Customer Reviews

Brother Ray: Ray Charles' Own Story

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Warning!: if people are honest you might hear some things you'd rather not read. In this case however, it does mean that through Ray Charles' own words we hear about his life up till 1978 when the book came out.

His youth was hard, becoming blind around age 7, going to a special school and losing his mom when she was only in her thirties were hard. Music is of course the theme that runs through it all, though I personally would have liked to have read more about the musical side of his life than the two things that make up an important part of the book: heroin and sex.

He seems to have been addicted to both but he has always said that heroin was his own choice and that he wasn't pushed into it by other people. That makes it all very openhearted and in a way bearable. The part where he decided to stop smack is heartbreaking and genuine.

He also talks lightly about his blindness, which is great, you forget most of the time that he couldn't see a thing.

The ghostwriter himself has carefully written that Ray himself went over the pages time and time again so we can be pretty sure that everything in it is true to his heart.

We could have done with some more musical history, but it's a great book to read nonetheless

Fans of the late Ray Charles will delight in this classic autobiography of the legend, which is reprinted in a new edition including co-author David Ritz's essay on Charles' last days. If it's only one Ray Charles book you're buying, and you want an in-depth set of insights into his life and thoughts, it should be Brother Ray: Ray Charles' Own Story. Competing Ray Charles biographical titles provide photos; but it is this highly recommended memoir which provides his personal story in his own voice and from his own perspective.

I loved this autobio, the best I've ever read. While reading I felt like RC was talking directly to me. Ray just tells it the way it is with no type of fluff or excuses. In the book Ray says he selected his own clothes, dressed himself, shaved with a straight edge razor. He has even driven several cars (someone else were his eyes) and drove a moter scooter around his home (property) in L.A. The one thing that I found amazing was his drug use. RC said he used smack for about 20 yrs and he was shooting up himself, but I'm sure the first few times someone had to help. He never really said who scored the drugs for him and where he got it from. Ray said his drug use was his business and he wasn't hurting anyone. Did you know that Ray had one eye removed after being blind at a young age? He was attending a school for the blind and was great pain so it was removed. Years later as a man, he asked a few doctors what they thought of his ailment? They speculated that it was glaucoma but Ray never knew for sure. RC talks about the record companies, selling records, and tours. I thought his would be boring but the way RC tells the story it's not. I really like the way David Ritz organized the book and has a table of contents. I read every page, but the contents are good for those readers who only want to get straight to the juicy stuff. Get this book, you won't be disappointed.

I'm not much for most autobiographies. Most seem to be self-serving, consequently less than accurate in description. This is truly an exeception. Revealing all of his motivations, weaknesses and failings, you'll see Ray Charles as you've probably never thought of or seen before. I'm sure Brother Ray could have include more about his life and times and attitudes, however, when the story finally closes, you'll feel that the perfect ending note was hit, once again.

when i started reading, "BROTHER RAY" i knew i was in for a treat. This man has lived a life that was worthy of a movie. this autobigraphy had me jaw dropped and blushing. one thing, Ray Charles was definitely something else. His music was his lifeblood and the women was his pulse. the heroin abuse was something he wanted to do and eventually stopped doing. the book was raw, honest, and to the point. you felt his passions, his hurt, his triumphs and his downfall. i loved every juicy tidbit of this book. it's the kind of book that had you thinking about it days after you have read it and you talk about it with your friends and family (my cousin told me i have become obsessed with Ray Charles!) all i know is that i want to read it again. i'm gonna give my self a few weeks and i'm going to give it a second read. MOST HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!

David Ritz is a lucky man. In the course of his life he wrote autobiographies for Soul legends as Aretha Franklin, Marvin Gaye and Ray Charles. These bios were the result of long and intimate conversations, a fan boy's dream come true. All these autobiographies are interesting not only for the lives they portray but also for the era they take place in. At the time these artists were at the height of there career America was changing. During the sixties when the civil rights movement reached its peak they had there biggest selling records and were pushing the boundaries of the genre they were operating in.

It is often argued that Ray Charles and artist like him played an important part in the civil rights movement. His records crossed over from R&B to Pop, allowing the white middleclass teenagers to be introduced to Black culture. Not everybody had the patience or commitment to go to a civil rights rally; everybody can enjoy a good piece of music. Not only did Ray cross over he wrote some new rules as well. Ray was one of the first to combine Jazz, Soul and Country, appealing to a very broad audience of all colors and dominations. Ray was as much appreciated by the college kids up north and the hillbillies down south. Ray integrated concerts and gave the black man a human face, which at the time it was sadly lacking in mainstream white America.

David Ritz describes his conversations as some of the most frank yet closed he's had throughout his career. Ray never left out the sordid details of his life; the drugs and infidelity is vividly portrait. All of it written down in raw language, Ray liked to swear! At times you forget Ray is blind as he describes the women in his life, "Man the things I've seen" he even exclaims when he talks about his nights of sex on the road. Yet he also found Ray lacking the capability to reflect on the why's in his life. In contrast to Marvin Gaye who thoroughly analyzed himself, Ray seemed to ride the current, act on instinct and gut, without asking why he made the decisions he made. We find Ray Charles claiming that he did drugs, drugs never did him. Ray tells us his music comes from his Soul, he sang it as he felt it. Inevitably it was his unwillingness or unable ness to reflect that made him such a robust performer. When David Ritz asked Ray a couple of years later if he wanted some revisions for a reprint Ray exclaimed "Don't change a goddamn word!".

This was one of the most honest pieces I've ever read. It's also one of the funniest, because he has a way of telling a story, and you have no choice but to laugh. He speaks vividly of his childhood, of his mother, and other things which feels as if you are right there with him. From learning how to play the piano to having to go to another school, location, and a new way of life at such a young age is extremely humbling. He keeps it real throughout the story and goes into extensive detail about his problems with drugs, his issues with women, and others. I think he may have been lying to himself when it came to drugs, but it's something you'll have to see for yourself and form your own opinion from it. His passion for music is unquestioned once you read the pages. It was such a significant portion of his life, and he speaks of it (performing, recording, being consumed by it) as someone who did it for the love of it and not because it was something he just happened to be good at. There are life lessons which can be picked up from reading this book, good as well as bad, but lessons nonetheless. It's thoughtful, entertaining, and inspirational all rolled into one.

I'm a musicians' biography nut, so I had to buy this, despite hardly knowing any of Ray's material beforehand.

It was written by a fan who hounded Ray Charles for months for the permission to write his biography. Once Ray said yes, the author got to hang out with his idol for months of nightly interviews before writing the book, and they eventually became friends. It's written in a colloquial, personal style that's supposed to reflect the way Ray talks, so the book is kind of like a one-on-one with Ray himself - like you're having a beer with the guy. It gets pretty raunchy - the syndrome of Too Much Information. I didn't mind it, tho' it was a tad jarring to hear about his masturbation contests, and the language does get earthy, but I suppose it all helps to size up the subject matter into a real enough image, which is what reading the book is for in the first place.

Overall a good read.

Ray Charles 9-23-30 to 6-10-04. Liver cancer.

In this book you will find out that Ray was addicted to
heroin for 17 years. And he was also addicted to Sex.
He loved his ladies.
He was a very hard worker and toured 300 days a
year. He was basically a loner. He tells you that he
believes in GOD & SATAN. He does not believe in
JESUS. He believes in pot,gin and hard work. He
married 2xs, he had 12 kids with 9 different women.
In Dec 2002 he gave each child 1 million dollars tax
free.
Ray is not harsh and hard..he is a nice man. You will
find out that even though he was blind he has never
had trouble getting around.
He did not go totally blind until he was 7 yrs old so he
has seen the stars, the sky, his 2 moms,blackberries,
pigs,chickens, a jukebox and a pie-ano. He feels very
lucky.
This book was originally written in 1978 but it has been
updated several times. It includes a few pictures but not
enough. It ends with his death n 2004.
You might wonder...will you still like Ray after you read
this book
....YES YOU WILL......

Having read the books about Ray Charles, this is the one that gives the reader a glimpse into Ray's world from the inside. After I interviewed several members of the Ray Charles band/orchestra, including Fathead Newman, Don Peake, Marcus Belgrave, Ernest Vantrease and John Bryant I think that Ray speaks his mind and Ritz puts it together nicely. There's a lot more to Ray's story that he chose to leave out. Leroy Hog Cooper, Ray's bandleader and baritone sax player for almost 20 years, and those named above told me more of the story. A memoir only provides what the subject remembers or wants to share. This is a memoir. Enough said.