|
Charles
died in June 2004 of acute liver disease at age 73.
His death ended a 58-year career in which he combined
rock 'n' roll with gospel and soul to create a new style
for hits such as "What'd I Say," "Hit
the Road Jack," "Georgia on My Mind"
and "I Can't Stop Loving You."
Born
Ray Charles Robinson, he lost his eyesight at 7, was
an orphan at 15 and struggled for nearly 20 years with
an addiction to heroin. He quit the drug cold turkey
in 1965 after an arrest at a Boston airport.
His
life story was chronicled in the 2004 film "Ray,"
which earned a best actor Oscar for Jamie Foxx.
The
renaming of the post office touched all of Charles'
family, said his son, the Rev. Robert Robinson.
"We
miss him so much. So we appreciate every little piece
that people do to keep his memory there," Robinson
said. "Now we have something we can always see
with his name on it and the world can share."
The
Ray Charles Station is located just blocks away from
the recording studio and business office where Charles
produced "Georgia on My Mind" and his final
album, the Grammy-winning "Genius Loves Company."
His
longtime manager, Joe Adams, told nearly 200 people
at the renaming ceremony that he remembered when there
was a bar instead of a post office at the corner. He
joked that Charles used to sort mail at the facility,
which explained why some letters took six or seven years
to get delivered.
Adams
also presented a letter from Bill Cosby to former President
Clinton and asked that it be the first mailed from the
newly renamed post office.
|
Email
This Article To A Friend
