Words and Their Stories: Nuts and Bolts

Now, the VOA Special English program WORDS AND THEIR STORIES.

Source:http://www.voanews.com/learningenglish/home/words-stories/Words-and-Their-Stories-Nuts-and-Bolts-130498363.html

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Every machine is held together by its nuts and bolts.  Without them, the machine would fall apart. That is also true of an organization. Itsnuts and bolts are its basic, necessary elements. They are the parts that make the organization work.

In government, industry, diplomacy -- in most anything -- those who understand the nuts and bolts are the most important. Success depends more on them than on almost anyone else.

In government, the president or prime minister may plan and shape programs and policies. But, it takes much more work to get them approved and to make them successful.

AP

There is a mass of detailed work to be done. The nuts and bolts. This is often put into the hands of specialists. The top leaders are always well-known, but not those who work with the nuts and bolts.

This is equally true in the day-to-day operation of Congress. The majority leader of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives, together with the chairmen of committees, keep the business of Congress moving.

Behind every Senator and Congressman, however, are assistants. These people do all the detailed work to prepare congressmen to vote wisely on each issue.

In diplomacy, the chief ministers are unquestionably important in negotiations. But there are lesser officials who do the basic work and preparations on the different issues to be negotiated.

A recent book tells of a British prime minister who decided to send an ambassador to Washington to learn if details could be worked out for joint action on an issue. The talks in Washington, the minister said, would be "of nut and bolts." He meant, of course, the talks would concern all the necessary elements to make joint action successful.

In a military operation, strategy decisions are important. But much more time is spent on the nuts and bolts -- generally called logistics -- of how to transport and supply an army.  It has been said that Napoleon was successful because he knew the field position of every one of his guns. He gave careful attention to the nuts and bolts of his operations.

The extreme importance of nuts and bolts was expressed by the Elizabethan poet, George Herbert. He wrote:

For want of a nail, the shoe is lost

For want of a shoe, the horse is lost

For want of a horse, the rider is lost.

Benjamin Franklin carried these lines even further. He wrote:

For want of a rider, the battle was lost

For want of a battle, the kingdom was lost

And all for the want of a horseshoe nail.

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This VOA Special English program, WORDS AND THEIR STORIES, was written by Marilyn Christiano. The narrator was Maurice Joyce. I'm Warren Scheer. 

Ten Years After September 11 Attacks, How Life Has Changed

Manhattan's Financial District is now called the Diaper District because of the large number of families with children living there

World doesn't turn safe after the attack, the world economy is getting worst and worst. Remember, nothing, but nothing justify any sort of violence, as well as discrimination, racism etc. My deepest and sincerely condolences for those who lost their lives in the World Trade Center. 




Source: http://www.voanews.com/learningenglish/home/Ten-Years-After-September-11-Attacks-How-Life-Has-Changed-129233683.html

BOB DOUGHTY: Welcome to THIS IS AMERICA in VOA Special English. I’m Bob Doughty.

FAITH LAPIDUS: And I’m Faith Lapidus. Nearly three thousand people were killed in the attacks against the United States on September eleventh, two thousand one. Early that morning, terrorists hijacked four passenger airplanes. Two planes struck the World Trade Center in New York City. Another hit the Pentagon building, just across the river from Washington, D.C. Passengers on the fourth plane are said to have fought the hijackers. Their plane crashed on a field in western Pennsylvania.

The victims were from the United States and many other nations. It was the worst terrorist attack in American history. But for many people, the event does not feel like history. Today, we hear some of the ways the nine eleven attacks changed lives around the world.

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BOB DOUGHTY: The attack on the World Trade Center’s Twin Towers not only destroyed those buildings, it changed the personality of the surrounding neighborhood. In the past ten years, the area has moved away from its business centered past to a family friendly area now called the Diaper District.

FAITH LAPIDUS: Stephanie Hryckowian is the daughter of a Ukrainian immigrant who owned the Beekman Deli. The family business served office workers from the Twin Towers for twenty-five years. Then, the nine eleven attacks changed her life forever. She remembers her reaction to the killing of al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden.

STEPHANIE HRYCKOWIAN: “When the president said they got Osama, I sat there crying, because I was so happy.”

FAITH LAPIDUS: The Beekman Deli went from earning twenty-five thousand dollars a week profit to nothing.

STEPHANIE HRYCKOWIAN: “We were sitting pretty before that [9/11]. After that, it all disappeared.”

FAITH LAPIDUS: The delicatessen failed. The place where it once stood is now an automated teller machine for a bank.

BOB DOUGHTY: Nearby is one of the office buildings formerly served by the Beekman Deli. Like many older buildings in Lower Manhattan, its businesses left after the September eleventh attacks. It was then developed into housing. Lower Manhattan is now home to fifty-six thousand people. That is more than two times the number it had ten years ago.

Real estate agent Luis Vazquez is among the newcomers.

LUIS VAZQUEZ: “Today, the Financial District has the highest concentration of households with children in the city.”

BOB DOUGHTY: So many families, in fact, that The New York Times newspaper has called the area the Diaper District. It is not uncommon to see mothers pushing baby strollers down the side streets.

FAITH LAPIDUS: Jocelyn Zoland is a mother. She saw one of the planes strike the World Trade Center.

JOCELYN ZOLAND: “It’s nice to see that in the shadow of that there are all these children and there are all these activities, and it has become a wonderful destination. We’ll see if things change though.”

FAITH LAPIDUS: Ms. Zoland says that change could include millions of visitors to the area with the completion of a nine eleven museum at Ground Zero. In addition, tens of thousands of office workers will occupy Freedom Tower, a skyscraper being built to replace the Twin Towers.

BOB DOUGHTY: But the Beekman Deli is gone. Many other businesses are still closed. Stephanie Hryckowian says what did not disappear was the Deli’s responsibility to pay taxes and make rent payments through two thousand four. That cost her five hundred thousand dollars in savings. She now rents out her home and lives with family members.

STEPHANIE HRYCKOWIAN: “We have no health insurance. We have no 401K. We have no retirement fund. We have nothing after 9/11.”

BOB DOUGHTY: Lower Manhattan has been rebuilding from what happened ten years ago. But Stephanie Hryckowian is unemployed and still struggling to deal with the effects of the attacks.

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FAITH LAPIDUS: The United States answered the September eleventh attacks with a war against terror. First it sent troops to Afghanistan after the country’s Taliban government refused to expel al-Qaida leaders. Then, United States forces went to Iraq. The American-led invasion led to the overthrow of Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein.

One of the unplanned results of his ouster is a generation of Iraqi children who have lived through eight years of unrest.

BOB DOUGHTY: Iraqi friends Mohammed Ahmed and Sadiq Ali have always been together. They grew up on the same street. They walked to school together and dreamed about becoming soccer stars.

The two friends were also together four years ago, playing near Mohammed’s home, when a rocket exploded next to them. Their lives changed forever. Ali lost his right leg, Ahmed, his left. A third friend died.

BOB DOUGHTY: The two friends are part of a generation of Iraqi children scarred by the violence that followed the ouster of Saddam Hussein. Thousands of Iraqis suffered injuries over the years because of fighting between competing groups, criminal activity and a nationalist rebellion.

FAITH LAPIDUS: The United Nations says up to eight hundred thousand Iraqi children have lost at least one parent in the violence. Social services are uncommon in Iraq. Parents, officials and non-profit groups say the government is unable to provide many of these children with shelter, medical care and emotional support. Surgical operations on trauma patients are free, but Iraqis have to pay for nearly all other medical services.

Throughout their pain, Mohammed and Sadiq have never left each other’s side. Wherever their future lies, they will go there together, on donated crutches and a yellow prosthetic leg.

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BOB DOUGHTY: America’s collective sense of security changed after the nine eleven attacks. Many Americans now feel vulnerable, not only to more attacks but also to new measures designed to prevent terrorism.

Travelers have faced increased security at airports over the past ten years. Some measures are still being questioned, but traveler Bob Dubois believes they are necessary.

BOB DUBOIS: “I think it’s something that we need in this day and economy as it is right now with what’s going on. You never know what’s going to happen and the people that are out there, and I think that we need to do this.”

FAITH LAPIDUS: Oscar Del Castillo agrees the new measures are needed, but he says…

OSCAR DEL CASTILLO: “A few procedures, I’m not entirely pleased with, such as the full body scans. However, I understand their importance.”

FAITH LAPIDUS: Ameena Mirza Qazi is a lawyer with the Council on American-Islamic Relations, in Los Angeles. She says that the measures are directed at observant Muslims.

AMEENA MIRZA QAZI: “When I travel, I get pulled over almost every single time I go through security for extra pat-downs because of my head scarf.”

FAITH LAPIDUS: Transportation security officials say they do not target Muslims on purpose. But many Muslims say they suffer discrimination. Last year, a religious center near the city of San Diego faced neighborhood protests over its plans to expand.

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BOB DOUGHTY: Civil rights activists took legal action against the Federal Bureau of Investigation earlier this year for reportedly using informants to monitor Muslims. FBI officials would not comment. But officials say they take action only when they suspect criminal behavior.

Ahilan Arulanantham of the American Civil Liberties Union says the FBI’s methods are too invasive. He says the nation’s founding fathers wanted to guarantee basic rights.

AHILAN ARULANANTHAM: “And the rules that they created were designed to protect us and strike that balance even during that time.”

BOB DOUGHTY: Steven Martinez works for the FBI office in Los Angeles. He says the United States still supports the goal of an open society, but the risk of terrorism is real.

STEVEN MARTINEZ: “If we want to maintain that sense of freedom, we’re always going to have vulnerabilities in places where people gather – theme parks, movie theaters, shopping malls. Those present opportunities for our adversaries and those are very, very difficult to secure.”

FAITH LAPIDUS: Security expert Erroll Southers of the University of Southern California says Americans need to face, and control, the new risks.

ERROLL SOUTHERS: “The same as they’re told about the challenges we have with earthquakes, fires, floods, hurricanes. This is a disaster of a man-enabled paradigm, so we should be educating them on what the real threats are. And then second, we should make sure they understand how then can help.”

FAITH LAPIDUS: Mr. Southers says information from the public is needed to stop terrorists, but effective security measures still must respect the rights of Americans. Finding the right balance is the hard part.

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BOB DOUGHTY: Our program was written and produced by Brianna Blake, with reporting by Peter Fedynsky, Ayman Oghanna and Mike O’Sullivan. I’m Bob Doughty.

FAITH LAPIDUS: And I’m Faith Lapidus. You can find transcripts and MP3s of our programs and learn English at voaspecialenglish.com. Join us again next week for THIS IS AMERICA in VOA Special English.

 

Words and Their Stories: More Clothing Expressions part II

Source: http://www.voanews.com/learningenglish/home/words-stories/Words-and-Their-Stories-More-Clothing-Expressions-128522283.html

Source: VOANEWS

Now, the VOA Special English program WORDS AND THEIR STORIES.

Last week, I explained some English expressions about clothes. Everything I told you was true. I did not talk through my hat or say something without knowing the facts.

Everyone knows there are many English expressions about clothes. There is no need to keep it a secret, or keep it under your hat. In fact, if I keep talking, soon enough you will start to think I am an old hat about this -- a real expert. Do not be fooled, though. My friends sometimes call me a wolf in sheep’s clothing. This is someone who acts like a good person, but is really a bad person.

I’m not really a bad person. But I do love clothes. It is always fun to getdressed up. I look great in my best clothes. When I put them on, I feeldecked out. You might say when I wear my best clothes, I am dressed to the nines or dressed to the teeth. In fact, my husband says I lookdressed to kill. Of course, I would never kill anyone. But, there is something special about putting on clothes that are pleasing to the eye.

My best clothes are not modern or fashionable. Maybe someday they willcome into fashion. But I really do not care. They certainly look better on me than my birthday suit. Did you know that everyone has a birthday suit? You wear it when you are wearing no clothes at all. Babies are born wearing their birthday suits.

I am very careful with my clothes. I handle them with kid gloves. I try not to get them dirty or torn. Most of my clothes fit like a glove. They fit perfectly. But when I eat too much, I feel like my clothes might burst at the seams. My clothes feel too restrictive and tight.

Some of the clothes I like best are hand-me-downs. My older sister gave them to me when she no longer wanted them. Hand-me-downs are great because clothes often cost too much money. I live on a shoestring. I have a very small budget and little money to spend on clothes. However, my sister has a lot of money to spend on clothes. Maybe someday the shoe will be on the other foot. The opposite will be true. I will have a lot of money to buy clothes and my sister will get hand-me-downs from me.

I admit I dream of being rich. I dream that someday I will be able to live like a rich person. I will know what it is like to walk in another person’s shoes.Some of my friends got rich by riding someone else’s coat tails. They are successful today as a result of someone else being successful. But, I believe you should never criticize others for something you would do yourself. What is said about someone else can also be said about you. Remember, if the shoe fits, wear it.

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Jill Moss wrote this VOA Special English program WORDS AND THEIR STORIES. I’m Faith Lapidus.

Leonardo da Vinci: One of the Greatest Thinkers in History

Leonardo da Vinci's "Last Supper"

Source: http://www.voanews.com/learningenglish/home/arts-entertainment/leonardo-da-vinci.html

STEVE EMBER:  I’m Steve Ember.

SHIRLEY GRIFFITH:  And I’m Shirley Griffith with EXPLORATIONS in VOA Special English. Today, we tell about one of the greatest thinkers in the world, Leonardo da Vinci. He began his career as an artist. But his interest in the world around him drove him to study music, math, science, engineering and building design. Many of his ideas and inventions were centuries ahead of his time.

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STEVE EMBER:  We start with one of Leonardo da Vinci’s most famous drawings, called “Vitruvian Man.” This work is a good example of his ever questioning mind, and his effort to bring together art, math and science.

“Vitruvian Man” is a detailed sketch of a man’s body, which is drawn at the center of a square and circle. The man’s stretched arms and legs are in two positions, showing the range of his motion. His arms and legs touch the edges of the square and circle.

Detail from the drawing "Vitruvian Man"

SHIRLEY GRIFFITH:  With this drawing Leonardo was considering the size of the human body and its relationship to geometry and the writings of the ancient Roman building designer Vitruvius.

Leonardo wrote this about how to develop a complete mind: “Study the science of art. Study the art of science. Develop your senses- especially learn how to see. Realize that everything connects to everything else.”

STEVE EMBER:  Leonardo da Vinci spent his life studying and observing in order to develop a scientific understanding of the world. He wrote down his thoughts and project ideas in a series of small notebooks. He made drawings and explained them with detailed notes. In these notebooks, he would write the words backwards.  Some experts say he wrote this way because he wished to be secretive about his findings. But others say he wrote this way because he was left-handed and writing backwards was easier and helped keep the ink from smearing.

SHIRLEY GRIFFITH:  The notebooks show many very modern ideas. Leonardo designed weapons, machines, engines, robots, and many other kinds of engineering devices.   When disease spread in Milan, Leonardo designed a city that would help resist the spread of infection. He designed devices to help people climb walls, and devices to help people fly. He designed early versions of modern machines such as the tank and helicopter. Few of these designs were built during his lifetime. But they show his extraordinarily forward- thinking mind.

The notebooks also contain details about his daily life. These have helped historians learn more about the personal side of this great thinker.

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STEVE EMBER:  Very little is known about Leonardo’s early life. He was born in fourteen fifty-two in the town of Vinci.  His father, Ser Piero da Vinci, was a legal expert. Experts do not know for sure about his mother, Caterina. But they do know that Leonardo’s parents were never married to each other. As a boy, Leonardo showed a great interest in drawing, sculpting and observing nature.

However, because Leonardo was born to parents who were not married to each other, he was barred from some studies and professions. He trained as an artist after moving to Florence with his father in the fourteen sixties.

SHIRLEY GRIFFITH:  It was an exciting time to be in Florence, one of the cultural capitals of Europe. Leonardo trained with one of the city’s very successful artists, Andrea del Verrocchio. He was a painter, sculptor and gold worker. Verrocchio told his students that they needed to understand the body’s bones and muscles when drawing people.

Leonardo took his teacher’s advice very seriously. He spent several periods of his life studying the human body by taking apart and examining dead bodies. Experts say his later drawings of the organs and systems of the human body are still unequalled to this day.

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STEVE EMBER:  While training as an artist, Leonardo also learned about and improved on relatively new painting methods at the time. One was the use of perspective to show depth.  A method called “sfumato” helped to create a cloudy effect to suggest distance. “Chiaroscuro” is a method using light and shade as a painterly effect. The artist also used oil paints instead of the traditional tempura paints used in Italy during this period.

nga.gov

Leonardo's first known portrait "Ginevra de’Benci"

SHIRLEY GRIFFITH:  Leonardo’s first known portrait now hangs in the National Gallery in Washington, D.C. He made this painting of a young woman named Ginevra de’Benci around fourteen seventy-four. The woman has a pale face with dark hair. In the distance, Leonardo painted the Italian countryside.

He soon received attention for his extraordinary artistic skills. Around fourteen seventy-five he was asked to draw an angel in Verrocchio’s painting “Baptism of Christ.” One story says that when Verrocchio saw Leonardo’s addition to the painting, he was so amazed by his student’s skill, that he said he would never paint again.

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STEVE EMBER:  Leonardo once said the following about actively using one’s mental abilities: “Iron rusts from disuse, stagnant water loses its purity and in cold weather becomes frozen; even so does inaction sap the vigor of the mind.” His mind was so active that he did not often finish his many projects.

One religious painting he never finished was called “Adoration of the Magi”. He was hired to make the painting for a religious center. The complex drawing he made to prepare for the painting is very special. It shows how carefully he planned his art works. It shows his deep knowledge of geometry, volume and depth. He drew the many people in the painting without clothes so that he could make sure that their bodies would be physically correct once covered.

SHIRLEY GRIFFITH:  Around fourteen eighty-two, Leonardo moved to Milan. There, he worked for the city’s ruler, Ludovico Sforza. This ruler invited Leonardo to Milan not as an artist, but as a musician. Historians say Leonardo was one of the most skillful lyre players in all of Italy. But he also continued his work as a painter. He also designed everything from festivals to weapons and a sculpture for Ludovico Sforza.

STEVE EMBER:  One famous work from Leonardo’s Milan period is called “Virgin of the Rocks.”  It shows Jesus as a baby along with his mother, Mary, and John the Baptist also as a baby. They are sitting outside in an unusual environment. Leonardo used his careful observations of nature to paint many kinds of plants. In the background are a series of severe rock formations. This painting helped Leonardo make it clear to the ruler and people of Milan that he was a very inventive and skillful artist.

SHIRLEY GRIFFITH:  Leonardo later made his famous painting “The Last Supper” for the dining room of a religious center in Milan. He combined his studies in light, math, psychology, geometry and anatomy for this special work. He designed the painting to look like it was part of the room. The painting shows a story from the Bible in which Jesus eats a meal with his followers for the last time. Jesus announces that one of them will betray him.

The work received wide praise and many artists tried to copy its beauty. One modern art expert described Leonardo’s “Last Supper” as the foundation of western art. Unfortunately, Leonardo experimented with a new painting method for this work. The paint has suffered extreme damage over the centuries.

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STEVE EMBER:  In addition to the portrait of Ginevra de’Benci that we talked about earlier, Leonardo also painted several other non-religious paintings of women. One painting of Cecilia Gallerani has come to be known as “Lady with an Ermine” because of the small white animal she is holding. This woman was the lover of Milan’s ruler, Ludovico Sforza.

However, Leonardo’s most famous portrait of a woman is called the “Mona Lisa.” It is now in the collection of the Louvre museum in Paris. He painted this image of Lisa Gherardini starting around fifteen-oh-three. She was the wife of a wealthy businessman from Florence named Francesco del Giocondo. It is from him that the painting takes its Italian name, “La Gioconda.”

SHIRLEY GRIFFITH:  Lisa Gherardini is sitting down with her hands crossed in her lap. She looks directly at the painter. She seems to be smiling ever so slightly. A great deal of mystery surrounds the painting. Experts are not sure about how or why Leonardo came to paint the work. But they do know that he never gave it to the Giocondo family. He kept the painting with him for the rest of his life, during his travels through France and Italy.

Leonardo da Vinci died in France in fifteen nineteen. A friend who was with him at his death said this of the great man’s life: “May God Almighty grant him eternal peace. Every one laments the loss of a man, whose like Nature cannot produce a second time.”

STEVE EMBER:  This program was written and produced by Dana Demange.  I’m Steve Ember.

SHIRLEY GRIFFITH:  And I’m Shirley Griffith. You can see some of Leonardo da Vinci’s work at our website voaspecialenglish.com. Join us again next week for EXPLORATIONS in VOA Special English.

Words and Their Stories: All About Eyes

Source: www.voanews.com recomendo estes sites para qualquer nacionalidade especialmente nós Brasileiros é muito diversificado acessem.

Now, the VOA Special English program WORDS AND THEIR STORIES.

Today’s program is all about eyes.  When it comes to relationships, people’s eyes can be a window into their hearts.  This means that their eyes can tell a lot about how they feel. We will tell a story about a man and woman who are teachers at the same school.  The woman is interested in the man.  She uses many methods to catch his eye, or get him to notice her.  Once he sets eyes on her, or sees her, she might try to get him interested in her by acting playful.  In other words, she might try to make eyes at him or give him the eye.

Let us suppose that this man gets hit between the eyes.  In other words, the woman has a strong affect on him.  He wants to spend time with her to get to know her better.  He asks her out on a date.She is so happy that she may walk around for days with stars in her eyes. She is extremely happy because this man is the apple of her eye, a very special person. She might tell him that he is the only person she wants, or “I only have eyes for you.”On their date, the couple might eat a meal together at a restaurant. If the man is really hungry, his eyes might be bigger than his stomach. He might order more food than he can eat. When his food arrives at the table, his eyes might pop out. He might be very surprised by the amount of food provided. He might not even believe his own eyes. If fact, all eyes would be watching him if he ate all the food.  This might even cause raised eyebrows. People might look at the man with disapproval.During their dinner, the couple might discuss many things. They might discover that they see eye to eye, or agree on many issues. They share the same beliefs and opinions.  For example, they might agree that every crime or injury should be punished. That is, they firmly believe in the idea of an eye for an eye. They might also agree that it is wrong to pull the wool over a person’s eyes. This means to try to trick a person by making him believe something that is false. But the man and woman do not believe in the evil eye, that a person can harm you by looking at you.The next day, at  their school, the woman asks the man to keep an eye on, or watch the young students in her class while she is out of the classroom. This might be hard to do when the teacher is writing on a board at the front of the classroom. To do so, a teacher would need to have eyes in the back of his head. In other words, he would know what the children are doing even when he is not watching them.(MUSIC)WORDS AND THEIR STORIES, in VOA Special English, was written by Jill Moss.  I’m Faith Lapidus.

Ray Charles, 1930-2004: Singer, Songwriter and Musician Extraordinaire

Source: Voice of America Special English
www.manythings.org/voa/people 

This is Faith Lapidus. And this is Doug Johnson with PEOPLE IN AMERICA in VOA Special English.  Today we begin a two-part report about singer, songwriter, and musician Ray Charles.  His work will continue to have a lasting influence on American music.

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Ray Charles spent almost sixty years as a professional musician.  Millions of people around the world enjoy his recordings.  If Ray Charles only played the piano, he would have been considered one of the best.  If he had only sung his music, his voice would have made him famous.  If he had only played jazz music, the world would have listened.  But Ray Charles did all these things and more.

 He played and sang rock-and-roll and rhythm-and-blues songs.  He sold millions of country and western records, too.  His work brought together different kinds of music and different kinds of music fans.  His influence on much of America's popular music cannot be truly measured.

(MUSIC:  "One Mint Julep")

That was Ray Charles and "One Mint Julep."  He recorded that song in nineteen sixty-one on an album called "Genius Plus Soul Equals Jazz."  It is one of the many hundreds of records he recorded.

Ray Charles Robinson was born in nineteen thirty in Albany, Georgia.  When he was six years old, he began to suffer from the eye disease glaucoma.  The disease made him blind.  He left the world of sight forever and turned to the world of sound.  He learned to love sounds, especially music of all kinds.

Ray Charles taught himself to play the organ, alto saxophone, clarinet and trumpet.  Yet there was a special relationship between him and the piano.  Here is part of the song "Worried Mind."  The style is country and western, with a heavy influence of blues.  Listen to his work on the piano, an instrument he truly loved.   You can almost see him smiling.

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Ray Charles was fifteen years old when his mother died.   Within a year, he had left school to work.  He began playing piano professionally in African American eating and drinking places in the state of Florida.

A year later, he moved to the opposite corner of America: Seattle, Washington.  While in Seattle, he made forty records.  But none was a success.

At that time, Ray Charles was trying to play the piano and sing like the famous performer Nat King Cole.  But he quickly learned there was only one Nat King Cole.  No one wanted to hear a copy, not even a good copy.

So Charles started looking for his own musical sound.  He began to experiment.  He tried mixing blues and jazz.  He used some jazz styles with the music that later was known as rock-and-roll.  His experiments soon became popular with many black Americans.

He played at dances around the country.  He also sold some records, mostly to black people.  Few white Americans had heard of a blind musician named Ray Charles.

By the middle of the nineteen fifties, he had his own band.  It was one of the most popular black dance bands in the country.  A group of women sang with the band.

One night, Charles began playing a simple song.  He told the women to sing in a style known as call and response.  In this style, the lead singer asks a question or sings some words.  The other singers answer.  This kind of singing was brought to America by black slaves from Africa.  It has remained very popular in black church music.

At the dance that night, Ray Charles put together simple piano music, traditional call and response and rock-and-roll.  The result was a revolution in American music.  Soon after, Ray recorded that song. It is called "What'd I Say?"

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"What'd I Say?" sold millions of copies.  Ray Charles no longer just played at small dances for black people.  He performed in large theaters for big audiences of every color.  He had found a sound like no other.  His style of music was filled with excitement.  And those who listened shared in that excitement.

By the end of the nineteen fifties, Ray Charles had recorded many hit songs.  Most of his music was black rhythm-and-blues or soul music.  Yet white Americans were listening, too.

Charles did not want to play just one kind of music, even if it was extremely popular.  He began experimenting again, this time with jazz.  One album, "Black Coffee," is considered by experts to be one of his very best jazz recordings.  It shows that his piano work can express many different feelings.  Here is the song "Black Coffee" from that album.

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Ray Charles continued to make rhythm-and-blues and jazz records.  But that was still not enough for him.  He had always loved country-and-western music.  So he decided to record a country album.

Music industry experts said he was making a mistake.  They told him not to do it.  They said he would lose many fans.  The fans, they said, would not understand or like this kind of music.  Ray Charles did not listen to the experts.  He took a chance. And he was right.  The public loved his country-and-western songs.  You can hear some of these country-and-western songs next week, when we bring you the second part of our report about Ray Charles.

(MUSIC:  "Making Whoopee")

This program was written by Paul Thompson.  It was produced by Lawan Davis.  I'm Doug Johnson. And I'm Faith Lapidus.  Join us next week for the second part of our program on Ray Charles on PEOPLE IN AMERICA, in VOA Special English.