As indicated in his biographical listing on the American online music database All Music, “Ray Charles was the musician most responsible for developing soul music.” The road that led there was not an easy one, whether one hadn’t lost his eyesight at an early age. The movie Ray (2004), starring Jamie Foxx in the role as Ray Charles himself, tells a significant portion of the man’s rise and development of the music on a southern, then American, and ultimately a world stage.
The movie, or biographical film, named Ray offers a telling of the first couple of decades of the musical career of musician Ray Charles, who grew up as Ray Charles Robinson. We came to know the musician by his first and middle name to avoid public confusion between the musician and six time world champion boxer Sugar Ray Robinson. An early and important part of the story of the musician was the story of Ray Charles losing his eyesight and his brother as a child. Much of the resonance of that story is told through the relationship Ray Charles had with his mother, Aretha Robinson. Sharon Warren portrayed Aretha Robinson.
Jamie Foxx portrays Ray Charles as an adult throughout Ray. Kerry Washington portrays Della Bea Robinson, the mother of Ray Charles‘ son as well as his wife. After some early career shenanigans leads Ray from Florida to Seattle and a sleazy night club operation, Ray Charles takes up with a white country band that gets him into taking heroin and wearing sunglasses on stage. When Della Bea discovers the heroin habit while pregnant with the couples son, Ray Jr., an argument ensues that leads Ray into the arms and what becomes an intimate relationship with Mary Ann Fisher, portrayed by Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor. Della Bea, the daughter of a preacher, was not thrilled with Ray mixing gospel and soul music.
It is with the country band and the continuing success of Ray Charles as an individual performer that Atlantic Records signs him to become a part of their publishing house. Jerry Wexler and Ahmet Ertegun, portrayed by Richard Schiff and Curtis Armstrong, respectively, support the early rise of Ray Charles while aiming to at least keep the drug habit somewhat in check during the time of their relationship. The Raelettes come along after Atlantic Records enter the picture.
The Raelettes are named for their support of the evolving act of Ray Charles. The members of the Raelettes were Pat Lyle, Margie Hendricks and Ethel McRae, portrayed in Ray by Renee Wilson, Regina King and Kimberly J. Ardison, respectively. Ray takes an immediate liking to Margie, which leads to an affair and jealousy between Margie and Mary Ann. Ray Charles grants Mary Ann Fisher a solo in this timeframe. Fisher leaves the band after the solo, striking out on her own, with a brick through the windshield of a vehicle ostensibly owned by Ray Charles for good measure. It wouldn’t be long before the success of Ray Charles leads to an amicable split with Atlantic Records as Charles gets a lucrative deal with another record label.
The interesting tale of the new label, civil unrest over segregated concerts in Atlanta, Georgia, and Margie’s pregnancy eliciting demands from her that Ray Charles leave Della Bea and their three kids over this. Ray Charles refuses this last demand, is barred from performing in Georgia, and an incident with drug paraphernalia when landing for a concert in Canada leads to court ordered rehabilitation treatment. It’s in the throws of an argument with Della Bea over this that we learn that Margie’s story takes an unexpected turn. It is later that we learn of a pair of positive turns in the Ray Charles story that Ray comes to a close. I leave you to watch the movie to learn the rest.
The movie Ray was well crafted film that proved entertaining to watch with a compelling set of outcomes for the particulars involved. The twists and turns along the way weren’t all flattering, for sure, yet the presentation neither aimed nor landed on salacious. That this was true, with a ring of truth for the larger part of the story and music ringing true, felt like a strong outcome for the man and the music of Ray Charles as anything that might have come along. I rate Ray at 4.0-stars on a scale of one-to-five.
Matt – Saturday, October 3, 2020
Matt Lynn Digital 