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Ray Charles died on Thursday, June 10, 2004. The following day, American flags flew at half-mast. The entire country observed a national day of mourning. Most people believed that Friday's homage was in honor of former President Ronald Reagan. I knew better. From my warped musical perspective, the outpouring of public sentiment should have been recognizing a legacy of lyrical joy rather than a triumphant political ideology, a lifetime of struggle against physical limitations and social intolerance rather than several years of intensely partisan political service, and a compelling cultural commitment that made America more beautiful rather than more powerful. Strange perspective? No more than the generosity of spirit demonstrated by an African-American artist who unhesitatingly honored the state of Georgia, country music, and even a Republican president by playing and singing on their behalf.
Black, blind, and brilliant. And bold as well. Ray Charles was trained in classical and jazz piano at the St. Augustine's School for the Deaf and Blind, but was also influenced by traditional gospel hymns, radio-encountered pop tunes of Charles Brown and Nat King Cole, records by Louis Jordan and Percy Mayfield, and his own...