Ray Charles exhibition a 'must see,' but hurry

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To: <BlindNews@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: Thu, 27 Dec 2007 22:46:25 -0500

The Tennessean, TN, USA
Thursday, December 27, 2007

By GAIL KERR

There's a copy of Playboy magazine in the Ray Charles exhibit at the Country
Music Hall of Fame - he enjoyed reading it while on the road.

In Braille.

Just pause and let that sink in for a moment. The "genius of soul," as the
exhibit calls him, went blind at age 6.

This is your last chance to see "I Can't Stop Loving You: Ray Charles & Country
Music." It closes on Monday, New Year's Eve. If you have out-of-town guests who
are getting bored, go. If you loved the movie Ray, go. If you've never gone
through the hall of fame because you don't like country music, go.

This exhibit covers the life of Ray Charles from 1930 until his death in 2004.
It wasn't an easy life.

Mother pushed him

Ray Charles was raised in poverty and was orphaned at age 15. Despite his
disability, his mother pushed him to learn and to keep at his natural ability
and love for music.

You learn in the exhibit about the soul records he made on the Atlantic label
from 1954 until 1959.

But in particular, this exhibit focuses on the relationship Ray had with
country music during his six-decade career. That included the smash hit album,
Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music. Along with hits like I Can't Stop
Loving You, he covered country smash hits including Bye Bye Love and Hey, Good
Lookin'.

"I just wanted to try my hand at hillbilly music," Charles is quoted as saying
in the exhibit. "After all, the Grand Ole Opry has been performing inside my
head since I was a kid in the country."

Despite all of that, Charles wasn't played on (segregated) country radio until
the 1980s.

'A tyrant of perfection'

The exhibit has the usual assortment of memorabilia: gold records, sheet music
and master tape boxes. There's also a giant whiskey ad featuring his picture,
many other wonderful photos, his garment bag and posters.

You learn that Charles was considered "a tyrant of perfection" to his band
members, a workaholic who logged 10,000 concerts in more than 60 cities in his
lifetime.

One of the "wow" things in the exhibit is Ray Charles' Wurlitzer electric
piano, along with his saxophone. I never knew he played the sax.

They display his cool costumes, including several pairs of his trademark dark
shades. The exhibit includes his electronic chessboard. It announced the moves
that were made, so he could play while he traveled.

And, of course, there's that copy of Playboy. Black and white, it's huge
because of the Braille language. There are no pictures.

That makes the late Ray Charles the one guy who really did just read it for the
articles.

If you go
The Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum is located at 222 Fifth Avenue South.
Admission is $17.95, with discounts based on age, AAA membership and military
ID. Hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.; closed New Year's Day.

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Ray Charles exhibition a 'must see,' but hurry

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