MP3 Audios - Biography

Now A Major Motion Picture Starring Jamie Foxx

Brother Ray is candid, explicit, sometimes embarrassing, often hilarious, always
warm, touching and deeply humanjust like his music." Chicago Sun-Times

The San Francisco Chronicle calls Brother Ray "an emotional blast as vivid and real,
sweaty and straight talking as the man himself."

"Sometimes I'm asked about my biggest musical influence as a kid. I always give one name:
Mr. Wylie Pitman. I called him Mr. Pit. Now you won't find Mr. Pit in any history of jazz, and
the man's not in the DownBeat Hall of Fame. But, sweethearts, you can take my word for it:
Mr. Pit could sure enough play some boogie-woogie piano." from the book

Ray Charles (1930-2004) led one of the most extraordinary lives of any popular musician. In
Brother Ray, he reveals his life story unsparingly, from the chronicle of his musical development
to his heroin addiction to his tangled romantic life.

Overcoming poverty, blindness, the loss of his parents, and the pervasive racism of the era, Ray
Charles was acclaimed worldwide as a genius by the age of thirty-two. By combining the influences
of gospel, jazz, blues, and country music, he invented, almost single-handedly, what became known
as "soul." And throughout a career spanning more than a half century, Ray Charles remained in
complete control of his life and his music, allowing nobody to tell him what he could or couldn't do.


David Ritz is the author of Faith in Time: The Life of Jimmy Scott, Divided Soul: The Life of Marvin Gaye, and many other books. He lives in Los Angeles.

Andrew L. Barnes graduated from the School for the Creative and Performing Arts in Cincinnati, Ohio. His extensive background in theater and music includes work with the Ensemble Theater Company and the Cincinnati Opera Company. He has sung with the Sorg Opera Company for more than five seasons.