On September 23, 1930, early in the morning a baby boy was born
in Albany, Georgia. At that moment, of course, his family had no way of knowing
that this bouncing baby boy would grow up to become one of the most beloved and
respected singers and entertainers of all time. He had to triumph over numerous
hardships and tragedies along the way, but he did it with style and grace.
When the boy was five years old, he became
gravely ill and gradually began to lose his eyesight. By the age of seven he
was completely blind. Undaunted, the boy soon learned Braille, and a few years
later he began to develop his musical talent by learning to play the piano.
When he was fifteen, he became an orphan. Think of that: He was blind, he was
orphaned, and he was only fifteen years old. But despite all of that, he
refused to give up or give in. He kept working with his music and developing
his talent.
At age seventeen, he moved to Seattle
where he organized a musical trio, and he began performing. In 1952, at the age
of twenty-two, he signed a recording contract with Atlantic Records, and
ultimately became a world-famous recording artist and performer.
His creative genius and soulful energy,
his heartfelt sensitivity, his joy in performing the music shown in his
beautiful God given voice. He and the music become one. The music seems to flow
freely out of him, and it seems to come from deep, deep, within his spirit.
While being interviewed on television he
was ask, “Not too long ago I watched you perform two different concerts on successive
nights, and in both concerts you sang your classic hit “Georgia”, but each time
you sang it, you did it differently.” The entertainer replied, “That’s right!
Every time, I do it differently, because, you see, I don’t learn music by
notes. I just let it bubble out of my soul!”
If Christ is living in you, then you will
be like Ray Charles and his music. The joy of the Lord will bubble out of your
soul and affect everyone around you.
-Some
Folks Feel the Rain, Others Just Get Wet by James W. Moore
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