- Title: USA: RAY CHARLES CELEBRATES HIS 70TH BIRTHDAY
- Date: 2nd October 2000
- Summary: LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES (OCTOBER 2, 2000) (REUTERS) ( ** BEWARE FLASH PHOTOGRAPHY **) PAN HOUSE OF BLUES NIGHT CLUB SV JAZZ AND BLUES SINGER DIANE SCHUUR ARRIVING TO RAY CHARLES TRIBUTE; PEOPLE OUTSIDE HOUSE OF BLUES (2 SHOTS) MCU (English) DIANE SCHUUR SAYING "Oh, it's wonderful, I think it's just awesome and nobody deserves it more than he does, I mean, h
- Embargoed: 17th October 2000 13:00
- Keywords:
- Location: LOS ANGELES, UNITED STATES
- Country: USA
- Topics: Entertainment
- Reuters ID: LVA9L3Y8XDLMZZZKL5UJCAIBS2IU
- Story Text: Serenaded by the likes of Willie Nelson, Billy Preston and Ashford & Simpson, soul icon Ray Charles has belatedly celebrated his 70th birthday recently with a big dose of the blues.
Charles was the guest of honor in West Hollywood at an annual fund-raising dinner thrown by the Blues Foundation, a non-profit group that aims to promote and preserve blues music around the world.
Producer-composer Quincy Jones, who has known Charles since they were teenagers in Seattle, showered the musician with praise as he handed him a lifetime achievement award.
"Ray is a nation. I mean you talk about everybody else and you talk about Ray Charles, that's the way I feel about it. He invented it."
"I think he likes me," Charles said in reply. "The things he said to you is very true."
Billy Preston led the crowd in a chant of "Happy Birthday" and performed "You Are So Beautiful" as Charles was presented with a large German chocolate birthday cake.
Singer-songwriters Nick Ashford and Valerie Simpson sang several tunes, including "Let's Go Get Stoned," which Charles took to No. 1 on the R&B charts in 1966, the duo's first big hit.
Nelson praised "my old chess partner" as he sang "Georgia On My Mind," a No. 1 pop hit for Charles in 1960, and arguably his signature song.
Jazz vocalist Diane Schuur, who like Charles is also blind, also performed. Schuur and Charles performed a duet on her current album, "Friends for Schuur."
Charles, whose actual birthday was Sept. 23, did not perform. He sat at a long table next to Jones, grinning widely and occasionally getting up to groove to the music. He maintains a vigorous touring schedule, with at least two-dozen shows scheduled around the world through to the end of the year.
Willie Nelson was also honored at the dinner for his work with Farm Aid, a charity that helps embattled small farmers. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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