- Paperback: 384 pages
- Publisher: Da Capo Press Inc; New edition edition (6 Oct 2004)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0306814315
- ISBN-13: 978-0306814310
- Product Dimensions: 20.8 x 14 x 1.8 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 130,781 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||
 Trade In this Item for up to £0.25
Get an extra £5 when you trade in books worth £10 or more until June 30, 2012. Trade in Brother Ray: Ray Charles' Own Story for an Amazon.co.uk gift card of up to £0.25, which you can then spend on millions of items across the site. Trade-in values may vary (terms apply). Find more products eligible for trade-in.
|
Product details |
More About the Authors
Discover books, learn about writers, and more.
Product Description
Review
Barnes & Noble Review, 2/17/12
"One of David Ritz's finest r&b as-told-tos...Rich in insight as well as incident."
Product Description
Brother Ray tells Ray Charles' extraordinary life-story in his own, unique voice. Now with added material, this new edition is published to coincide with the release of Ray - Universal Pictures biopic starring Jamie Foxx. On June 10th 2004, Ray Charles died aged 73 and the world lost a music legend. The story of his life was a compelling one to say the least, encompassing elements of poverty, blindness, racism, drug addiction, sex, gambling and then finally fame, fortune and respect - the constant remained a genius for music. Born in Georgia at the height of the Depression, Charles' impoverished family travelled throughout the Deep South in search of work. By the age of four his vision had started to deteriorate and he was soon blind and assigned to a special school where he studied music and maths. At the age of 16, following the death of his mother, he left school to become a professional musician, playing wherever he could and struggling to survive. He soon became a popular local talent, scoring a series of minor hits, and by the age of 32 he was acclaimed worldwide as a musical genius. Combining the influences of gospel, jazz, blues and country music to invent almost single-handedly what became known as soul. First published to great acclaim in 1978, Brother Ray soon attained classic status. In an inimitable and unsparing voice, Charles tells his whole story, from the chronicle of his musical development to his heroin addiction to his tangled romantic life. Like a rap from a great storyteller, Brother Ray is as engaging, funny, candid and soulful as Ray Charles' enduring music. Now updated to include co-author David Ritz's moving essay, "The Last Days of Brother Ray".
Inside This Book
(Learn More)
Suggested Tags from Similar Products(What's this?)Be the first one to add a relevant tag (keyword that's strongly related to this product)
|
Sell a Digital Version of This Book in the Kindle Store
If you are a publisher or author and hold the digital rights to a book, you can sell a digital version of it in our Kindle Store.
Learn more
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
18 of 19 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
If you want an honest story or two from the Legend of Ray Charles, you have picked the right book.
In between the inconspicuous covers, Ray gets down to telling you all his life secrets, his lovers and most of all his passion for his music. Ray conjures up a romantic history of the girls he has loved and the mothers he has lost.
The book will lead you from his early days in a run down area of Florida, through the losing of his sight and the tragic death in his family. He doesn't look back with anger or shame, he just tells it as it is.
The most interesting time in the book is when Ray describes how he toured the US looking for work, and how he met some of his Idols of the time. You get a real sense of pain and pleasure as he was working with the great musicians, and missing his family at the same time.
One thing is for sure, you won't want to put the book down once you have started reading it.
0 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Jedna z najlepszych biografii muzycznych jakie mam w swojej bibliotece, a mam ich ponad dwadziescia. Jak sie to czyta, to ma sie wrazenie ze Ray mowi do Ciebie. Dla porownania biografia Claptona albo Queen sa jakies suche i bezplciowe, a ta jest 'miesista'. Polecam. Jezyk tez jest prosty, nie trzeba miec Cambridge Proficiency Level papieru, zeby wyczaic o co chodzi.
0 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Although there are loads of names of musicians and singers that influenced him..there is very little detail of what precisely formulated his technique...after all..the piano keyboard is a complicated item...
this book is a record of interviews with David Ritz..and seems to be full to the brim with smugness,self-justification..and a preachy,didactic text that ultimately does not endear him to us one jot....I have been lucky enough to make a very good living out of the music business..as a member of a famous group...the first inspiration for which was, unquestionably, Ray Charles's version of "What I Say"..heard when I was 12 years old..it is as perfect in every way today..as it was then...this is the second book on Ray that I have read..and the second dissapointment..at the utter lack of modesty he displays to his biographers.
this book is a record of interviews with David Ritz..and seems to be full to the brim with smugness,self-justification..and a preachy,didactic text that ultimately does not endear him to us one jot....I have been lucky enough to make a very good living out of the music business..as a member of a famous group...the first inspiration for which was, unquestionably, Ray Charles's version of "What I Say"..heard when I was 12 years old..it is as perfect in every way today..as it was then...this is the second book on Ray that I have read..and the second dissapointment..at the utter lack of modesty he displays to his biographers.
Would you like to see more reviews about this item?
Were these reviews helpful?
Let us know
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
Listmania!
|
|
Look for similar items by category
- Books > Biography > Film, Television & Music > Music > Rock & Pop
- Books > Biography > Social & Health Issues > Cultural History > African-American & Black
- Books > Music, Stage & Screen > Music > Composers & Musicians
- Books > Society, Politics & Philosophy > Social Sciences > Communication Studies > Media & Communication Industries > Television
Look for similar items by subject
Feedback
- Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
- I am the Author, and I want to comment on my book.
- I am the Publisher, and I want to comment on this book.
