I have always loved music and was given toy pianos, guitars and drum sets for birthdays and Christmas as a child. I wanted to play piano and begged my parents for a real one from about age four until I finally got my wish at six when my folks bought a used Baldwin Acrosonic. I took about 1 1/2 years of piano lessons until they told me they could no longer afford the money for my weekly piano lesson. We just didn’t have much money when I was coming up.
In the winter of 1959 I first heard Ray Charles’ “What’d I Say” on the radio. It was a revelation to this eight year old boy’s ears, mind, heart and soul and I knew that was the way I wanted to play piano. I shoveled snow from sidewalks for 10 cents each to earn the money the 45 RPM record cost, I still have it and it’s the first record I bought with my own money. I brought it home and placed our Motorola record player on top of the piano and learned the song by ear, it took all day. I learn three chord songs much more quickly now but, at the time I thought I had invented something, I thought you had to read music to play a song because I had never heard of playing by ear. I wrote the lyrics down to “What’d I Say” and then played the opening piano riff and started singing in my eight year old white boy’s most soulful voice, “Hey Mama don’t you treat me wrong. Come and love your Daddy all night long.” My Mom came running out of the kitchen and told me,“Stop singing like that or you’ll ruin your voice for the rest of your life.” But, I continue to “sing like that” to this day.
Ray Charles continued to be my inspiration for playing so I bought his albums and learned the piano parts. Years later, around 1980 I read Ray Charles’ autobiography, “Brother Ray.” I soaked up the words of this great man who had brought so much joy with his music not only to me but to millions of others. One passage that struck me as unusual was Brother Ray wrote that he had met and talked with presidents and kings, Hollywood stars and great musicians but the one person he met that made him tongue tied and felt he had nothing to offer was his major influence, the jazz piano great Art Tatum.
In August 1992 I was in Seattle, Washington where I read in the newspaper that Ray Charles would be appearing at Parker’s, a large supper club. I have seen him perform many times and always bought seats as close as I could get to him. Parker’s was different, I arrived for the show about an hour early and was able to get a table about 15 feet away from him on stage. I saw his band come in and hang around in the hallway and I spoke with many of them. There was also a Parker’s employee who was a bouncer standing next to the stage. I gave him $20 and told him I just had to meet Ray Charles. The bouncer told me where to be when the show was over and he and Brother Ray’s valet would be escorting him out and I could shake his hand.
Tears of joy ran down my cheeks as I watched my piano hero perform so closely. The great show is over and I go to the spot the bouncer told me to be. The hallway was packed with other people wanting to see or talk to Ray Charles. After waiting about 1/2 an hour Brother Ray came out of his dressing room with his valet and the bouncer. In 1992 a series of Diet Pepsi commercials ran on TV featuring Ray Charles as their spokesman and Ray’s key line was, “You got the right one baby!” People were yelling this at him as he walked and he was so gracious and smiled at them. As they walked by me the bouncer told the valet and Brother Ray, “This man here just has to meet you.” Ray turned toward me and offered his hand and said, “I’m Ray Charles.” I shook his hand and quietly said to him, “If you remember how you felt when you met Art Tatum,that’s how I feel meeting you now.” He said,“Thank you, ” paused for a moment and then jumped a few inches, shook his whole body, laughed and then did that patented Ray Charles move of hugging himself and had that special Brother Ray smile on his face when he said to me,“Yea, you know what I’m talking about!” I said,“Yes sir, I do.” Though meeting Ray Charles was important to me, being able to make this great man smile and laugh is the memory I most cherish of the meeting.
