PEOPLE IN AMERICA - Ray Charles, Part 1

PEOPLE IN AMERICA - Ray Charles, Part 1
By Paul Thompson

Broadcast: Sunday, July 11, 2004

(((THEME)))

VOICE ONE:

This is Faith Lapidus.

VOICE TWO:

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 lasting¹ influence on American music.

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VOICE ONE:

Ray Charles spent almost sixty years as a professional² musician. Millions of people around the world enjoy his recordings³. 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.

 
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He played and sang rock-and-roll and rhythm-and-blues⁵ 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.

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VOICE ONE (CONTD):

That was Ray Charles and "One Mint⁶ Julep." He recorded that song in nineteen-sixty-one on an album⁷ called "Genius Plus Soul Equals Jazz." It is one of the many hundreds of records he recorded.

VOICE TWO:

Ray Charles Robinson was born in nineteen-thirty in Albany, Georgia. When he was six years old, he began to suffer from the eye disease⁸ glaucoma. The disease made him blind. He left the world of sight forever and turned to the world of sound. He learned⁹ to love sounds, especially music of all kinds.

 
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Ray Charles taught himself to play the organ, alto-saxophone, clarinet and trumpet¹⁰. 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.

(((MUSIC)))

VOICE ONE:

Ray Charles was fifteen years old when his mother died. Within a year, he had left school to work. He began playing piano professionally¹¹ in African-American eating and drinking places in the state of Florida.

A year later, he moved to the opposite corner of America: Seattle, Washington¹². While in Seattle, he made forty records. But none was a success.

VOICE TWO:

At that time, Ray Charles was trying to play the piano and sing like the famous performer¹³ 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 known¹⁴ 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.

VOICE ONE:

 
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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 slaves¹⁵ 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 revolution¹⁶ in American music. Soon after, Ray recorded that song. It is called "What'd I Say?"

(((MUSIC)))

 
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VOICE TWO:

"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 extremely¹⁷ 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.

(((MUSIC))

VOICE ONE:

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 decided¹⁸ to record a country album.

 
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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.

((THEME)))

VOICE TWO:

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

VOICE ONE:

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.

1 lasting   

adj.永久的，永恒的；vbl.持续，维持

参考例句：

• The lasting war debased the value of the dollar.持久的战争使美元贬值。
• We hope for a lasting settlement of all these troubles.我们希望这些纠纷能获得永久的解决。

2 professional   

adj.专业的；职业的；n.专业人员；职业运动员

参考例句：

• He is a professional tennis player.他是一名职业网球运动员。
• I need a professional to sort out my finances.我需要专业人士为我管理财务。

3 recordings   

n.记录( recording的名词复数 )；录音；录像；唱片

参考例句：

• a boxed set of original recordings 一套盒装原声录音带
• old jazz recordings reissued on CD 以激光唱片重新发行的老爵士乐

4 graphic   

adj.生动的，形象的，绘画的，文字的，图表的

参考例句：

• The book gave a graphic description of the war.这本书生动地描述了战争的情况。
• Distinguish important text items in lists with graphic icons.用图标来区分重要的文本项。

5 blues   

n.抑郁，沮丧；布鲁斯音乐

参考例句：

• She was in the back of a smoky bar singing the blues.她在烟雾弥漫的酒吧深处唱着布鲁斯歌曲。
• He was in the blues on account of his failure in business.他因事业失败而意志消沉。

6 mint   

n.薄荷，铸币厂；vt.铸造（硬币），创造（词）等

参考例句：

• The mint makes coins.铸币厂制造硬币。
• This candy tastes of mint.这糖果有薄荷味。

7 album   

n.集子，粘贴集，影集，邮集，歌曲集

参考例句：

• The photos belong in an album.这些照片应该放在相册里。
• Will you look over his album?你要不要去看看他的歌集唱片？

8 disease   

n.疾病，弊端

参考例句：

• The doctors are trying to stamp out the disease.医生正在尽力消灭这种疾病。
• He fought against the disease for a long time.他同疾病做了长时间的斗争。

9 learned   

adj.有学问的，博学的；learn的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• He went into a rage when he learned about it.他听到这事后勃然大怒。
• In this little village,he passed for a learned man.在这个小村子里，他被视为有学问的人。

10 trumpet   

n.喇叭，喇叭声；v.吹喇叭，吹嘘

参考例句：

• He plays the violin, but I play the trumpet.他拉提琴，我吹喇叭。
• The trumpet sounded for battle.战斗的号角吹响了。

11 professionally   

adv.职业地；专业地

参考例句：

• You need a complete change,both professionally and personally.你需要在工作上和自身两方面有彻底的改变。
• A professionally installed alarm will cost from about ￡500.请专业人员安装的警报器要花费至少500英镑。

12 Washington   

n.华盛顿特区(是美国首都)

参考例句：

• His birthplace is Washington,but he lives in San Francisco.他出生于华盛顿，但住在旧金山。
• They, together with my father,have gone to Washington.他们和我父亲一起去华盛顿了。

13 performer   

n.执行者，表演者

参考例句：

• He was the greatest performer we have ever seen.他是我们所见过的最伟大表演者。
• He is a good performer on the cricket field.他是个出色的板球手。

14 known   

adj.大家知道的；知名的，已知的

参考例句：

• He is a known artist.他是一个知名的艺术家。
• He is known both as a painter and as a statesman.他是知名的画家及政治家。

15 slaves   

n.奴隶( slave的名词复数 )；苦工；完全受（某事物）控制的人；完全依赖（某事物）的人v.奴隶般地工作，做苦工( slave的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• Slaves were not emancipated until 1863 in the United States. 美国奴隶直到1863年才获得自由。
• fashionistas who are slaves to the latest trends 被潮流牵着鼻子走的赶时髦者

16 revolution   

n.革命，大变革；旋转；周期，循环

参考例句：

• The earth makes a yearly revolution around the sun.地球每年绕太阳一周。
• This volume records the history of the country's revolution.这卷书记载了这个国家的革命历史。

17 extremely   

adv.极其，非常，极度

参考例句：

• The film is extremely good,I just cannot miss it.这部电影太精彩了，我非看不可。
• The old man was extremely difficult to get along with.这个老人极难相与。

18 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。