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Ray Charles: Man and Music | 
 enlarge | Author: Michael Lydon
Publisher: Routledge
Category: Book
List Price: $22.95
Buy New: $12.41
You Save: $10.54 (46%)
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Avg. Customer Rating:  11 reviews
Sales Rank: 285139
Media: Paperback
Edition: 1
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 472
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.6
Dimensions (in): 8.8 x 6 x 1.2
ISBN: 0415970431
Dewey Decimal Number: 782.42164092
EAN: 9780415970433
ASIN: 0415970431
Publication Date: January 22, 2004
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Shipping: International shipping available
Condition: New & Shrinkwrapped. In stock - Immediate despatch from an efficient and professional leading British bookselling firm.
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Product Description
There are only a few legendary singers who have developed mass audiences while pursuing their own artistic visions: Sinatra is one; Ella Fitzgerald another. Ray Charles undoubtedly belongs in this pantheon of major musical stars. Ray Charles: Man and Music begins with Charles's impoverished childhood in Greenville, Florida, where tragedy struck early when the young Charles went blind at age 6 and was orphaned at age 14. Driven by his enormous talent and determination, Charles landed work playing some of the toughest juke joints in the state, fought heroin addiction, and finally landed a recording contract with Atlantic Records. Unlike other R&B singers, Charles took control of his career from its earliest days, moving on from his gospel-soul stylings of the mid-'50s to break through musical barriers, recording two country albums in the late '50s (at a time when the black presence in country music was barely felt), pure jazz, and then the powerful pop hits of the '60s. Famed music journalist Michael Lydon - a founding editor of Rolling Stone - is uniquely qualified to document Charles's career, having interviewed Charles and followed the star's performances since the 1960s. Originally published in 1995, and universally hailed as the definitive biography, this new edition brings Charles's life up to date, covering the last 7 years of his life. It coincides with the release of a made-for-TV movie starring Jamie Fox as Charles, currently in production by Taylor Hackford. Charles has also issued a new CD recently and remains active as a touring artist throughout the world.
Amazon.com Review
In 1954, Atlantic Records honchos Ahmet Ertegun and Jerry Wexler visited an Atlanta club where one of their artists was gigging. Ray Charles and his band blew into a new song when the men entered. It was "I Got a Woman," the tune that marked the blind Albany, Georgia-born singer-pianist's evolution from an able imitator of Nat "King" Cole and Charles Brown into an artist who would transform American music. In Ray Charles: Man and Music, veteran music journalist Michael Lydon imbues the familiar story with fresh detail upon fresh detail. Charles's early years spent scuffling on the chitlin circuit, his embrace of everything from pop chestnuts and country hits to hip jazz as an audaciously eclectic record maker, and the many hours given over to womanizing and a heroin addiction at the height of his stardom are given a cinematic immediacy here. More than most artists, Charles followed his instincts to huge artistic rewards and the love of many listeners who recognized their own voices in his sound. Lydon captures as much of the offstage man as is likely to ever make it to the page--the man who himself once insisted, "My life was what it was. Whatever it became, I made it so." --Rickey Wright
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| Customer Reviews: Read 6 more reviews...
 Ray Charles: Man and Music January 7, 2009
Michael Lydon has done a magnificient examination and bio of Ray Charles. One comes away from this book realizing at least two important points: One, that the movie "Ray" is highly fictionalized and does a great disservice to Charles in inadequately relating the amazing ability and range of accomplishments of this man. And second, the evidence builds as the bio progresses to suggest by the end that here was one of America's supreme musicians of all time, if not at the top. This is no gloss job about Charles. All in all, a fascinating read by a very good researcher and writer (and musician himself).
 A lot of information but too many inaccuracies September 3, 2007
When I first read this book, I thought it was a well researched biography. Not so. After interviewing several members of Ray Charles' band, including Leroy "Hog" Cooper, David "Fathead" Newman, Ernest Vantrease, Don Peake and Marcus Belgrave, I learned that Michael Lydon did not do sufficient fact checking. The generalities in the book paint the big picture, but the 'devil is in the details' and that's where Lydon goes wrong. After hearing the stories from the musicians, I was disappointed to find that he had not done his homework. Finding out that pieces of the book are not accurate makes me wonder about the rest. I wasn't crazy about "Brother Ray," the cursory memoir of the man who lived such an extraordinary life, but in retrospect, that book is at least closer to the truth, and 'guilt by omission' is a better way to define my disappointment with it.
 Very interesting to the side of RC's memoir (4-4.5 stars) December 13, 2005
1 out of 3 found this review helpful
Can't say enuff 'bout this. There's only 25 to 28 chapters in this book. Blessed I got it on Alibris. This shows the real side of Ray Charles (Robinson) where he's going thru since after the success of his first penned book w/ writer David Ritz (I can't stand the hatred and dissappointment behind this man, ya'll should give him credit instead of not loving him or have a distaste), just finished reading "Brother Ray" and plus the movie "Ray" among certain albums, documentaries and other taped concerts around, this Man deserves it, no matter if u love him or not, he's still bad. Nobody can't take that away from him perhaps touch him. Blessed that his music, voice and legacy will never be forgotten just b/c I was shocked about the news about his death. RIP to a well-known giant in Music who alot of Creativity, Sense, Class, Respect, Love, Pride & Dignity. Long Lives the Genius of Soul, Father of Soul, Right Reverend, High Priest, Righteous Ray (or Reverend Righteous Ray), Reverend Ray, Brother Ray, etc.
Ray Charles Robinson aka Uncle Ray, thank u for all your courage, your time and your hard work between your music, your life, your legacy, your everything. Thank you for a tremendous legacy that'll live on for years to come (1930-2004).
P.S. Mike Lydon deserves alot of credit in this 1 too.
Ray Charles,a new understanding October 21, 2005
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
I have never been a Ray Charles fan,and when the movie Ray came
out,I was sadden,that I had missed a great talent.I brought the
DVD version of the movie,and then started reading everything there was about the man. After reading this book,which I enjoyed
I found that I did not like the man. I think that the writer of
the book,told about Ray,being cheap,being a womanizer and the
way he treated people in general.I think that the movie version of his life,glossed and sugar coated his life,his career and his
marriage.I came away feeling very sorry for his wife and his children,as it appears they were truly the victims of Ray Charles
I,for one will not spend any more money on the Ray Charles legend.
 Ray: The Music Not the Man January 11, 2005
4 out of 5 found this review helpful
I wouldn't say that this is a bad book. It has its good points, but it was missing some of the things that I was more interested in. Like the thoughts of Ray, and the things that went on behind the scenes, through out different occurences in his life. Like when the woman on the side would get pregnant, what type of issues were bought into the Robinson household. The book didn't go into detail with anything. Basically, it just made a statement, "Ray girlfriend has a baby." That's it. That is the debt that was given, in most of the stories. Even during Ray's drug use years, it really didn't give to much insite. I think that the movie gave more detail than this book did, and usually it is the opposite. I think that this book could have eliminated about of 100 of it pages. I found myself, flipping pages trying to get through dead information, like its countless mention of billboard reviews, giving more detail in music charts, than the actual life of "RC." Let me restate that the book does haved it's good points, but it didn't fulfill my need for information.
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