Brother Ray: Ray Charles' Own Story Book

Summary: This is a hold-no-punches portrayal of Ray Charles. He was a womanizer for sure, but not so different from any other musician that is glorified. Brilliant though and focused. What an incredible life.

p. 15 - His depiction of the kind of outsourced jobs that were from people that had service jobs to white families it barely paid.

p. 17 - "He saw I was willing to give up my playing time for the piano, so I guess he figured I loved music as much as he did. And all this was happening when I was only three."

p. 24 - His mother said when people criticized her for treating RC like he wasn't blind: "He's blind," Mamam told them, "but he ain't stupid. He's lost his sight, but he ain't lost his mind."

p. 27 - "... the school housed the deaf and blind, boys and girls, black and white, from around ages six through eighteen. And talk about segregation!"
He then goes into detail about how it was done. But then ends with laughter b/c he's like... don't they get how stupid it is to segregate blind kids? hahahaha!
p. 29 This story of him staying at the school for Christmas cause his mom didn't have money to send for him. Wow.

p. 33 he goes through the details of all the things his mother taught like cooking (despite burning grease) and mopping the floor properly. The point was that everyone gets a little burnt and wood chopping was tough no matter if you could see or not.

p. 37 Music lessons at the blind school included more the classics. It's fascinating to think of RC playing Chopin, but there it is. I would love to have seen/heard him.

p. 39 - They were apparently naughty kids. Puberty does not skip the blind. Wow. TMI.

p. 60 I had no idea these formative years of RC were in my stopping ground of Tampa. Will have to look for that.

p. 70 This whole idea that as soon as he had money, he spent it on records or a record player to further get into his craft. People don't become great by accident. this is their thing.

p. 81 - This story about him moving to Seattle, going to a club, he's too young to play at, convincing the bouncer and then showing his thing. Wow.

p. 85 - That's crazy. I forgot when I watched the Q. Jones documentary they knew each other. Crazy little story here on how they met in Seattle.

Dude.. how he tells love stories, where he loves them, but he's still sleeping around. Man.... tough...
p. 104 - This story about the white and black side of the ocean at Myrtle Beach. Funny.

p. 105 - It's only from people reading him signs that he realized that jews might also have it bad. His point is that as a blind person, he could not see a lot of the way racism was being directed at him.

p. 121 - They got pulled over for nothing and then he's got to find a way back when they take his driver in to haze him.

p. 129 - "In the early days, many of th divees where we had gigs were just too rough to tame. All you coudl do was play and pray." This reminds me of that scene in the blues brothers. Funny.

p. 136 - He talks about seeing people through their skin. "Being distracted by shading or coloring is stupid. It gets in the way. It's something I just can't see."
p. 150 He's talking about drugs. There was some MJ that wasn't even there's but they all get pulled into the police. Ultimately they are let off, b/c no one can prove who's MJ it is, but the papers go nuts. B/c he's blind, they presume someone is feeding him drugs, so it never falls on him, it falls on everyone else which he hated.

p. 154 - The story about why he stops playing clubs is funny, where the piano doesn't even work half the time and he has to play his way out of how bad the instrument is.

p. 206 - The story of how he quits Heroin given not being there for his son.

p. 215 - The people he loves, Arethra, Babs, etc. Fascinating to hear him talk about them and the stuff they do off stage/recording.

p. 224 - "Europeans are more serious about black music than we are. They study it and they know it."

p. 231 - He talks about the efficiencies of America (my word) vs. Latin America and Europe.

p. 262 he talks about how kids in school used to pray to God to let them see. He'd laugh and say fools. you ought to just play the hand you're dealt. I love this.