Musician of the Month - Ray Charles

This month's musician is Ray Charles - a popular Blues musician who turned many Gospel songs into Rhythm and Blues classics!

Ray Charles

1930 - 2004

Hit the Road Jack!

Hit the Road Jack was a popular hit made famous by Ray Charles. If you notice, the bass line goes down in steps. Can you tell if it is major or minor?

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• When Ray Charles was 7, he completely lost his sight and went blind. He then wore sunglasses all the time to disguise this,
•  Although he was physically blind, he did not count himself as disabled or at a loss. 
• During the time that he was popular, racism was still a strong and pressing issue. As he was blind, he found the idea of judging people by the colour of their skin even more ridiculous!

Ray Charles was very animated when he played the piano. This means he used to move around a lot when he performed, often rocking from side to side. Take a look at his performance singing 'Mess Around'.