Crate Diggers: Georgia
Showing posts with label Georgia. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Georgia. Show all posts

Tuesday, June 13, 2017

Anniversary of Ray Charles' Death

“Love is a special word, and I use it only when I mean it. You say the word too much and it becomes cheap” - Ray Charles
(Ray Charles)
Ray Charles was born as Ray Robinson on September 23rd, 1930 in Albany, Georgia, USA. As a baby Robinson moved to Greenville, FL. Charles was raised by his biological mother. At age 3 Robinson learned how to play piano. At age 4 he started to lose his sight. When he was 5 he witnessed his younger brother drown. At age 7 Robinson completely lost his sight. In 1937 Robinson attended school at the Florida School for the Deaf and the Blind in St. Augustine, FL. When Robinson was 14 his mother died. In 1945 Robinson moved to Jacksonville, FL. At age 16 he moved to Orlando, FL. In 1947 he moved to Tampa, FL. He got a job being apart of 2 bands. In 1948 he moved to Seattle, WA. He then met Quincy Jones.
(Robinson in 1948)
In 1949 he had his 1st national hit "Confession Blues”. In 1950 he moved to Los Angeles, CA. In 1951 he started going by “Ray Charles”. In 1952 he signed to Atlantic records.
(Charles in 1952)
In 1953 he released “Mess Around”. In 1954 he had hits with "It Should Have Been Me" and "Don't You Know" which became his first chart success for Atlantic. He also released “I Got a Woman”. It reached No. 2 on the R&B charts. In 1955 he had hits "This Little Girl of Mine" and "A Fool for You”.
(Charles in 1955)
In 1956 Charles recruited a young all female singing group named the Cookies, and reshaped them as The Raelettes. In 1959 Charles reached the Billboard Top Ten with "What'd I Say”. He then signed to ABC Paramount Records. In 1960 he released  “Genius + Soul = Jazz”. He also released the single “Georgia on my Mind”. He then received 4 Grammy awards. He then released the hit song “Hit the Road Jack”.
(Charles in 1960)
In 1961 Charles had expanded his small road ensemble to a full scale big band. Also in 1961 Charles faced a near death experience when the pilot of his plane lost visibility, as snow and his failure to use defroster caused the windshield of the plane to become completely covered in ice. In 1962 he founded his own record label Tangerine Records. In 1963 he had major pop hits with "Busted" and “Take These Chains From My Heart”. In 1965 Charles was arrested for possession of heroin.
(Charles in 1965)
He went to rehab to avoid jail. In 1966 he released "I Don't Need No Doctor" and "Let's Go Get Stoned”. In 1967 he released “Here We Go Again”. In 1972 he released “America the Beautiful”.
(Charles in 1972)
In 1974 he signed to his own label Crossover records. In 1977 he signed to Atlantic records again. Also in 1977 he hosted “Saturday Night Live”.
(Charles in 1977)
In 1979 Charles’ song “Georgia on my Mind” was proclaimed the state song of Georgia. In 1980 he appeared in the movie The Blues Brothers.
(Charles in The Blues Brothers (1980))
In 1981 Charles was criticized for performing at South Africa's Sun City resort during an international boycott of its apartheid policy. In 1983 Charles signed with Columbia records. In 1985 he was apart of the song “We Are the World”.
(Charles (Center) with Stevie Wonder (Left) and Michael Jackson (Right))
Also in 1985 he performed at Ronald Reagan’s inauguration. In 1990 Charles had a duet with Chaka Khan on the song “I’ll be Good to You”.
(Charles (Right) with Chaka Khan (Left))
In 1993 he released the album “My World”. Also in 1993 he performed at Bill Clinton’s inauguration. In 1996 he released the album “Strong Love Affair”. In 2002 he released the album “Thanks for Bringing Love Around Again”. In 2003 he was inducted into the songwriters hall of fame.
(Charles in 2003)
He also had hip surgery. In 2004 a movie on his life was released called Ray.
(Charles (Left) and Jamie Foxx (Right))
On June 10th, 2004 Ray Charles died of liver disease in Beverly Hills, California, USA. He was 73 years old.
(Charles’ funeral)
Today is the 13th anniversary of his death. Take time to remember this great musical artist today.

Albums by Ray Charles
  • “Ray Charles” (1957)
  • “The Great Ray Charles” (1957)
  • “Yes Indeed!” (1958)
  • “Soul Brothers” (1958)
  • “What’d I Say” (1959)
  • “The Genius of Ray Charles” (1959)
  • “The Original Ray Charles” (1959)
  • “The Fabulous Ray Charles” (1959)
  • “The Genius Hits the Road” (1960)
  • “The Genius Sings the Blues” (1961)
  • “Soul Meeting” (1961)
  • “The Genius After Hours” (1961)
  • “Dedicated to You” (1961)
  • “Ray Charles and Betty Carter” (1961)
  • “Genius + Soul = Jazz” (1961)
  • “Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music” (1962)
  • “Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music Volume Two” (1962)
  • “Ingredients in a Recipe for Soul” (1963)
  • “Sweet & Sour Tears” (1964)
  • “Have a Smile with Me” (1964)
  • “Together Again” (1965)
  • “Crying Time” (1966)
  • “Ray’s Moods” (1966)
  • “Invites You to Listen” (1967)
  • “A Portrait of Ray” (1968)
  • “I’m All Yours Baby!” (1968)
  • “Doing His Thing” (1969)
  • “My Kind of Jazz” (1970)
  • “Love Country Style” (1970)
  • “Volcanic Action of My Soul” (1971)
  • “A Message From the People” (1972)
  • “Through the Eyes of Love” (1972)
  • “Jazz Number II” (1972)
  • “Come Live with Me” (1974)
  • “Renaissance” (1975)
  • “My Kind of Jazz Part 3” (1975)
  • “Porgy and Bess” (1976)
  • “True to Life” (1977)
  • “Love & Peace” (1978)
  • “The Tender Side of Ray Charles” (1978)
  • “Ain’t It So” (1979)
  • “Brother Ray is at it Again” (1980)
  • “Wish You Were Here Tonight” (1983)
  • “Do I Ever Cross Your Mind” (1984)
  • “Friendship” (1984)
  • “The Spirit of Christmas” (1985)
  • “From the Pages of My Mind” (1986)
  • “Just Between Us” (1988)
  • “Would You Believe” (1990)
  • “My World” (1993)
  • “Strong Love Affair” (1996)
  • “Thanks for Bringing Love Around Again” (2002)
  • “Genius Loves Company” (2004)

Films starring Ray Charles
  • Swingin' Along (1961) as himself
  • Ballad in Blue (1964) as himself
  • The Big T.N.T. Show (1966) as himself
  • The Blues Brothers (1980) as Ray
  • Limit Up (1989) as Julius
  • Listen Up: The Lives of Quincy Jones (1990) as himself
  • Love Affair (1994) as himself
  • Spy Hard (1996) as Bus Driver
  • The Extreme Adventures of Super Dave (2000) as himself
  • Blue's Big Musical Movie (2000) as G-Clef

Videos of Ray Charles




P.S. sorry for the late post
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Wednesday, May 3, 2017

Happy Birthday James Brown

“When I'm onstage, I'm trying to do one thing: bring people joy. Just like church does. People don't go to church to find trouble, they go there to lose it” - James Brown
(James Brown)
James Brown was born on May 3rd, 1933 in Barnwell, South Carolina, USA. His family lived in extreme poverty in Elko, SC. When Brown was 5 his family moved to Augusta, GA. Brown’s mother left the family when Brown was young. Brown dropped out of school in the 6th grade. In 1944 Brown won his 1st talent show for singing.Brown performed buck dances for change to entertain troops from Camp Gordon at the start of World War II. Brown learned how to play piano, guitar and harmonica during this period. Brown was inspired by Louis Jordan to become a musical artist. At 16 years old Brown was convicted of robbery. Brown formed a gospel quartet with four fellow cellmates. In 1952 Brown was paroled. Brown joined a gospel group and worked at several jobs. Brown met Bobby Byrd soon after. Brown joined Byrd’s gospel group. The band’s name was changed to “The Famous Flames” and started performing R&B.
(James Brown and the Famous Flames)
In 1955 the group contacted Little Richard and became managed by Little Richard’s manager. The group then signed with King Records. In 1956 they released their 1st single “Please,Please,Please”. It sold over a million copies. In 1957 the group changed their name to “James Brown & the Famous Flames”. The single “Try Me” reached number 1 on the R&B chart in 1959. In 1961 he released the album “Think!”. In 1962 the single “Night Train” was Brown’s first hit on Billboard hot 100. Also in 1962 Brown released his 1st live album “Live at the Apollo”.
(Brown in 1962)
In 1963 Brown had his 1st hit on the pop charts with “Prisoner of Love”. He also launched his 1st label Try Me Records. In 1964 Brown performed on The T.A.M.I. Show.
(Brown in 1964)
Brown also released the single “Papa’s Got a Brand New Bag”. That song won Brown his 1st grammy award. In 1965 Brown released the singles “I Got You” and “It’s a Man’s Man’s Man’s World”. In 1967 Brown released “Cold Sweat” which was the beginning of the new music form of Funk.
(Brown in 1967)
Brown’s vocals started to take the form of a kind of rhythmic declamation, not quite sung but not quite spoken, this later became an influence for Hip Hop music. Brown then gained the nickname “Soul Brother #1”. During this time Brown influenced artists like Sly and the Family Stone, Funkadelic, Charles Wright & the Watts 103rd Street Rhythm Band, Booker T. & the M.G.s, Edwin Starr, David Ruffin Dennis Edwards and Michael Jackson. Brown bought radio stations as well in the late 1960’s.
(Brown in 1969)
With the albums “Gettin’ Down to it”(1969) and “Soul on Top” (1970) Brown tried to appeal to White audiences. After many original band members leaving Brown and Byrd recruited new band members from Cincinnati, OH, which included Bootsy Collins and his brother Phelps "Catfish" Collins.
(Brown (Right) with Bootsy Collins (Left))
In 1971 Brown had to get a new band due to money disputes. Also in 1971 Brown started to record for Polydor records. In 1972 Brown openly supported Richard Nixon for president. His Black audience boycotted his shows for this choice.
(Brown (Right) with Richard Nixon (Left))
Also Brown owed $4.5 million in back taxes. In 1973 Brown recorded the soundtrack for the movie Black Caesar (1973). He also recorded the soundtrack for Slaughter’s Big Rip Off (1973). In 1974 the single “The Payback” reached number 1 on the R&B chart.
(Brown in 1974)
He also reached number 1 with the singles “My Thang” and “Papa Don’t Take No Mess”. Brown also performed in Kinshasa, Dem. Rep. of the Congo for the Ali, Foreman, Rumble in the Jungle, boxing match. In 1976 Brown released the single “Get Up Offa That Thing”. During the late 1970’s Brown started to fall out of popularity. In 1980 Brown had a role in the movie The Blues Brothers (1980).
(Brown in The Blues Brothers(1980))
In 1981 Brown left Polydor records. In 1984 Brown did a song with Afrika Bambaataa called “Unity”.
(Brown (Left) with Afrika Bambaataa (Right))
In 1985 Brown signed with Scotti Brothers records. Also in 1985 Brown had a role in Rocky IV (1985) and did the song “Living in America” for the film.
(Brown in Rocky IV (1985))
In 1988 Brown did an album with Full Force called “I’m Real”.
(Brown (wearing sunglasses) with Full Force)
Throughout the 1980’s many hip hop artists sampled Brown’s music making him one of the most sampled artists of all time. During the late 1980’s Brown went to jail. In 1991 Brown appeared in MC Hammer’s music video for “Too Legit to Quit”.
(Brown (Left) with MC Hammer (Right))
In 1993 Brown released his last single that charted, “Can’t Get Any Harder”. In 1995 Brown released his last live album “Live at the Apollo 1995”. In 2002 Brown had a role in the movie Undercover Brother (2002).
(Brown (Left) in Undercover Brother (2002))
In 2006 Brown performed his last tour “Seven Decades of Funk World Tour”.
(Brown in 2006)
In December of 2006 Brown became ill and was admitted into a hospital. On December 25th, 2006 James Brown died of heart failure and pneumonia in Atlanta, Georgia, USA. He was 73 years old.
(Brown’s funeral)
Today is his 84th birthday and we would all like to say happy birthday and rest in peace James Brown.

Albums by James Brown
  • “Please Please Please” (1959)
  • “Try Me!” (1959)
  • “Think!” (1960)
  • “The Amazing James Brown” (1961)
  • “James Brown Presents His Band” (1961)
  • “Good, Good, Twistin” (1962)
  • “James Brown and His Famous Flames Tour the U.S.A.” (1962)
  • “Prisoner of Love” (1963)
  • “Showtime” (1964)
  • “Grits & Soul” (1964)
  • “Out of Sight” (1964)
  • “Papa’s Got a Brand New Bag” (1965)
  • “James Brown Plays James Brown Today & Yesterday” (1965)
  • “I Got You” (1966)
  • “Mighty Instruments” (1966)
  • “James Brown Plays New Breed” (1966)
  • “It’s a Man’s Man’s Man’s World” (1966)
  • “James Brown Sings Christmas Songs” (1966)
  • “Handful of Soul” (1966)
  • “James Brown Sings Raw Soul” (1967)
  • “James Brown Plays the Real Thing” (1967)
  • “Cold Sweat” (1967)
  • “I Can’t Stand Myself When You Touch Me” (1968)
  • “I Got the Feelin’” (1968)
  • “James Brown Plays Nothing But Soul” (1968)
  • “Thinking About Little Willie John and a Few Nice Things” (1968)
  • “A Soulful Christmas” (1968)
  • “Say it Loud I’m Black and I’m Proud” (1969)
  • “Gettin’ Down to it” (1969)
  • “The Popcorn” (1969)
  • “It’s a Mother” (1969)
  • “Ain’t it Funky” (1970)
  • “Soul on Top” (1970)
  • “It’s a New Day Let a Man Come in” (1970)
  • “Hey America” (1970)
  • “Super Bad” (1971)
  • “Sho is Funky Down Here” (1971)
  • “Hot Pants” (1971)
  • “There it is” (1972)
  • “Get on the Good Foot” (1972)
  • “Black Caesar” (1973)
  • “Slaughter’s Big Rip Off” (1973)
  • “The Payback” (1974)
  • “Hell” (1974)
  • “Reality” (1974)
  • “Sex Machine Today” (1975)
  • “Everybody’s Doin’ the Hustle & Dead on the Double Bump” (1975)
  • “Hot” (1976)
  • “Get Up Offa That Thing” (1976)
  • “Bodyheat” (1976)
  • “Mutha’s Nature” (1977)
  • “Jam 1980’s” (1978)
  • “Take a Look at Those Cakes” (1979)
  • “The Original Disco Man” (1979)
  • “People” (1980)
  • “Soul Syndrome” (1980)
  • “Nonstop!” (1981)
  • “Bing it On!” (1983)
  • “Gravity” (1986)
  • “I’m Real” (1988)
  • “Love Over Due” (1991)
  • “Universal James” (1993)
  • “I’m Back” (1998)
  • “The Merry Christmas Album” (1999)
  • “The Next Step” (2002)
Videos of James Brown
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vptGSENcXeI  “Get On Up Official Trailer (2014) James Brown Biopic HD”
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