shí)，我一直在關(guān)注泰勒·�？烁５轮谱鬟@部傳記電影的進(jìn)程，同時(shí)，我并不吝嗇給予全權(quán)的幫助�？梢哉f(shuō)，�？烁５抡鎸�(shí)地重現(xiàn)了我的一生，不只包括閃光的正面，還記錄了黑暗的側(cè)面……我很愿意將自己所面對(duì)的考驗(yàn)和苦難通過(guò)大銀幕展現(xiàn)給盡可能多的人，它們從小就伴隨著我坎坷的步伐，即使在我邁入音樂(lè)殿堂之時(shí)，也從不曾遠(yuǎn)去。�？烁５逻x擇了一個(gè)非常好的角度去體驗(yàn)生命中不同的側(cè)面，我也很高興告訴每一個(gè)人是如何從連續(xù)的不幸中治愈心靈的傷痛的——也許你在看影片的時(shí)候正在經(jīng)歷相似的苦難，然而即使是生命中的最低潮，只要你不放棄生命、不放棄靈魂，最終會(huì)尋求到出路而走出困境，就像我一樣�！�
在雷·查爾斯去世幾個(gè)月前的一次采訪中，雷·查爾斯對(duì)自己的傳記電影《雷》說(shuō)出了以上這些話。2004年6月10號(hào)，他因肝病的并發(fā)癥病逝于加州，享年73歲。靈歌教母阿蕾莎·弗蘭克林聞?dòng)嵑�，感慨地說(shuō)：“一個(gè)偉大的靈魂將受到永遠(yuǎn)的愛(ài)戴，他有一副讓人終身難忘的歌喉。”幾個(gè)月之后，這部沒(méi)有槍?xiě)?zhàn)和特技的傳記電影開(kāi)始在美國(guó)票房榜占據(jù)前十位，再過(guò)幾個(gè)月，杰米·�？怂挂�?yàn)樵陔娪袄锿昝乐噩F(xiàn)了這位偉大的鋼琴手，獲得了第77屆奧斯卡最佳男主角。在這一年的葛萊美音樂(lè)獎(jiǎng)，也將年度專輯和年度唱片獎(jiǎng)?lì)C給了這位去世的老人，這個(gè)黑人笑起來(lái)，那排整齊的牙齒就像黑夜里的沙灘一樣。
大事記
從不幸開(kāi)始
3歲開(kāi)始彈鋼琴，6歲失明，15歲父母雙亡，之后被迫退學(xué)，在舞曲樂(lè)團(tuán)中謀職，18歲開(kāi)始錄音，唱到73歲。這種類(lèi)似省略號(hào)的描述，并不會(huì)減少他身后的所給予我們的意義。在他身上，我們看到了音樂(lè)所應(yīng)有的面貌，自由、真實(shí)、毫無(wú)拘束，不是掛在城頭用于標(biāo)榜與獵取的大旗，而是掛在窗戶上的一幅普通窗簾。雷·查爾斯在鄉(xiāng)村、藍(lán)調(diào)、靈魂、爵士、BigBand等音樂(lè)類(lèi)型里來(lái)回自如，自如得像從廚房到臥室，再轉(zhuǎn)身到陽(yáng)臺(tái)，音樂(lè)里的籬藩教條對(duì)他來(lái)說(shuō)根本不存在，他忽略了一個(gè)形式主義者必有的疑惑，直接將音樂(lè)從心靈中流淌出來(lái)：“打從我出生起，音樂(lè)就在我的體內(nèi)滋長(zhǎng)，音樂(lè)是我身體的一部分，就像是我的血液一樣。”
1930年，雷·查爾斯出生在喬治亞州一個(gè)貧窮的黑人家庭。不久他和家人搬到美國(guó)南部的佛羅里達(dá)州，然而隨著經(jīng)濟(jì)大蕭條的日益加深，雷的童年愈發(fā)充滿了悲劇性。5歲時(shí)，他親年目睹了弟弟在母親的洗衣池中溺水身亡的慘劇，然后到了6歲，殘酷的青光眼疾病又永遠(yuǎn)地奪去了他視力。
盡管生活是殘酷的，但雷·查爾斯還是幸運(yùn)的，他有一個(gè)偉大的母親，不斷地鼓勵(lì)他自強(qiáng)自立。但是大多數(shù)人也許并不知道，他的母親并不是他的生母，雷是他父親和一個(gè)少女的私生子。7歲時(shí)雷的母親把他送進(jìn)入佛羅里達(dá)的圣奧古斯丁盲啞學(xué)校，在8年的學(xué)習(xí)中，雷·查爾斯學(xué)會(huì)了用盲文記譜，并掌握了古典鋼琴、豎笛、管風(fēng)琴、薩克斯、小號(hào)等樂(lè)器。少年時(shí)代的雷欣賞大樂(lè)隊(duì)時(shí)代阿蒂·肖的黑管演奏，也鐘愛(ài)古典作曲家肖邦的作品。在夜深人靜的時(shí)候，雷還喜歡一個(gè)人靜靜聆聽(tīng)電臺(tái)播放的鄉(xiāng)村音樂(lè)節(jié)目“奧普里之家”、福音音樂(lè)以及工人階級(jí)的藍(lán)調(diào)音樂(lè)。
15歲那年，雷·查爾斯的父母相繼去世了。這一年，成為孤兒的雷開(kāi)始了四處演奏的流浪音樂(lè)家生涯。雷跟隨一些流浪音樂(lè)家從城市到鄉(xiāng)村，再?gòu)泥l(xiāng)村到城市，幾乎走遍了大半個(gè)美國(guó)。1948年他踏上了西雅圖之旅，并在那兒遇見(jiàn)了終身的好友、音樂(lè)大師昆西·瓊斯，還組成了自己的三人爵士樂(lè)隊(duì)。1953年，23歲的雷來(lái)到新奧爾良，正是在那里，雷的才華真正開(kāi)始顯露出來(lái)——那時(shí)他開(kāi)始為吉他大師斯利姆的錄音唱片作鋼琴伴奏，在他們合作過(guò)的唱片中，就包括斯利姆后來(lái)銷(xiāo)量達(dá)200萬(wàn)張的唱片《我曾做過(guò)的事》。與斯利姆的合作使查爾斯有了更多受唱片公司關(guān)注的機(jī)會(huì)，他很快便開(kāi)始為自己創(chuàng)作的歌曲錄制唱片。
確立樂(lè)壇大師地位
1954年，雷·查爾斯錄制了他的處女作《我有一個(gè)女人》，由此創(chuàng)立了一種新的音樂(lè)風(fēng)格“布魯斯靈歌”，這種世俗與宗教相結(jié)合、感情色彩濃烈的黑人音樂(lè)迅速得到了許多樂(lè)迷的青睞。他的嗓音渾厚、深沉，富有磁性，既有布魯斯歌手的高亢，又不失流行歌手的柔情和憂郁。他用這種獨(dú)特的嗓音完美地表達(dá)出自己對(duì)冷暖人間的感悟。
此后，雷·查爾斯一首帶有濃郁美國(guó)南部特色的布魯斯歌曲《我心中的喬治亞》被定為美國(guó)喬治亞州的州歌，而《上路吧，杰克》和《打開(kāi)我心》也成為了家喻戶曉的熱門(mén)歌曲，其中《上路吧，杰克》還為他贏得了1961年的格萊美最佳布魯斯歌曲獎(jiǎng)，由此確立了他樂(lè)壇大師的地位。但大師也并非是完美的。雷早年沉迷毒品二十多年，并曾因吸毒而被捕。他對(duì)女人的嗜好也讓他受到不少的非議和指責(zé)。出生貧寒的他成名后擁有了好萊塢比弗利山的房產(chǎn)。盡管他享受毒品帶來(lái)的虛幻，但他卻一直保有著異常睿智、敏捷的象棋天賦。他73年充滿矛盾的人生就像美國(guó)人生活體驗(yàn)的總和，而他的獨(dú)特就在于能在矛盾的生活中將人生光輝燦爛的一面發(fā)揮到極致。
Ray Charles was the musician most responsible for developing soul music. Singers like Sam Cooke and Jackie Wilson also did a great deal to pioneer the form, but Charles did even more to devise a new form of black pop by merging '50s R&B with gospel-powered vocals, adding plenty of flavor from contemporary jazz, blues, and (in the '60s) country. Then there was his singing; his style was among the most emotional and easily identifiable of any 20th century performer, up there with the likes of Elvis and Billie Holiday. He was also a superb keyboard player, arranger, and bandleader. The brilliance of his 1950s and '60s work, however, can't obscure the fact that he made few classic tracks after the mid-'60s, though he recorded often and performed until the year before his death.
Blind since the age of six (from glaucoma), Charles studied composition and learned many instruments at the St. Augustine School for the Deaf and the Blind. His parents had died by his early teens, and he worked as a musician in Florida for a while before using his savings to move to Seattle in 1947. By the late '40s, he was recording in a smooth pop/R&B style derivative of Nat "King" Cole and Charles Brown. He got his first Top Ten R&B hit with "Baby, Let Me Hold Your Hand" in 1951. Charles' first recordings came in for their fair share of criticism, as they were much milder and less original than the classics that would follow, although they're actually fairly enjoyable, showing strong hints of the skills that were to flower in a few years.
In the early '50s, Charles' sound started to toughen as he toured with Lowell Fulson, went to New Orleans to work with Guitar Slim (playing piano on and arranging Slim's huge R&B hit, "The Things That I Used to Do"), and got a band together for R&B star Ruth Brown. It was at Atlantic Records that Ray Charles truly found his voice, consolidating the gains of recent years and then some with "I Got a Woman," a number-two R&B hit in 1955. This is the song most frequently singled out as his pivotal performance, on which Charles first truly let go with his unmistakable gospel-ish moan, backed by a tight, bouncy horn-driven arrangement.
Throughout the '50s, Charles ran off a series of R&B hits that, although they weren't called "soul" at the time, did a lot to pave the way for soul by presenting a form of R&B that was sophisticated without sacrificing any emotional grit. "This Little Girl of Mine," "Drown in My Own Tears," "Hallelujah I Love Her So," "Lonely Avenue," and "The Right Time" were all big hits. But Charles didn't really capture the pop audience until "What'd I Say," which caught the fervor of the church with its pleading vocals, as well as the spirit of rock & roll with its classic electric piano line. It was his first Top Ten pop hit, and one of his final Atlantic singles, as he left the label at the end of the '50s for ABC.
One of the chief attractions of the ABC deal for Charles was a much greater degree of artistic control of his recordings. He put it to good use on early-'60s hits like "Unchain My Heart" and "Hit the Road Jack," which solidified his pop stardom with only a modicum of polish attached to the R&B he had perfected at Atlantic. In 1962, he surprised the pop world by turning his attention to country & western music, topping the charts with the "I Can't Stop Loving You" single, and making a hugely popular album (in an era in which R&B/soul LPs rarely scored high on the charts) with Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music. Perhaps it shouldn't have been so surprising; Charles had always been eclectic, recording quite a bit of straight jazz at Atlantic, with noted jazz musicians like David "Fathead" Newman and Milt Jackson.
Charles remained extremely popular through the mid-'60s, scoring big hits like "Busted," "You Are My Sunshine," "Take These Chains From My Heart," and "Crying Time," although his momentum was slowed by a 1965 bust for heroin. This led to a year-long absence from performing, but he picked up where he left off with "Let's Go Get Stoned" in 1966. Yet by this time Charles was focusing increasingly less on rock and soul, in favor of pop tunes, often with string arrangements, that seemed aimed more at the easy listening audience than anyone else. Charles' influence on the rock mainstream was as apparent as ever; Joe Cocker and Steve Winwood in particular owe a great deal of their style to him, and echoes of his phrasing can be heard more subtly in the work of greats like Van Morrison.
One approaches sweeping criticism of Charles with hesitation; he was an American institution, after all, and his vocal powers barely diminished over his half-century career. The fact remains, though, that his work after the late '60s on record was very disappointing. Millions of listeners yearned for a return to the all-out soul of his 1955-1965 classics, but Charles had actually never been committed to soul above all else. Like Aretha Franklin and Elvis Presley, his focus was more upon all-around pop than many realize; his love of jazz, country, and pop standards was evident, even if his more earthy offerings were the ones that truly broke ground and will stand the test of time. He dented the charts (sometimes the country ones) occasionally, and commanded devoted international concert audiences whenever he felt like it. For good or ill, he ensured his imprint upon the American mass consciousness in the 1990s by singing several ads for Diet Pepsi. He also recorded three albums during the '90s for Warner Bros., but remained most popular as a concert draw. In 2002, he released Thanks for Bringing Love Around Again on his own Crossover imprint, and the following year began recording an album of duets featuring B.B. King, Willie Nelson, Michael McDonald, and James Taylor. After hip replacement surgery in 2003, he scheduled a tour for the following summer, but was forced to cancel an appearance in March 2004. Three months later, on June 10, 2004, Ray Charles succumbed to liver disease at his home in Beverly Hills, CA.