Ray Charles passed.
I had the pleasure of seeing him live some years ago, and he was one of those brilliant, bright lights whom age could never dull. He was just as captivating as at any other time of his career.
Hearing him sing Old Man River for the first time as a teenager, I remember understanding so many things. Really getting the boundless sorrow of that song. But then, as only Ray could do, he found an optimism in it, as well.
He did it again in Somewhere Over the Rainbow. Oh, when I heard him do that.... he raised that song higher and took it lower than I ever knew it could go.
If you haven't heard Ray Charles do Rainbow, or haven't heard it in a long time, go listen to it now. Go. It's simply... yeah.
It seems only a black man who grew up in America, poorest of poor, blind after his first few years of life, and orphaned, could have the particular kind of textural, expressive depth that he had. And that he sang these two particular songs with such vision, with such breadth... is ridiculously inspiring and tells his story more than words ever could.
Sleep well, Ray. You are so beautiful and your voice full of pain and hope and laughter continues to sing in my heart.
