Ray Charles, 1930-2004: He Created a Sound That Had a Huge Influence on Popular Music part II

Source: Voice of America Special English   

Source: www.manythings.org/voa/people 

This is Faith Lapidus. And this is Doug Johnson with PEOPLE IN AMERICA in VOA Special English.

(MUSIC)

Last week, we began the story of a blind musician who had a huge influence on American popular music.  He was famous for his recordings of jazz, rock-and-roll, blues and country music.  His name was Ray Charles Robinson.  But the world knew him better as Ray Charles.

(MUSIC:  "Let''s Go Get Stoned")

The name of that song is "Let's Go Get Stoned."  It is an example of Ray Charles' own kind of music—his own sound.  He worked hard for several years to create that sound.  No one ever tried it before.  He mixed black church music, blues and rock-and-roll.  The sound was extremely successful.  In the nineteen fifties, his records began to sell millions of copies.

At the same time, Ray Charles recorded jazz music.  Those records sold well, too.  Critics said they were new and exciting.  Listen to his jazz song, "Sweet Sixteen Bars."

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Ray Charles became famous because he could play blues, rock and jazz.  He also liked other kinds of music.  He told record company officials that he wanted to record an album of country-and-western music.

The president of the record company told him it would be a mistake.  He said Ray's fans would not buy the album.  Charles disagreed.  He said he believed he would gain many new fans to replace the few he might lose.  He produced the album and it was an immediate success.

The album was called "Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music."  Many of the songs were major hits.  One of the most popular was "I Can't Stop Loving You."  It is a country-and-western song with Ray Charles' sound of blues and black church music.

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Ray Charles lived in a world of sound.  For six months each year he traveled with his orchestra, performing in theaters.  For the other six months, he worked in his recording studio in Los Angles, California.  He did much of the recording work to produce his own albums.

Ray Charles would often say that sound and music were his life's blood.  In fact, he said many times that he would not trade his musical ability for the ability to see again.

You begin to understand what sound meant to Ray Charles when you learn that he helped create and support the Robinson Foundation for Hearing Disorders.  This organization helps people deal with the loss of their hearing.

You might think Ray Charles would have given his time and money to help the blind.  He did not.  He once said: "Being blind is my handicap.  But ears are my opportunity."  He said losing his hearing would have ended his life.

Ray Charles lived a long life that included his share of problems.  There was a time when he used illegal drugs.  He was married and divorced several times.  Yet the Ray Charles sound, and his success, continued.

He received twelve Grammy Awards from the recording industry.  He was one of the first musicians to be elected to the Rock-and-Roll Hall of Fame. Several universities honored him.  So did the French and American governments.  His home state of Georgia made his recording of "Georgia on My Mind" the official state song.

Several years ago, Ray Charles was asked to sing at a political convention.  He performed the song "America the Beautiful."  Many people thought his recording was the best ever made.

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Ray Charles always said he owed most of his success to his mother.  He said when he was a boy, she taught him a valuable lesson.  She told him: "You can do anything you want to do.  You cannot use your eyes.  But you can work hard and use your brain."

Ray Charles died June tenth, two thousand four at the age of seventy-three.  Music experts say he did more than anyone in the twentieth century to change American popular music.

More than one hundred years ago, Alice Cary wrote a poem that could have been written for Ray Charles.  She wrote:

My soul is full of whispered song, --

My blindness is my sight;

The shadows that I feared so long

Are full of life and light.

(MUSIC:  "Seven Spanish Angels")

This program was written by Paul Thompson.  It was produced by Lawan Davis.    This is Doug Johnson. And this is Faith Lapidus.  Join us again next week for another PEOPLE IN AMERICA program in VOA Special English.

Patsy Cline, 1932-1963: Fans Were 'Crazy' About This Young Country Music Star

Photo: patsy_cline_com

Source: www.voanews.com I recommend the VOA special English, in particular for beginners and intermediate learners do not forget to promote this for friends. By the way, promote Education doesn't mean promote Spam, I never do that, do you like to access my blog, simple telling for friends twit me. 

SHIRLEY GRIFFITH: I’m Shirley Griffith.

DOUG JOHNSON: And I’m Doug Johnson with People in America in VOA Special English.  Today we tell about a young woman named Virginia Patterson Hensley. No one but her family would remember that name. The world remembers her as Patsy Cline.

SHIRLEY GRIFFITH: That song is called "Walkin' After Midnight." It was Patsy Cline's first big hit record. She recorded it in nineteen fifty-seven. It became number three on the list of country music hit recordings and number twelve on the list of most popular music.

Patsy had worked for many years to make that first successful record. She began singing when she was a young girl in her home town of Winchester, in the southern state of Virginia. Patsy sang anywhere she could. She sang at weddings and dances. She sang at public eating places for eight dollars a night. Those who knew her said she worked hard to improve her singing.

In nineteen fifty-four she won a country music competition near her home. She was twenty-two years old. She was asked to appear on a country music television program in Washington, D.C. She also sang on radio programs in the Virginia area and recorded some records.

DOUG JOHNSON: In nineteen fifty-seven, Patsy Cline appeared on a national television show in New York City. It was on this program that millions of people first heard her sing. She sang "Walkin' After Midnight," a song she had recently recorded. Her appearance on the television program helped make that record a major hit.

Patsy continued to record more songs. Within two years she had another major hit. It was called "I Fall to Pieces.” By this time Patsy's voice had already become something special. She had learned to control not only the sound but the feelings expressed in her songs. It was the slow, sad love songs that her fans enjoyed most, songs like "I Fall to Pieces."

SHIRLEY GRIFFITH: Patsy Cline's recording of "I Fall to Pieces" became her first number one country music hit. It was also a hit with fans of popular music. Patsy was a major star. She also had begun performing at the country music theater, the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville, Tennessee.

Those who knew her after she became a recording star say Patsy Cline was a very good friend. She liked to help young musicians. Later, many of these young musicians became important stars themselves.  One of Patsy's biggest hit songs also helped two of these young musicians become known. The song is called

"Crazy." It was written by an unknown musician who later became a major country music star. His name is Willie Nelson.

If you listen carefully to Patsy Cline's recording of "Crazy," you can hear the beautiful piano playing of another young musician, Floyd Cramer. He also became a major recording star. Listen to Patsy and Floyd perform Willie Nelson's song, "Crazy."

DOUG JOHNSON: On March sixth, nineteen sixty-three, Patsy Cline was killed in the crash of a small airplane. She was only thirty years old. She was flying home to Nashville. She had taken part in a special concert in Kansas City to raise money for the family of a country music radio performer who recently had died.

Reuters

Patsy Cline's husband and daughter pose with the country music singer's star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Patsy Cline was buried near her home town of Winchester, Virginia. Thousands of people came to her funeral. Ten years after her death, she became the first woman performer elected to the Country Music Hall of Fame.

SHIRLEY GRIFFITH: In nineteen eighty-five, Hollywood producers made a movie about the life of Patsy Cline.  It was called "Sweet Dreams. " Popular actress Jessica Lange played Patsy. No one really could sound like Patsy Cline. So the producers used her old records in the movie. Ms. Lange moved her mouth so she appeared to be singing. People who had never heard of Patsy Cline saw the movie and enjoyed her singing. They began buying her records. Today, her records still sell thousands of copies each year as new fans discover her.

We leave you with a song Patsy Cline recorded only a month before she died. It sounds almost as though she was singing in Special English. The song is called "Faded Love."

DOUG JOHNSON: This program was written by Paul Thompson.  It was produced by Lawan Davis. I'm Doug Johnson.

SHIRLEY GRIFFITH: And I’m Shirley Griffith.  Join us again next week for People in America in VOA Special English.