By Ray Charles Robinson JR., Mary Jane Ross
ISBN-10: 0307462951
ISBN-13: 9780307462954
A deeply own memoir of the non-public Ray Charles - the guy in the back of the legend - through his eldest son.
Ray Charles is an American track legend. A a number of Grammy Award-winning composer, pianist, and singer with an inimitable vocal type and a catalog of hits together with "What I Say," "Georgia on My Mind," "Unchain My Heart," "I cannot cease Loving You," and "America the Beautiful," Ray Charles's song is enjoyed through enthusiasts round the world.
Now his eldest son, Ray Charles Robinson Jr., stocks an intimate glimpse of the fellow in the back of the track, with never-before-told tales. Going past the celebrity, the concert events, and the excursions, Ray Jr. opens the doorways of his kin domestic and divulges their inner most lives with fondness and frankness.
He stocks his father's grief and guilt over his little brother's loss of life on the age of 5 — besides of moments of non-public pleasure, like staring at his father run his arms over the Christmas offers lower than their tree whereas making a song softly to himself. He tells of ways Ray overcame the demanding situations of being blind, even riding automobiles, driving a Vespa, and flying his personal airplane. And, in gripping element, he finds how as a six-year-old boy he stored his father's lifestyles one harrowing night.
Ray Jr. writes in truth concerning the painful proof of the habit that almost destroyed his father's existence. His father's struggles with heroin dependancy, his arrests, and the way he finally kicked the drug chilly turkey are provided in unflinching element. Ray Jr. additionally stocks overtly approximately how, as an grownup, he fell sufferer to an analogous temptations that plagued his father.
He paints a compassionate portrait of his mom, Della, whose outstanding voice as a gospel singer first attracted Ray Charles. even though her husband's drug use, his womanizing, and the paternity fits leveled opposed to him regularly threatened the steadiness of the Robinson domestic, Della exhibited tremendous resilience and internal strength.
Told with deep love and fearless candor, You do not know Me is the robust and poignant tale of the Ray Charles the general public by no means observed — the daddy and husband and engaging man or woman who additionally occurred to be one of many maximum musicians of all time.
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Additional info for You Don't Know Me: Reflections of My Father, Ray Charles
Sample text
She couldn’t seem to get enough of sardines and biscuits and syrup—together. In fact, she’d eaten so many that the grocery clerk had commented on it. “No, no symptoms,” she told Dr. Jordan. ” Dr. Jordan replied, “Now come on, Della. You know we’re good friends. I’m not taking any sides in this. ” After a little more gentle prodding from the doctor, she reluctantly agreed to see him. The examination left no doubt. Dr. Jordan told my mother she was three months pregnant. She argued with him a little while longer, insisting it was a mistake, but finally she gave in.
She returned to her hometown of Greenville, Florida, a few weeks later with my father in her arms. She named her tiny son Ray Charles Robinson. My grandfather, Bailey Robinson, had given his son a last name but little else. He was already married to another woman named Mary Jane, and there would be other women and other children as well. I don’t know much about my paternal grandfather. My father never spoke to me about him unless my brothers and I asked questions. I’m not sure how much he even remembered.
When she left the hotel that first evening, she never expected to see him again. So naturally she was baffled when she kept running into him on the road. Both of them were traveling with their groups, and it seemed like every time she turned around, he was there. It was only much later that she found out the frequent meetings were not a coincidence. My father had made a secret agreement with Cecil to keep tabs on my mother, so he always knew what city she was going to next. Cecil would go to the radio station to meet my father, who would be there advertising his current concert.
You Don't Know Me: Reflections of My Father, Ray Charles by Ray Charles Robinson JR., Mary Jane Ross
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