SWEET
MEMORIES
RAY
CHARLES
SONGWRITERS: DENZIL DELANO FOSTER; JAY A KING &
THOMAS DERRICK MCELROY
COUNTRY:
U. S. A.
ALBUM: LOVE COUNTRY STYLE
LABEL: ABC RECORDS
GENRE: BLUES
YEAR: 1970
Ray Charles Robinson Sr. (September 23, 1930
– June 10, 2004) was an American singer, songwriter, pianist and alto
saxophonist. He is regarded as one of the most iconic and influential singers
in history, and was often referred to by contemporaries as "The
Genius". Among friends and fellow musicians he preferred being called
"Brother Ray". Charles was blinded during childhood, possibly 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 Records.
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's 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 was
one of the inaugural inductees at the Rock and Roll
Hall of Fame in 1986. He has won 18 Grammy Awards
(5 posthumously), 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. In 2022, he was
inducted into the Country Music
Hall of Fame, as well as the Black Music & Entertainment Walk of Fame.
My world is like a river as dark as it is
deep
Night after night the past slips in and
gathers all my sleep
My days are just and endless stream of
emptiness to me
Filled only by the fleeting moments of her
memories
Sweet memories
Sweet memories
She slipped into the silence of my dreams
again last night
Wandering from room to room, she's turning on
each light
Her laughter spills like water from the river
to the sea
And I'm swept away from sadness clinging to
her memories
Sweet memories
Sweet memories.
Postagens
