Ray Charles: Man and Music
By Michael LydonRoutledge, 452 pp., $22.96 (paper)
Thanks to immortal No. 1 hits, a lifetime of television and touring, 13 Grammys, and a definitive version of “America,” everybody knows Ray Charles Robinson, aka “Genius.” Arguably the definitive Charles biography, Man and Music begins with the cultural backdrop of its subject’s formative Florida years in the 1930s. In graphic detail, author Michael Lydon recounts how Charles – born with sight – watched helplessly as his sole sibling died in an accident. Shortly after glaucoma pitched him into darkness, Charles found himself at the onset of puberty orphaned, blind, and on his own. But with immense musical gifts. Lydon, a founding editor of Rolling Stone, charts Charles’ steady rise to the top, his plateau years, and his current golden years. No punches are pulled in this exhaustively researched and contextualized biography: Charles’ first experience with sex, heroin addiction, womanizing and divorce, and junkyard doggin’ his own band. The music is also revealed: early Seattle salad days with Quincy Jones, the ability to compose for every big band instrument, duets with George Jones and Willie Nelson, and Charles’ sheer power to move people with his sound expression. Those wanting more of the artist’s own voice should read the told-to autobiography Brother Ray, but Lydon’s tome so closely documents Charles’ life that it seems like he stalked Genius & co. during decades of work and play. This updated version fills in the seven or so years since Lydon’s masterwork was first published, chronicling Charles’ life until last fall, when health problems forced a touring hiatus. Lydon’s new and improved book is well timed; interest in Ray Charles is currently driving a big-budget Hollywood biopic.
This article appears in May 28 • 2004.