RAY CHARLES - A SONG FOR YOU

A SONG FOR YOU

RAY CHARLES

SONGWRITER: LEON RUSSELL

COUNTRY: U. S. A.

ALBUM: A SONG FOR YOU

LABEL: WARNER BROS RECORDS

GENRE: SOUL

YEAR: 1993

 

          Ray Charles Robinson (September 23, 1930 – June 10, 2004) was an American singer, songwriter, pianist, and composer. Among friends and fellow musicians he preferred being called "Brother Ray." He was often referred to as "The Genius." Charles was blinded during childhood due to glaucoma.

          Charles pioneered the soul music genre during the 1950s by combining blues, jazz, rhythm and blues, and gospel styles into the music he recorded for Atlantic. He contributed to the integration of country music, rhythm and blues, and pop music during the 1960s with his crossover success on ABC Records, notably with his two Modern Sounds albums. While he was with ABC, Charles became one of the first Black musicians to be granted artistic control by a mainstream record company.

          Charles' 1960 hit "Georgia On My Mind" was the first of his three career No. 1 hits on the Billboard Hot 100. His 1962 album Modern Sounds In Country And Western Music became his first album to top the Billboard 200. Charles had multiple singles reach the Top 40 on various Billboard charts: 44 on the US R&B singles chart, 11 on the Hot 100 singles chart, 2 on the Hot Country singles charts.

     Charles cited Nat King Cole as a primary influence, but his music was also influenced by Louis Jordan and Charles Brown. He had a lifelong friendship and occasional partnership with Quincy Jones. Frank Sinatra called Ray Charles "the only true genius in show business," although Charles downplayed this notion. Billy Joel said, "This may sound like sacrilege, but I think Ray Charles was more important than Elvis Presley".

           For his musical contributions, Charles received the Kennedy Center Honors, the National Medal of Arts, and the Polar Music Prize. He won 17 Grammy Awards, including 5 posthumously. Charles was honored with the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 1987, and 10 of his recordings have been inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame. Rolling Stone ranked Charles No. 10 on their list of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time, and No. 2 on their list of the 100 Greatest Singers of All Time.

I've been so many places in my life and time

I've sung a lot of songs, I've made some bad rhyme

I've acted out my life in stages

With ten thousand people watching

But we're alone now and I'm singin' this song for you

 

I know your image of me is what I hope to be, baby

I've treated you unkindly but girl can't you see

There's no one more important to me

So darling can't you please see through me

'cause we're alone now and I'm singin' my song for you

 

You taught me precious secrets of the truth, withholdin'nothin'

You came out in front and I was hiding

But now I'm so much better so if my words don't come together

Listen to the melody cause my love's in there hiding

 

I love you in a place where there's no space or time

I love you for my life, 'cause you're a friend of mine

And when my life is over, remember when we were together

We were alone and I was singin' my song for you

 

I love you in a place where there's no space or time

I've loved you for my life, yes, you're a friend of mine

And when my life is over, remember when we were together

We were alone and I was singin' my song for you, yes

We were alone and I was singin' this song for you, baby

We were alone and I was singin' my song,

Singin' my song, singin' my song, singin' my song

Singin' my song.

T