Ray Charles' L.A. Funeral a Joyous Celebration
Fri Jun 18, 2004 06:37 PM ET
By Dean Goodman
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Ray Charles took center stage one last time on Friday as more than 1,500 people, including Stevie Wonder, Clint Eastwood and B.B. King, celebrated the life of the late "genius of soul" with claps, cheers and shouts of joy.Charles, who died of liver disease last Thursday, aged 73, was sent off with a two-hour service -- more joyful than mournful -- at which Wonder and King both performed, as well as saxophone player David "Fathead" Newman, country icons Glen Campbell and Willie Nelson and jazz trumpeter Wynton Marsalis.
"We're here to celebrate today, so it's all right if you just clap your hands, stomp your feet and get down with the Lord," the Rev. Robert Robinson, Sr., one of Charles' 12 children, exclaimed at the outset.
"If you would do something for my family today, why don't you stand on your feet and give God your praise! We're here to celebrate God today!"
As Robinson shouted "Hallelujah!" and "Thank you, Jesus!" everyone did just that, getting up to cheer and clap and shout back "Hallelujah!" with help from a 60-strong choir.Others in the audience at the invitation-only First AME Church service near downtown Los Angeles included singers Little Richard and Johnny Mathis, Motown Records founder Berry Gordy Jr., and actor Steven Seagal, a late-arrival in his trademark purple kung-fu jacket.
Civil rights leader Jesse Jackson was one of several speakers, saying, "Heaven wanted some music and God sent for Ray Charles ... Ray, we can't stop loving you -- we choose not to -- and we'll see you in the morning."
The word "genius" was mentioned eight times, including twice by Eastwood, who said Charles could more accurately be described as a "perfectionist" with an unparalleled work ethic.
"He taught us all about rhythm and blues, he taught us about country music, he reinstilled our interest in patriotic songs. Anything he touched was just brilliant."
Willie Nelson's performance of "Georgia on My Mind," one of Charles' best known tunes, brought the audience to its feet. Laughter also broke out when Nelson was described as a longtime chess adversary of Charles. After being beaten yet again, Nelson finally realized Charles' secret, and he recalled asking him, "Next time we play, can we turn the lights on?"
The subject of Charles' blindness -- the result of undiagnosed glaucoma at age seven -- was also mentioned by actress Cicely Tyson, who said, "Through his darkness, he enlightened and brightened our lives."
Wonder recalled that he did not initially know Charles was also blind. In a rare gesture to solemnity, before singing the appropriately themed gospel song "I Won't Complain," Wonder expressed regret that "Ray was not able to outlive hate and injustice."
A tearful B.B. King played "Please Accept My Love," and joked that Charles was able to beat him at cards by fixing them in Braille. Campbell performed the gospel classic, "Where Could I Go But to the Lord," on guitar, as the crowd clapped along.
Charles' own voice was heard a few times, including his performance of "My Buddy," which was played at the request of its subject, producer Quincy Jones, who was in Russia.
Other absentees included scheduled performer Billy Preston, who was hospitalized at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center with an infection related to his kidney dialysis.
Among those who sent wreaths were the Rolling Stones, Van Morrison and Aretha Franklin. A letter from former President Bill Clinton was read out by Charles' longtime manager, Joe Adams.
The service ended with a final viewing of Charles' body, decked out in a dark suit with his trademark dark glasses, as "Somewhere Over the Rainbow," his recently recorded duet with Mathis, played on a loop.
A motorcade drove Charles' body past his nearby recording studio and offices one last time before bringing him to Inglewood Cemetery, near Los Angeles International Airport, for the burial
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