Ray Charles - early 20th Century

from Brother Ray: Ray Charles' Own Story, pages 164-165:

These were the years--'53, '54, '55--when I became myself. I… created sounds which, people told me afterward, had never been created before… I started taking gospel lines and turning them into regular songs. Now, I'd been singing spirituals since I was three, and I'd been hearing the blues for just as long… All the sounds were there, right at the top of my head. None of the spirituals had copyrights. How could they? Black folk had been singing 'em through the hollow logs as far back as anyone could remember.
cite as

David Ritz and Ray Charles, Brother Ray: Ray Charles' Own Story (New York, 2003), p. 164-165. https://led.kmi.open.ac.uk/entity/lexp/1427806379101 accessed: 28 March, 2024

Listeners

Ray Charles
Pianist, Singing, Songwriter, Writer
1930-2004

Listening to

hide composers
unnamed blues
unnamed spiritual
written by anon

Experience Information

Date/Time early 20th Century
Medium live
Listening Environment indoors

Originally submitted by 5011Henning on Tue, 31 Mar 2015 13:52:59 +0100
Approved on Thu, 27 Aug 2015 14:41:11 +0100