Name	Television
Background	group_or_band
Origin	New York City, USA
Genre	Punk rock, New Wave, art punk, post-punk, protopunk
Years active	1973–1978, 1992–1993, 2001–present
Label	ORK, Elektra, Capitol, ROIR
Associated acts	The Neon Boys, The Heartbreakers, The Voidoids
Current members	Tom VerlaineBilly FiccaFred SmithJimmy Rip
Past members	Richard LloydRichard Hell }}

Television was an American rock band, formed in New York City in 1973. They are best known for the album ''Marquee Moon''. They have been credited as highly influential on guitar based post punk. Television was part of the early 1970s New York underground rock scene, along with bands like the Patti Smith Group, The Ramones, Blondie, Richard Hell and The Voidoids, and Talking Heads. In contrast to the Ramones' rock 'n' roll minimalism, Television's music was more complex and more technically proficient, defined by guitarists Tom Verlaine and Richard Lloyd.

History[link]

Television's roots can be traced to the teenage friendship between Tom Verlaine and Richard Hell. The duo met at Sanford School in Hockessin, Delaware, from which they ran away. Both moved to New York, separately, in the early 1970s, aspiring to be poets.

Their first group together was the Neon Boys, consisting of Verlaine on guitar and vocals, Hell on bass and vocals, and Billy Ficca on drums. The group lasted from late 1972 to late 1973. A 7-inch record featuring "That's All I Know (Right Now)" and "Love Comes in Spurts" was released in 1980.

In late 1973 the group reformed, calling themselves Television and recruiting Richard Lloyd as a second guitarist. Their first gig was at the Townhouse Theatre, on March 2, 1974. They soon persuaded CBGB owner Hilly Kristal to give the band a regular gig at his club, where they reportedly constructed their first stage. After playing several gigs at CBGB in early 1974, they played at Max's Kansas City and other clubs, returning to CBGB in January 1975, where they established a significant cult following.

Initially, songwriting was split almost evenly between Hell and Verlaine, Lloyd being an infrequent contributor as well. However, friction began to develop as Verlaine, Lloyd, and Ficca became increasingly confident and adept with both instruments and composition, while Hell remained defiantly untrained in his approach. Verlaine, feeling that Hell's frenzied onstage demeanor was upstaging his songs, reportedly told him to "stop jumping around" during his songs, and refused to play Hell's songs, such as "Blank Generation", in concert. This conflict, as well as the failure of a Brian Eno-produced demo to be picked up by Island Records, led Hell to leave the group and take his songs with him. He co-founded The Heartbreakers in 1975 with former members of the New York Dolls, Johnny Thunders and Jerry Nolan, later forming Richard Hell and the Voidoids. Fred Smith, briefly of Blondie, replaced Hell as Television's bassist.

Though Verlaine and Lloyd were nominally "rhythm" and "lead" guitarists, they often rendered such labels obsolete by crafting interlocking parts, where the ostensible rhythm role could be as intriguing as the lead. Al Handa writes, "In Television's case, Lloyd was the guitarist who affected the tonality of the music more often than not, and Verlaine and the rhythm section the ones who gave the ear its anchor and familiar musical elements. Listen only to Lloyd, and you can hear some truly off the wall ideas being played." The opening of the song "Marquee Moon", from the album of the same name, displays the band's characteristic interlocking melodic and rhythmic guitar lines.

As with many emerging punk bands, the influence of The Velvet Underground was pervasive. Television also drew inspiration from minimalist composers such as Steve Reich. Tom Verlaine has often cited the influence of The Rolling Stones' "19th Nervous Breakdown" on Television's approach to the guitar, and he has also expressed a fondness for Arthur Lee's Love and the Buffalo Springfield, two groups noted for their dual-guitar interplay. Television's ties to punk were underscored by their late 60s garage-rock leanings, as the band often covered The Count Five's "Psychotic Reaction" and the 13th Floor Elevators' "Fire Engine" in concert.

Lester Bangs heard in Television's music the influence of Quicksilver Messenger Service, noting a similarity between Verlaine's guitar playing and that of John Cipollina. Tom Verlaine has downplayed the comparison, citing the Ventures as a more apt reference point. In 2004, Robert Christgau pointed to the debt that Television owed to the San Francisco scene of the late 1960s, directly comparing Verlaine's guitar playing to that of Jerry Garcia.

Television made their vinyl debut with "Little Johnny Jewel", a 7-inch single on the independent label Ork Records in 1975. Ork Records was owned by their manager, Terry Ork. The song was split into two parts, one on each side of the single. Richard Lloyd apparently disagreed with the selection of this song, preferring the never-released "O Mi Amore" for their debut, to the extent that he seriously considered leaving the band. Reportedly Pere Ubu guitarist Peter Laughner auditioned for his spot during this time.

Television's first album, ''Marquee Moon'', was received positively by music critics and audiences, despite failing to enter the ''Billboard'' 200 albums chart - though it sold well in Europe and reached the Top 30 in many countries there. Upon its initial release in 1977, Roy Trakin wrote in the ''SoHo Weekly'', "forget everything you've heard about Television, forget punk, forget New York, forget CBGB's ... hell, forget rock and roll—this is the real item." Recently, critics ranked it number 83 on cable music channel VH1’s 2000 list of the 100 Greatest Albums of Rock and Roll, number 128 on ''Rolling Stone'''s 2003 list of the 500 greatest albums of all time. It was ranked number two on ''Uncut'' magazine's 100 Greatest Debut Records, and number 3 on Pitchfork Media's list of the best albums of the 1970s. Stephen Thomas Erlewine writes that the album was "revolutionary" and " entirely of tense garage rockers that spiral into heady intellectual territory, which is achieved through the group's long, interweaving instrumental sections."

Television were disparaged by English punk band The Damned in the song "Idiot Box", from the album ''Music for Pleasure''. This was apparently a reaction to Television's treatment of them while a support act on a 1977 tour. Verlaine, Lloyd, Smith, and Ficca are each given abuse in the verses, with the chorus knocking Television's live act and the album ''Marquee Moon''.

Television's second album, ''Adventure'', was issued in 1978, to less fanfare. The distinctive guitar work of Lloyd and Verlaine are still evident on ''Adventure'', notably on the tracks "Glory," "Foxhole" and "The Fire."

The band members' independent and strongly held artistic visions, along with Richard Lloyd's drug abuse, led to the band's break-up in 1978. Both Lloyd and Verlaine pursued solo careers.

Television reformed in 1992, recording an eponymous third album, and have performed live sporadically thereafter. Since being wooed back on stage together for the 2001 All Tomorrow's Parties at Camber Sands, England, they've played a number of dates around the world, and continue to perform on an irregular basis.

In 2007, Richard Lloyd announced he would be amicably leaving the band after a midsummer show in New York City's Central Park. Owing to an extended stay in hospital recovering from pneumonia, he was unable to take his place with the band for this concert. His place that day was taken by Jimmy Rip. Rip was subsequently asked to join the band in Lloyd's place. On July 7, 2011, the new lineup performed at the Beco 203 music festival in São Paulo, Brazil. In an MTV Brazil television interview, the band confirmed that an album with about ten new tracks was close to being finished.

Members[link]

Tom Verlaine – vocals, guitar, keyboards (1973–present)

Billy Ficca – drums (1973–present)

Fred Smith – bass, vocals (1975–present)

Jimmy Rip - guitar (2007–present)

Former members[link]

Richard Lloyd – guitar, vocals (1973–2007)

Richard Hell – vocals, bass (1973–1975)

Discography[link]

Studio albums[link]

''Marquee Moon'' – (USA Elektra 7E-1098 1977; UK Elektra K52046 1977 UK Chart #28)

''Adventure'' – (USA Elektra 6E-133 1978; UK Elektra K52072 UK Chart #7)

''Television'' – (USA/UK Capitol CDP 0777 7 98396 2 9 1992)

''Marquee Moon'' and ''Adventure'' were remastered and reissued by Elektra/Rhino on CD in 2003 with bonus tracks

Live albums [link]

''The Blow-Up'' – (ROIR A114 (Cassette) 1982) [Recorded live 1978]

''Live at the Academy, 1992'' – (2003) [Recorded live in New York City Dec 04, 1992]

''Live at the Old Waldorf'' – (2003) [Recorded live in San Francisco June 29, 1978]

Compilations [link]

''The Best of Television & Tom Verlaine'' – (Phantom Import Distribution 1998)

Singles[link]

"Little Johnny Jewel, Part One" (3:30) b/w "Little Johnny Jewel, Part Two" (4:00) – 7-inch mono 45rpm (ORK Records 81975 1975)

"Marquee Moon Part 1" b/w "Marquee Moon Part 2" – 7" single (UK Elektra K12252 April, 1977 UK Chart #30)

"Marquee Moon (Stereo)" b/w "Marquee Moon (Mono)" – 12" single (UK Elektra K12252 April, 1977)

"Prove It" b/w "Venus" – (July 1977) UK Chart #25

"Prove It" b/w "Venus" – 12" single (UK Elektra K12262 1977 green vinyl)

"Foxhole" b/w "Careful" – (April, 1978) UK Chart #36

"Foxhole" b/w "Careful" – 12" single (UK Elektra K12287 1977 red vinyl)

"Glory" b/w "Ain't That Nothin'" – 7" single (USA Elektra E-45516 July 1978)

Filmography [link]

''The Blank Generation'' (1976)

References[link]

Further reading[link]

Roy Trakin, "Artificial Paradise", ''SoHo Weekly News'', March 24, 1977, pg. 41.

Further listening[link]

Podcast of Television: Live at the Old Waldorf in 1978

External links [link]

mp3.com Summary

Category:American punk rock groups Category:Musical groups from New York Category:Musical quartets Category:Art rock musical groups Category:Capitol Records artists Category:Reachout International Records recording artists Category:Musical groups established in 1973

cs:Television (skupina) da:Television (band) de:Television (Band) es:Television fr:Television (groupe) gl:Television (grupo musical) it:Television he:טלוויז'ן nl:Television ja:テレヴィジョン (バンド) no:Television pl:Television pt:Television ru:Television fi:Television sv:Television (musikgrupp) uk:Television

Name	C.J. Ramone
Background	non_vocal_instrumentalist
Birth name	Christopher Joseph Ward
Alias	C.J. Ramone
Birth date	October 08, 1965
Birth place	Queens, New York
Instrument	Bass guitar, guitar, vocals
Genre	Punk rock
Occupation	Musician, songwriter
Years active	1989–present
Label	Sire, Radioactive, Chrysalis
Associated acts	Ramones, Los Gusanos, Bad Chopper
Website
Past members	}}

Christopher Joseph Ward (born October 8, 1965), better known as C. J. Ramone, is an American musician best known as working as the bassist (and sometimes the vocalist) of punk rock group Ramones from 1989 to 1996.

Background[link]

Christopher J. Ward was born in Queens, New York City, though he lived in Deer Park, New York for most of his early life.

He attended Ss. Cyril and Methodius School and graduated from Deer Park High School in 1983.

Prior to joining the Ramones, Ward served in the United States Marine Corps. He was a fan of the Ramones, particularly of Dee Dee Ramone, before joining the band, and later played with him in a band called The Remains or The Ramainz, which was formed by Dee Dee Ramone, Marky Ramone and Dee Dee's wife, Barbara Zampini (Barbara Ramone). He also played in Guitar Pete's Axe Attack, Los Gusanos, Bad Chopper, and is currently touring as CJ Ramone.

The Ramones[link]

Ward replaced original band member Dee Dee Ramone, though Dee Dee continued to write songs for the group. C.J. sang many well-known Ramones songs, and gave The Ramones a younger image. In the documentary ''End of the Century: The Story of the Ramones'' it states that when C.J. joined the Ramones he was seen as a breath of fresh air into the band. Johnny Ramone says he knew immediately when C.J. auditioned to replace Dee Dee that he was right, commenting that he "had the right look". When the Ramones were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame original Ramones drummer, Tommy Ramone, credited C.J. with "keeping the band young".

C.J. Ramone was the youngest member of the Ramones when he joined, by 9 years. (He also shared a birthday, October 8, with bandmate Johnny Ramone.) His first show with The Ramones was on September 30, 1989, in Leicester, England, and he played with the band until they retired on August 6, 1996.

Equipment[link]

C.J. has used Ampeg Amplification throughout his career. When he joined The Ramones, they gave him a black Mexican Fender Precision Bass, with a white pickguard and a maple neck and that was his main bass for the first gigs with The Ramones. He also had two cream Fender Precision basses, one with a white pickguard and another with a black. (These can be seen on various backstage photos.) He then bought a white American Fender Precision with a white pickguard (later switched to a black to make it look more like Dee Dee's bass guitars). Then he finally got a vintage 1979 Fender Precision, like the basses that Dee Dee used to play. He would use that bass mainly the rest of his time with the Ramones.

While in the Ramones, C.J. had a Custom made Mosrite Bass made for him by Semie Mosley, white with a tortoise shell Pick guard. He used it in Bad Chopper. He has since sold this bass. He then used a Mosrite bass that he designed with Mr. Yuasa of the Filmore Company, the Mosrite copyright owner in Japan. It was white with a black pick guard (serial number 000CJ). This bass was stolen when he toured Japan in February 2010.

Other bands[link]

Before the Ramones, Ward played in a heavy metal band called Guitar Pete's Axe Attack, where he appeared on two albums. In 1992, while still with the Ramones, he started a hard rock band named Los Gusanos. They released a few singles before releasing their only album in 1997, which was worked on by Ramones' producer Daniel Rey. In 1998, Los Gusanos broke up, leading to Ward's next band The Warm Jets, which released one single before changing their name due to another band with the same name. Now under the name Bad Chopper, they released a single and a 2007 self-titled album (also produced by Rey) before breaking up.

Personal[link]

C.J. was married to Marky Ramone's niece, Chessa, with whom he has two children. He is now married to attorney Denise Barton with whom he has one daughter, Mia Dove. C. J. is working with Daniel Rey and drummer Michael Stamberg to finish a new solo album.

C.J. frequently speaks on the subject of autism because his son Liam has the condition.

Discography[link]

With Guitar Pete's Axe Attack[link]

''Dead Soldier's Revenge'' (1985)

''Nightmare'' (1986)

With the Ramones[link]

''Loco Live'' (1991)

''Mondo Bizarro'' (1992)

''Acid Eaters'' (1993)

''¡Adios Amigos!'' (1995)

''Greatest Hits Live'' (1996)

''We're Outta Here!'' (1997)

With Los Gusanos[link]

"Quick to Cut" 7" (1993)

Youth Gone Mad split 7" (1994)

''I'd Love to Save the World'' EP (1994)

''Los Gusanos'' (1998)

With Bad Chopper[link]

''The Warm Jets'' 7" (as The Warm Jets) (2000)

"Real Bad Time" 7" (2003)

''Bad Chopper'' (2007)

Other appearances[link]

Guest vocals on "Love Sucks" on The Independents' album ''In for the Kill'' (1995)

Guest vocals on "Punishment Fits the Crime" with Bien Desocupados on ''Todos Somos Ramones'' (2005)

Notes[link]

References[link]

Monte A. Melnick Ramones Tour Manager "On The Road With The Ramones"

Jari-Pekka Laitio-Ramone's site

CJ Ramone

Bad Chopper / Warm Jets

Axe Attack

Category:1965 births Category:Living people Category:Ramones members Category:American punk rock bass guitarists Category:People from Queens Category:Musicians from New York City Category:United States Marines Category:Pseudonymous musicians

cs:C. J. Ramone de:C. J. Ramone es:C.J. Ramone fr:C. J. Ramone hr:C.J. Ramone it:C.J. Ramone pl:C.J. Ramone pt:C. J. Ramone ru:Си Джей Рамон sk:C.J. Ramone fi:C. J. Ramone sv:C. J. Ramone

name	Tom Verlaine
background	solo_singer
birth name	Thomas Miller
birth date	December 13, 1949
Birth place	Morristown, New Jersey, U.S.
occupation	Musician Vocalist
instrument	Guitar VocalsPiano
associated acts	Television Neon Boys
genre	PunkArt punkNew Wave
notable instruments	Fender Jazzmaster Fender Jaguar Fender Stratocaster Danelectro Shorthorn Deluxe }}

Tom Verlaine (born Thomas Miller, December 13, 1949, in Morristown, New Jersey) is a singer, songwriter and guitarist, best known as the frontman for the New York rock band Television.

Biography[link]

Tom Verlaine began his life as Thomas Miller. He began studying piano at an early age but switched to saxophone in middle school after hearing a record by Stan Getz. Verlaine was initially unimpressed with the role of the guitar in both rock and jazz, and was only inspired to take up the instrument after hearing the Rolling Stones' "19th Nervous Breakdown" during his adolescence, at which point he began a long period of experimentation to develop a personal style. Verlaine also had an interest in writing and poetry from an early age. As a teen he was friends with future bandmate and punk icon Richard Hell (Richard Meyers) at Sanford School, a boarding school which they both attended. They quickly discovered that they shared a passion for music and poetry.

After one failed attempt, Verlaine (with Hell) succeeded in escaping from school and moved to New York City. He then created his stage name, a reference to the French symbolist poet Paul Verlaine. He is quoted as saying this name was inspired by Bob Dylan's name change and was a way of distancing himself from his past. He and Hell formed The Neon Boys, recruiting drummer Billy Ficca. The Neon Boys quickly disbanded after failing to recruit a second guitarist, despite auditions by Dee Dee Ramone and Chris Stein. They reformed as Television a few months later, finding a guitarist in Richard Lloyd, and began playing at seminal punk clubs like CBGB and Max's Kansas City. In 1975, Verlaine kicked Hell out of the band for his erratic playing and behavior, and they released their first single with Fred Smith replacing Hell. Verlaine dated poet and musician Patti Smith when they were both up-and-coming artists in the burgeoning New York punk scene. Television released two albums, ''Marquee Moon'' and ''Adventure'', to great critical acclaim and modest sales before breaking up in 1978.

Verlaine soon released a self-titled solo album that began a fruitful 1980s solo career. He took up residence in England for a brief period in response to the positive reception his work had received there and in Europe at large. In the 1990s he collaborated with different artists, including Patti Smith, and composed a film score for ''Love and a .45''. In the early 90s, Television reformed to record one studio album (''Television'') and a live recording (''Live at the Academy, 1992''); they have reunited periodically for touring ever since. Verlaine released his first new album in many years in 2006, titled ''Songs and Other Things''.

Verlaine is regarded by many as one of the most talented performers of the early post punk era. His poetic lyrics, coupled with his accomplished and original guitar playing, are highly influential and widely praised in the music media. He and Television bandmate Richard Lloyd are known as one of rock's most acclaimed and inventive guitar duos. In spite of the adoration he receives from the media, Verlaine rarely reciprocates this attention in the form of interviews.

Collaborations[link]

Verlaine was in discussion with Jeff Buckley to produce his second album, before Buckley's accidental death by drowning in 1997.

He has guested as guitarist on numerous releases by other artists, including the album Penthouse by the band Luna. He played on Patti Smith's Grammy-nominated "Glitter in Their Eyes" from her 2000 album Gung Ho. This was not the first time Verlaine had collaborated with one-time romantic partner Smith; four years earlier, he played on the song "Fireflies" from Patti Smith's 1996 album ''Gone Again'', and in the 1970s he played guitar on her debut single "Hey Joe" and on "Break It Up" from her debut album ''Horses''. He also co-authored that song with Smith.

He is part of The Million Dollar Bashers, a supergroup also featuring Sonic Youth stars Lee Ranaldo and Steve Shelley, Wilco guitarist Nels Cline, Bob Dylan bassist Tony Garnier, guitarist Smokey Hormel and keyboardist John Medeski. Their work appears on the original soundtrack to ''I'm Not There'', a biographical film reflecting the life of Bob Dylan.

Guitars[link]

Throughout his career Verlaine has played a variety of Fender guitars. Most famously in the heyday of Television he played a Fender Jazzmaster and a Fender Jaguar through Fender and Vox amps. These guitars were an unusual choice for a rock musician at that time. Verlaine is credited as being instrumental in bringing what were seen as "surf" guitars, the Jaguar and Jazzmaster, into the rock arena. Verlaine is pictured inside the compilation ''The Miller's Tale'' playing both types of guitars. Recently, at solo concerts and at Television concerts, Verlaine has played a Fender Stratocaster, including one that has been modified with Danelectro pickups. He has also been seen using a standard Fender Telecaster with a rosewood neck in a video where he tries to teach Richard Hell the song "Venus" (though this was probably just a guitar owned by the studio they were in).

Guitar style and effects[link]

Verlaine is an advocate of keen and unusual (yet subtle) guitar sounds and recording techniques including close miking, delay, reverb, slap echo, phasing/flanging, tremolo, etc. Television's first commercially released recording, "Little Johnny Jewel", saw Verlaine plugging his guitar straight into the recording desk with no amplification. Going against the prevailing tradition of rock guitar for the past 40 years, he rarely uses distortion.

Vibrato is a large part of Verlaine's style and he makes extensive use of the Jazzmaster's unique tremolo bar. In terms of guitar scales and note selection, Verlaine utilises the mixolydian and minor pentatonic scale like most rock guitarists, but his sequencing, phrasing, tone and approach to legato and other techniques is unconventional.

His style may be a product of the way he learned to play; he told a Guitar Player interviewer in 2005 "I never played guitar along with records, so I never learned all the speed licks everybody gravitates to when starting out. I know 19-year-old guitarists who can play Danny Gatton solos note-for-note. They don’t really know what notes they’re playing, but they do them flawlessly."

Verlaine uses a thin pick and heavy strings (gauges .050 to .013) and tunes down a half step or more. In contrast to most modern rock guitarists, he uses a wound 3rd string. Verlaine usually plays with the bridge pickup on, but picks over the neck pickup. This, according to him, gives a "full yet clear sound"

Discography[link]

Solo albums[link]

''Tom Verlaine'' (1979)

''Dreamtime'' (1981)

''Words from the Front'' (1982)

''Cover'' (1984)

''Flash Light'' (1987)

''The Wonder'' (1990)

''Warm and Cool'' (1992) (Reissued in 2005)

''The Miller's Tale: A Tom Verlaine Anthology'' (1996)

''Around'' (2006)

''Songs and Other Things'' (2006)

Singles[link]

"Always" (1981)

"Postcard from Waterloo" (1982)

"Let Go the Mansion" (1984)

"Five Miles of You" (1984)

"A Town Called Walker" (1987)

"Cry Mercy, Judge" (1987)

"The Funniest Thing" (1987)

"Shimmer" (1989)

"Kaleidoscopin" (1990)

References[link]

Guinness Rockopedia - ISBN 0-85112-072-5

The Great Rock Discography (Fifth Edition) - ISBN 1-84195-017-3

External links[link]

The Wonder

Interview with Tom Verlaine by Sadi Ranson-Polizzotti

Tom Verlaine's recording of 'Joshua Fought the Battle of Jericho' for Pioneers For A Cure

Category:1949 births Category:Living people Category:American male singers Category:American punk rock guitarists Category:American punk rock singers Category:American rock singer-songwriters Category:American rock guitarists Category:People from Morristown, New Jersey Category:People from Wilmington, Delaware Category:Elektra Records artists Category:Virgin Records artists Category:Warner Bros. Records artists Category:Fontana Records artists Category:I.R.S. Records artists

fi:Tom Verlaine ca:Tom Verlaine da:Tom Verlaine es:Tom Verlaine fr:Tom Verlaine it:Tom Verlaine he:טום ורליין nl:Tom Verlaine ja:トム・ヴァーレイン pt:Tom Verlaine ru:Верлен, Том sv:Tom Verlaine

background	solo_singer
birth name	Ray Charles Robinson
origin	Greenville, Florida, United States
birth date	September 23, 1930
birth place	Albany, Georgia, United States
death date	June 10, 2004
death place	Beverly Hills, California, United States
instrument	Vocals, piano, keyboards, alto saxophone, trombone
genre	Rhythm and blues, soul, blues, rock and roll, jazz, country, pop, gospel
occupation	Composer, musician, arranger, bandleader
years active	1947–2004
label	Atlantic, ABC, Warner Bros., Swing Time, Concord, Columbia, Flashback
associated acts	The Raelettes, Quincy Jones, Betty Carter, Marvin Gaye, Billy Joel, James Brown, Little Richard
website	Official website }}

Ray Charles Robinson (September 23, 1930June 10, 2004), known by his shortened stage name Ray Charles, was an American musician. He was a pioneer in the genre of soul music during the 1950s by fusing rhythm and blues, gospel, and blues styles into his early recordings with Atlantic Records. He also helped racially integrate country and pop music during the 1960s with his crossover success on ABC Records, most notably with his ''Modern Sounds'' albums. While with ABC, Charles became one of the first African-American musicians to be given artistic control by a mainstream record company. Frank Sinatra called Charles “the only true genius in show business.”

The influences upon his music were mainly jazz, blues, rhythm and blues and country artists of the day such as Art Tatum, Nat King Cole, Louis Jordan, Charles Brown, Louis Armstrong. His playing reflected influences from country blues and barrelhouse, and stride piano styles.

''Rolling Stone'' ranked Charles number ten on their list of "100 Greatest Artists of All Time" in 2004, and number two on their November 2008 list of "100 Greatest Singers of All Time". In honoring Charles, Billy Joel noted: "This may sound like sacrilege, but I think Ray Charles was more important than Elvis Presley. I don't know if Ray was the architect of rock & roll, but he was certainly the first guy to do a lot of things . . . Who the hell ever put so many styles together and made it work?"

Early life: 1930–1945[link]

Ray Charles Robinson was the son of Aretha Robinson, a sharecropper, and Bailey Robinson, a railroad repair man, mechanic and handyman. Aretha Robinson was a devout Christian and the family attended the New Shiloh Baptist Church. When Ray was an infant, his family moved from Albany, Georgia, where he was born, to the poor black community on the western side of Greenville, Florida. In his early years, Charles showed a curiosity for mechanical things and he often watched the neighborhood men working on their cars and farm machinery. His musical curiosity was sparked at Mr. Wiley Pit's Red Wing Cafe when Pit played boogie woogie on an old upright piano. Pit would care for George, Ray's brother, so as to take the burden off Williams. However, George drowned in the Williams' bath tub when he was four years old. After witnessing the death of his brother, Ray would feel an overwhelming sense of guilt later on in life.

Charles started to lose his sight at the age of five. He went completely blind by the age of seven, apparently due to glaucoma. He attended school at the Florida School for the Deaf and the Blind in St. Augustine from 1937 to 1945, where he developed his musical talent. During this time he performed on WFOY radio in St. Augustine. His father died when he was 10 and his mother died five years after.

In school, Charles was taught only classical music, but he wanted to play the jazz and blues he heard on the family radio. While at school, he became the school's premier musician. On Fridays, the South Campus Literary Society held assemblies where Charles would play piano and sing popular songs. On Halloween and Washington's birthday, the Colored Department of the school had socials where Charles would play. It was here he established "RC Robinson and the Shop Boys" and sang his own arrangement of "Jingle Bell Boogie." He spent his first Christmas at the school, but later the staff pitched in so that Charles could return to Greenville, as he did each summer.

Henry and Alice Johnson, who owned a store not unlike Mr. Pit's store in Greenville, moved to the French town section of Tallahassee, just west of Greenville; and they, as well as Freddy and Margaret Bryant, took Charles in. He worked the register in the Bryants' store under the direction of Lucille Bryant, their daughter. It's said he loved Tallahassee and often used the drug store delivery boy's motorbike to run up and down hills using the exhaust sound of a friend's bike to guide him. Charles found Tallahassee musically exciting too and sat in with the Florida A&M; University student band. He played with the Adderley brothers, Nat and Cannonball, and began playing gigs with Lawyer Smith and his Band in 1943 at the Red Bird Club and Deluxe Clubs in Frenchtown and roadhouse theaters around Tallahassee, as well as the Governor's Ball.

Career[link]

Early career: 1946–1952[link]

After his mother died in 1946, Charles was 15 years old and didn't return to school. He lived in Jacksonville with a couple who were friends of his mother. For over a year, he played the piano for bands at the Ritz Theatre in LaVilla, earning $4 a night. Then he moved to Orlando, and later Tampa, where he played with a southern band called The Florida Playboys. This is where he began his habit of always wearing sunglasses, made by designer Billy Stickles.

Charles had always played for other people, but he wanted his own band. He decided to leave Florida for a large city, but Chicago and New York City were too big. After asking a friend to look in a map and note the city in the United States that was farthest from Florida, he moved to Seattle in 1947 (where he first met and befriended, under the tutelage of Robert Blackwell, a 14-year-old Quincy Jones) and soon started recording, first for the Down Beat label as the Maxin Trio with guitarist G.D. McKee and bassist Milton Garrett, achieving his first hit with "Confession Blues" in 1949. The song soared to No. 2 on the R&B; charts. He joined Swing Time Records and under his own name ("Ray Charles" to avoid being confused with boxer Sugar Ray Robinson) recorded two more R&B; hits, "Baby, Let Me Hold Your Hand" (No. 5) in 1951 and "Kissa Me Baby" (No. 8) in 1952. The following year, Swing Time folded and Ahmet Ertegün signed him to Atlantic Records.

Atlantic Records: 1953–1958[link]

Charles laid low from recording until early 1953 as Atlantic executives cleared out Charles' contract with Swingtime. Charles began recording jump blues and boogie-woogie style recordings as well as slower blues ballads where he continued to show the vocal influences of Nat "King" Cole and Charles Brown. "Mess Around" became Charles' first Atlantic hit in 1953 and he later had hits the following year with "It Should Have Been Me" and "Don't You Know". He also recorded the songs, "Midnight Hour" and "Sinner's Prayer". Some elements of his own vocal style showed up in "Sinner's Prayer", "Mess Around" and "Don't You Know".

Late in 1954, Charles recorded his own composition, "I Got a Woman" and the song became Charles' first number-one R&B; hit in 1955 and brought him to national prominence. The elements of "I Got a Woman" included a mixture of gospel, jazz and blues elements that would later prove to be seminal in the development of rock 'n' roll and soul music. He repeated this pattern throughout 1955 continuing through 1958 with records such as "This Little Girl of Mine", "Drown in My Own Tears", "Lonely Avenue", "A Fool For You" and "The Night Time (Is the Right Time)".

However, Charles didn't stop his ambitions of jazz recording a couple of instrumental jazz albums with vibraphonist Milt Jackson while also promoting his R&B; career. By 1958, Charles was not only headlining black venues such as The Apollo Theater and The Uptown Theater but also bigger venues such as The Newport Jazz Festival. It was at the Newport festival where he cut his first live album. In 1956, Charles recruited a young all-female singing group named the Cookies, and reshaped them as The Raelettes. Before then, Charles had used his wife and other musicians to back him up on recordings such as "This Little Girl of Mine" and "Drown In My Own Tears". The Raelettes' first recording session with Charles was on the bluesy-gospel inflected "Leave My Woman Alone".

Crossover success: 1959–1967[link]

Charles reached the pinnacle of his success at Atlantic with the release of "What'd I Say", a complex song that combined gospel, jazz, blues and Latin music and a song that Charles would later say he composed spontaneously as he was performing in clubs and dances with his small band. Despite some radio stations banning the song because of its sexually suggestive lyrics, the song became a crossover top ten pop record, Charles' first record to do so. Later in 1959, Charles recorded and released his first country song, a cover of Hank Snow's "Movin' On", and had recorded three more albums for the label including a jazz record (later released in 1961 as ''The Genius After Hours''), a blues record (released in 1961 as ''The Genius Sings the Blues'') and a traditional pop/big band record (''The Genius of Ray Charles''). ''The Genius of Ray Charles'' provided his first top 40 album entry where it peaked at #17 and was later held as a landmark record in Charles' career but Charles saw a bigger opportunity following his Atlantic contract expiring in the fall of 1959 when several big labels offered him record deals.

Choosing not to renegotiate his contract with Atlantic, Ray Charles signed with ABC-Paramount Records in November 1959, obtaining a much more liberal contract than other artists had at the time. Following the success of "What'd I Say" and ''The Genius of Ray Charles'', ABC offered Charles a $ 50,000 annual advance, higher royalties than previously offered and eventual ownership of his masters — a very valuable and lucrative deal at the time. During his Atlantic years, Charles was heralded for his own inventive compositions, however, by the time of the release of the instrumental jazz LP ''Genius + Soul = Jazz'' (1960) for ABC's subsidiary label Impulse!, Charles had virtually given up on writing original material and had begun to follow his eclectic impulses as an interpreter.

With his first hit single for ABC-Paramount, Charles received national acclaim and a Grammy Award for the Sid Feller-produced "Georgia on My Mind", originally written by composers Stuart Gorrell and Hoagy Carmichael, released as a single by Charles in 1960. The song served as Charles's first work with Feller, who arranged and conducted the recording. Charles also earned another Grammy for the follow-up "Hit the Road Jack", written by R&B; singer Percy Mayfield. By late 1961, Charles had expanded his small road ensemble to a full-scale big band, partly as a response to increasing royalties and touring fees, becoming one of the few black artists to crossover into mainstream pop with such a level of creative control. This success, however, came to a momentary halt in November 1961, as a police search of Charles's hotel room in Indianapolis, Indiana during a concert tour led to the discovery of heroin in his medicine cabinet. The case was eventually dropped, as the search lacked a proper warrant by the police, and Charles soon returned his focus on music and recording.

The 1962 album, ''Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music'' and its sequel ''Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music, Vol. 2'', helped to bring country into the mainstream of music. His version of the Don Gibson song, ''I Can't Stop Loving You'' topped the Pop chart for five weeks and stayed at No. 1 R&B; for ten weeks in 1962. It also gave him his only number one record in the UK. In 1962, he founded his own record label, Tangerine Records, which ABC-Paramount promoted and distributed. He also had major pop hits in 1963 with "Busted" (US No. 4) and ''Take These Chains From My Heart'' (US No. 8). With the rise of younger soul performers such as James Brown, Otis Redding and Motown singers such as Smokey Robinson, Marvin Gaye and its own blind artist, Stevie Wonder, Charles' successes on the pop and R&B; charts peaked after 1964 though he remained a huge concert draw.

Later years: 1967-2004[link]

By 1967, Charles' commercial success had begun peaking on both pop and R&B; charts though he would remain a concert draw both in the states and overseas. In 1965, Charles' career after being arrested for a third time for heroin halted after he agreed to go to rehab to avoid jail time. Charles kicked his habit at a clinic in Los Angeles. After spending a year on parole, Charles reemerged on the charts in 1966 with a series of hits composed with the fledgling team of Ashford & Simpson including the dance number, "I Don't Need No Doctor" (later covered in a hard rock style by British supergroup Humble Pie), "Let's Go Get Stoned", which became his first #1 R&B; hit in several years, and "Crying Time", which reached #6 on the pop chart and later helped Charles win a Grammy Award the following March.

In 1967, he had a top twenty hit with another ballad, "Here We Go Again". Charles' renewed chart success, however, proved to be short lived and by the late 1960s his music was rarely played on radio stations partly due to the rise of psychedelic rock and harder forms of rock and R&B; music and also due to Charles choosing to record pop standards and covers of then-modern day rock and soul hits as he had no desire to write due to him earning masters. Most of his recordings between 1966 and 1973 were either received well or poorly. Nonetheless, Charles continued to have an active recording career. Charles' 1972 album, ''Message from the People'', included his unique gospel-influenced version of "America the Beautiful". In 1974, he left ABC Records and recorded several albums on his own Crossover Records label. His 1975 recording of Stevie Wonder's hit, "Living for the City" later helped Charles win another Grammy.

In 1977, he reunited with Ahmet Ertegun and Jerry Wexler and re-signed to Atlantic Records where he recorded the album, ''True to Life''. However, the label had now begun focusing on rock acts and some of the label's prominent soul artists such as Aretha Franklin were starting to be neglected. Charles stayed with his old label until 1980. In November 1977 he appeared as the host of NBC's ''Saturday Night Live''. In April of 1979, Charles' version of "Georgia On My Mind" was proclaimed the state song of Georgia. An emotional Charles performed the song on the floor of the state legislature. Though he notably supported the civil rights movement and Martin Luther King, Jr. in 1960s, Charles would be criticized for performing at South Africa's Sun City resort in 1981 during an international boycott of its apartheid policy. In 1983, Charles signed a contract with Columbia Records and recorded a string of country albums. Charles also began having a string of country hits often with duet singers such as George Jones, Chet Atkins, B.J. Thomas, Mickey Gilley, Hank Williams, Jr. and lifelong friend Willie Nelson, for which he recorded the #1 country duet, "Seven Spanish Angels". After 1987, his Columbia contract ended and Charles returned to recording pop music after signing with Warner Bros. Records. Prior to the release of his first Warner release, ''Would You Believe'', Charles made a return on the R&B; charts with a cover of The Brothers Johnson's "I'll Be Good to You", a duet with his lifelong buddy Quincy Jones and singer Chaka Khan. The song hit number-one on the R&B; charts in 1990 and won Charles and Khan a Grammy for their dual work. Prior to this, Charles returned on the pop charts in another duet, with singer Billy Joel on the song, "Baby Grand" and in 1989, recorded a cover of the Southern All Stars' "Itoshi no Ellie", releasign it as "Ellie My Love" for a Japanese TV ad for Suntory releasing it in Japan where it reached #3 on its Oricon chart. Charles' 1993 album, ''My World'' became his first album in some time to reach the Billboard 200 and his cover of Leon Russell's "A Song for You" gave him a charted hit on the adult contemporary chart as well as his twelfth and final Grammy he would receive in his lifetime.

By the beginning of the 1980s, Charles would reach younger audiences by appearances in various films and TV shows. In 1980, he made a cameo on the film, ''The Blues Brothers''. While he never appeared on the show, Charles' version of "Night Time is the Right Time" was played during the popular "Cosby Show" episode, "Happy Anniversary". In 1985, he appeared among a slew of other popular musicians in the USA for Africa charity recording, "We Are the World". Charles' popularity increased among younger audiences in 1991 after he appeared where he popularized the catchphrase "You Got the Right One, Baby" The catchphrase came from a song that was composed by Kenny Ascher, Joseph C. Caro and Helary Jay Lipsitz.

Charles also appeared at two Presidential inaugurations in his lifetime. In 1985, he performed for Ronald Reagan's second inauguration, and in 1993 for Bill Clinton's first. In the late 1980s/early 1990s, Charles made appearances on the Super Dave Osbourne TV show, where he performed and appeared in a few vignettes where he was somehow driving a car, often as Super Dave's chauffeur. During the sixth season of ''Designing Women'', Charles sang "Georgia on My Mind", instead of the song being rendered instrumentally by other musicians as in the previous five seasons. He also appeared in 4 episodes of the popular TV comedy ''The Nanny'' in Seasons 4 & 5 (1997 & 1998) as 'Sammy', in one episode singing "My Yiddish Mamma" to December romance and later fiancee of character Gramma Yetta, played by veteran actress Ann Guilbert. From 2001-2002, Charles appeared in commercials for the New Jersey Lottery to promote its "For every dream, there's a jackpot" campaign.

In 2003, Ray Charles headlined the White House Correspondents Dinner in Washington, D.C. where the President, First Lady, Colin Powell and Condoleezza Rice attended. He also presented one of his greatest admirers, Van Morrison, with his award upon being inducted in the Songwriters Hall of Fame and the two sang Morrison's song "Crazy Love". This performance appears on Morrison's 2007 album, ''The Best of Van Morrison Volume 3''. In 2003 Charles performed "Georgia On My Mind" and "America the Beautiful" at a televised annual electronic media journalist banquet held in Washington, D.C. His final public appearance came on April 30, 2004, at the dedication of his music studio as a historic landmark in the city of Los Angeles.

Personal life[link]

Family[link]

Charles was married twice and had 12 children with nine different women. His first marriage to Eileen Williams was brief: July 31, 1951 to 1952. He had three children from his second marriage, to Della Beatrice Howard Robinson from April 5, 1955 to 1977. His long term girlfriend and partner at the time of his death was Norma Pinella.

A list of his children:

Born 1950: Evelyn Robinson (to Louise Mitchell)

Born 1955: Ray Charles Robinson, Jr. (to Della Robinson)

Born 1958: David Robinson (to Della Robinson)

Born 1959: Charles Wayne Robinson (to Margie Hendricks)

Born 1960: Reverend Robert Robinson (to Della Robinson)

Born 1961: Raenee Robinson (to Mae Mosely Lyles)

Born 1963: Sheila Raye Charles Robinson (to Sandra Jean Betts)

Born 1966: Alicia Robinson (unknown)

Born 1968: Alexandra Robinson (to Chantal Bertrand)

Born 1977: Vincent Robinson (to Arlette Kotchounian)

Born 1978: Robyn Robinson (to Gloria Moffett)

Born 1987: Ryan Corey Robinson (to Mary Anne den Bok)

Charles gave 10 of his 12 children checks for one million USD in December 2002 at a family luncheon, while the other two could not make it.

Substance abuse and legal issues[link]

On November 14, 1961, Charles was arrested on a narcotics charge in an Indiana hotel room, where he waited to perform. The detectives seized heroin, marijuana, and other items. Charles, then 31, stated that he had been a drug addict since the age of 16. While the case was dismissed because of the manner in which the evidence was obtained, Charles's situation did not improve until a few years later. Individuals such as Quincy Jones and Reverend Henry Griffin felt that those around Charles were responsible for his drug use.

By 1964 Charles' drug addiction caught up with him and he was arrested for possession of marijuana and heroin. Following a self-imposed stay at St. Francis Hospital in Lynwood, California, Charles received five years' probation. Charles responded to the saga of his drug use and reform with the songs "I Don't Need No Doctor", "Let's Go Get Stoned", and the release of his first album since having kicked his heroin addiction in 1966, ''Crying Time''.

Other interests[link]

Charles played chess using a special board with holes for the pieces and raised squares. Charles referred to Willie Nelson as "my chess partner" in a 1991 concert. In 2002, he played and lost to American Grandmaster and former U.S. Champion Larry Evans.

Death[link]

Charles died on June 10, 2004 at 11:35 a.m. of liver disease at his home in Beverly Hills, California, surrounded by family and friends. He was 73 years old. His body was interred in the Inglewood Park Cemetery.

His final album, ''Genius Loves Company'', released two months after his death, consists of duets with various admirers and contemporaries: B.B. King, Van Morrison, Willie Nelson, James Taylor, Gladys Knight, Michael McDonald, Natalie Cole, Elton John, Bonnie Raitt, Diana Krall, Norah Jones, and Johnny Mathis. The album won eight Grammy Awards, including five for Ray Charles for Best Pop Vocal Album, Album of the Year, Record of the Year and Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals for "Here We Go Again" with Norah Jones, and Best Gospel Performance for "Heaven Help Us All" with Gladys Knight; he also received nods for his duets with Elton John and B.B. King. The album included a version of Harold Arlen's "Over the Rainbow", sung as a duet by Charles and Johnny Mathis; this record was played at his memorial service.

Two more posthumous albums, ''Genius & Friends'' (2005) and ''Ray Sings, Basie Swings'' (2006), were released. ''Genius & Friends'' consisted of duets recorded from 1997 to 2005 with his choice of artists. ''Ray Sings, Basie Swings'' consists of archived vocals of Ray Charles from live mid-1970s performances added to new instrumental tracks specially recorded by the contemporary Count Basie Orchestra and other musicians. Charles's vocals recorded from the concert mixing board were added to new accompaniments to create a "fantasy concert" recording.

Legacy[link]

Charles possessed one of the most recognizable voices in American music. In the words of musicologist Henry Pleasants:

Sinatra, and Bing Crosby before him, had been masters of words. Ray Charles is a master of sounds. His records disclose an extraordinary assortment of slurs, glides, turns, shrieks, wails, breaks, shouts, screams and hollers, all wonderfully controlled, disciplined by inspired musicianship, and harnessed to ingenious subtleties of harmony, dynamics and rhythm... It is either the singing of a man whose vocabulary is inadequate to express what is in his heart and mind or of one whose feelings are too intense for satisfactory verbal or conventionally melodic articulation. He can’t tell it to you. He can’t even sing it to you. He has to cry out to you, or shout to you, in tones eloquent of despair — or exaltation. The voice alone, with little assistance from the text or the notated music, conveys the message.

Ray Charles is usually described as a baritone, and his speaking voice would suggest as much, as would the difficulty he experiences in reaching and sustaining the baritone's high E and F in a popular ballad. But the voice undergoes some sort of transfiguration under stress, and in music of gospel or blues character he can and does sing for measures on end in the high tenor range of A, B flat, B, C and ev in full voice, sometimes in an ecstatic head voice, sometimes in falsetto. In falsetto he continues up to E and F above high C. On one extraordinary record, "I’m Going Down to the River’ . . . he hits an incredible B flat . . . giving him an overall range, including the falsetto extension, of at least three octaves.

In 1979, Charles was one of the first of the Georgia State Music Hall of Fame to be recognized as a musician born in the state. Ray's version of "Georgia On My Mind" was made the official state song for Georgia. In 1981, he was given a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and was one of the first inductees to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame at its inaugural ceremony in 1986. He received the Kennedy Center Honors in 1986.

In 1987, he was awarded the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. In 1991, he was inducted to the Rhythm & Blues Foundation. In 1993, he was awarded the National Medal of Arts. In 1998 he was awarded the Polar Music Prize together with Ravi Shankar in Stockholm, Sweden. In 2004 he was inducted to the Jazz Hall of Fame, and inducted to the National Black Sports & Entertainment Hall of Fame. The Grammy Awards of 2005 were dedicated to Charles.

On December 7, 2007, Ray Charles Plaza was opened in Albany, Georgia, with a revolving, lighted bronze sculpture of Charles seated at a piano. Later that month, on December 26, 2007, Ray Charles was inducted into the Hit Parade Hall of Fame. He was also presented with the George and Ira Gershwin Award for Lifetime Musical Achievement, during the 1991 UCLA Spring Sing.

In 2003, Charles was awarded an honorary degree by Dillard University. Upon his death, he endowed a professorship of African-American culinary history at the school, which is the first such chair in the nation. A $20 million performing arts center at Morehouse College was named after Charles and was dedicated in September 2010.

The biopic ''Ray'', released in October 2004, portrays his life and career between 1930 and 1979 and stars Jamie Foxx as Charles. Foxx won the 2005 Academy Award for Best Actor for the role.

Discography[link]

Filmography[link]

''Swingin' Along'' (1961)

''Ballad in Blue'' (1964)

''The Big T.N.T. Show'' (1966) (documentary)

''The Blues Brothers'' (1980)

Who's The Boss (himself) 1987

''Limit Up'' (1989)

''Listen Up: The Lives of Quincy Jones'' (1990) (documentary)

''Love Affair'' (1994)

''Spy Hard'' (1996)

''The Nanny'' (1999) as Sammy

''The Extreme Adventures of Super Dave'' (2000)

''Blue's Big Musical Movie'' (2000)

''Ray'' (2004)

References[link]

Bibliography[link]

External links[link]

Article from the St. Augustine Record noting Charles' being on WFOY.

Ray Charles - Daily Telegraph obituary

Ray Charles at Songwriters Hall of Fame

Ray Charles autobiography: The Early Years 1930–1960

I Can't Stop Loving You: Ray Charles and Country Music - Past Exhibit at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum

Ray Charles's oral history video excerpts at the National Visionary Leadership Project

Category:1930 births Category:2004 deaths Category:ABC Records artists Category:African American musicians Category:African American singers Category:American blues pianists Category:American blues singers Category:American composers Category:American country singers Category:American gospel singers Category:American keyboardists Category:American male singers Category:American pop pianists Category:American rhythm and blues singers Category:American soul singers Category:American singer-songwriters Category:American soul musicians Category:Atlantic Records artists Category:Blind musicians Category:Blind bluesmen Category:Blues Hall of Fame inductees Category:Burials at Inglewood Park Cemetery Category:Cancer deaths in California Category:Deaths from liver cancer Category:Grammy Award winners Category:Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award winners Category:Musicians from Georgia (U.S. state) Category:Musicians from Florida Category:Kennedy Center honorees Category:People from Albany, Georgia Category:People from Madison County, Florida Category:People from the Greater Los Angeles Area Category:People self-identifying as substance abusers Category:Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees‎ Category:Rhythm and blues pianists Category:Songwriters from Florida Category:Songwriters from Georgia (U.S. state) Category:Urban blues musicians Category:Georgia Music Hall of Fame inductees

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name	Oscar Emmanuel Peterson
landscape	yes
background	non_vocal_instrumentalist
birth name	Oscar Emmanuel Peterson
birth date	August 15, 1925
origin	Montreal, Quebec, Canada
death date	December 23, 2007
Death place	Mississauga, Ontario, Canada
instrument	Piano
genre	Jazz
occupation	Pianist, composer, vocalist
years active	1945–2007
label	Mercury, MPS, Pablo, Telarc, Verve
website	www.oscarpeterson.com }}

Oscar Emmanuel Peterson (August 15, 1925 – December 23, 2007) was a Canadian jazz pianist and composer. He was called the "Maharaja of the keyboard" by Duke Ellington, "O.P." by his friends. He released over 200 recordings, won eight Grammy Awards, and received other numerous awards and honours over the course of his career. He is considered to have been one of the greatest jazz pianists of all time, having played thousands of live concerts to audiences worldwide in a career lasting more than 60 years.

Biography[link]

Peterson was born to immigrants from the West Indies; his father worked as a porter for Canadian Pacific Railway. Peterson grew up in the neighbourhood of Little Burgundy in Montreal, Quebec. It was in this predominantly black neighbourhood that he found himself surrounded by the jazz culture that flourished in the early 20th century. At the age of five, Peterson began honing his skills with the trumpet and piano. However, a bout of tuberculosis at age seven prevented him from playing the trumpet again, and so he directed all his attention to the piano. His father, Daniel Peterson, an amateur trumpeter and pianist, was one of his first music teachers, and his sister Daisy taught young Oscar classical piano. Young Oscar was persistent at practising scales and classical etudes daily, and thanks to such arduous practice he developed his astonishing virtuosity.

As a child, Peterson also studied with Hungarian-born pianist Paul de Marky, a student of István Thomán, who was himself a pupil of Franz Liszt, so his training was predominantly based on classical piano. Meanwhile he was captivated by traditional jazz and learned several ragtime pieces and especially the boogie-woogie. At that time Peterson was called "the Brown Bomber of the Boogie-Woogie."

At age nine Peterson played piano with control that impressed professional musicians. For many years his piano studies included four to six hours of practice daily. Only in his later years did he decrease his daily practice to just one or two hours. In 1940, at age fourteen, Peterson won the national music competition organized by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. After that victory, he dropped out of school and became a professional pianist working for a weekly radio show, and playing at hotels and music halls.

Influences [link]

Some of the artists who influenced Peterson's musicianship during the earlier type of years were Teddy Wilson, Nat "King" Cole, James P. Johnson and Art Tatum, to whom many have tried to compare Peterson in later years. One of his first exposures to Tatum's musical talents came early in his teen years when his father played Art Tatum's Tiger Rag for him, and Peterson was so intimidated by what he heard that he became disillusioned about his own playing, to the extent of refusing to play the piano at all for several weeks. In his own words, "Tatum scared me to death" and Peterson was "never cocky again" about his mastery at the piano. Tatum was a model for Peterson's musicianship during the 1940s and 1950s. Tatum and Peterson eventually became good friends, although Peterson was always shy about being compared with Tatum and rarely played the piano in Tatum's presence.

Peterson has also credited his sister Daisy Sweeney — a noted piano teacher in Montreal who also taught several other noted Canadian jazz musicians — with being an important teacher and influence on his career. Under his sister's tutelage, Peterson expanded into classical piano training and broadened his range while mastering the core classical pianism from scales to preludes and fugues by Johann Sebastian Bach.

Building on Art Tatum's pianism and aesthetics, Peterson also absorbed Tatum's musical influences, notably from piano concertos by Sergei Rachmaninoff. Rachmaninoff's harmonizations, as well as direct quotations from his 2nd Piano Concerto, are thrown in here and there in many recordings by Peterson, including his work with the most familiar formulation of the Oscar Peterson Trio, with bassist Ray Brown and guitarist Herb Ellis. During the 1960s and 1970s Peterson made numerous trio recordings highlighting his piano performances that reveal more of his eclectic style that absorbed influences from various genres of jazz, popular and classical music.

Norman Granz[link]

An important step in his career was joining impresario Norman Granz's labels (especially Verve) and Granz's "Jazz at the Philharmonic" project. Granz discovered Peterson in a peculiar manner. As the impresario was being taken to the Montreal airport by cab, the radio was playing a live broadcast of Peterson at a local night club. Granz was so smitten by what he heard that he ordered the driver to take him to the club so that he could meet the pianist. In 1949, Granz introduced Peterson at a Carnegie Hall ''Jazz at the Philharmonic'' show in New York.

So was born a lasting relationship and Granz remained Peterson's manager for most of his career. One poignant illustration: in the last two years of his life, Peterson doted on a boxer dog that he named "Smedley," Peterson's nickname for Granz. On the day of Peterson's death, Smedley lay on the bed with him and would not leave.

This was more than a managerial relationship; Peterson praised Granz for standing up for him and other black jazz musicians in the segregationist south of the 1950s and 1960s. For example, in the Canadian Broadcasting Company's two-part documentary video ''Music in the Key of Oscar'', Peterson tells how Granz stood up to a gun-toting southern policeman who wanted to stop the trio from using "white-only" taxis. The entire documentary is a fascinating account of Peterson's life from his Montreal childhood, to his career, to his family relations and includes interviews with Peterson, Herbie Hancock, Quincy Jones and Ella Fitzgerald. Its narrative ends in 1993, just before Peterson's debilitating stroke.

In the course of his career, Peterson developed a reputation as a technically brilliant and melodically inventive jazz pianist and became a regular on Canadian radio from the 1940s. His name was already recognized in the United States. However, his 1949 debut at Carnegie Hall, New York City, arranged by Norman Granz, was uncredited; owing to union restrictions, his appearance could not be billed.

Through Granz's ''Jazz at the Philharmonic'' he was able to play with the major jazz artists of the time. Some of his musical associates included Ray Brown, Coleman Hawkins, Roy Eldridge, Ben Webster, Milt Jackson, Herb Ellis, Barney Kessel, Ed Thigpen, Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen, Louis Armstrong, Stéphane Grappelli, Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holiday, Clark Terry, Joe Pass, Anita O'Day, Fred Astaire, Count Basie, Dizzy Gillespie, and Stan Getz.

Duets[link]

Peterson made numerous duo performances and recordings with bassists Ray Brown, Sam Jones, and Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen, guitarists Joe Pass, Irving Ashby, Herb Ellis, and Barney Kessel, pianists Count Basie, Herbie Hancock, Benny Green, and Keith Emerson, trumpeters Clark Terry and Louis Armstrong, and many other important jazz players. His 1950s duo recordings with bassist Ray Brown mark the formation of one of the longest lasting partnerships in the history of jazz. Peterson's 1970's duo with guitarist Joe Pass has been considered one of the highest standards in the genre.

According to pianist/educator Mark Eisenman, some of Peterson's best playing was as an understated accompanist to singer Ella Fitzgerald and trumpeter Roy Eldridge.

Trio[link]

Peterson redefined the jazz trio by bringing musicianship of all three members to the highest level. The definitive trio with Ray Brown and Herb Ellis was, in his own words "the most stimulating" and productive setting for public performances as well as in studio recordings. In the early 1950s, Peterson began performing with Ray Brown and Charlie Smith as the Oscar Peterson Trio. Shortly afterward the drummer Smith was replaced by guitarist Irving Ashby, formerly of the Nat King Cole Trio. Ashby, who was a swing guitarist, was soon replaced by Barney Kessel. Kessel tired of touring after a year, and was succeeded by Herb Ellis. As Ellis was white, Peterson's trios were racially integrated, a controversial move at the time that was fraught with difficulties with segregationist whites and blacks.

''Oscar Peterson Trio at the Stratford Shakespearean Festival'' is widely regarded as the landmark album in Peterson's career, and one of the most influential trios in jazz. Their last recording, ''On the Town with the Oscar Peterson Trio'', recorded live at the Town Tavern in Toronto, captured a remarkable degree of emotional as well as musical understanding between three players. All three musicians were equal contributors involved in a highly sophisticated improvisational interplay. When Herb Ellis left the group in 1958, Peterson and Brown believed they could not adequately replace Ellis. Ellis was replaced by drummer Ed Thigpen in 1959. Brown and Thigpen worked with Peterson on his famous albums ''Night Train'' and the successful ''Canadiana Suite''. Brown and Thigpen left in 1965 and were replaced by bassist Sam Jones and drummer Louis Hayes (and later, drummer Bobby Durham). The trio performed together until 1970. Their albums included pop songs such as The Beatles' "Yesterday" and "Eleanor Rigby". In the fall of 1970, Peterson's trio were successful in their album ''Tristeza on Piano'' which was a eulogy of the recently deceased Jimi Hendrix and Janis Joplin, the Monterey Pop Festival stars. This record was released on CD in 1985, went out of print, and then came back remastered in 2005 as an anniversary edition. Selections from this trio's work have been incidentally used for Japanese anime and other live action films. Jones and Durham left in 1970.

In the 1970s Peterson formed another landmark trio with virtuoso guitarist Joe Pass and Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen on bass. This trio emulated the success of the 1950s trio with Brown and Ellis, gave acclaimed performances at numerous festivals, and made best-selling recordings, most notably the 1978 double album recorded live in Paris. In 1974 Oscar added British drummer, Martin Drew, and this quartet toured and recorded extensively worldwide. Pass said in a 1976 interview: "The only guys I've heard who come close to total mastery of their instruments are Art Tatum and Peterson".

Quartet[link]

A quartet was a less permanent setting for Peterson, after the trio or duo, as it was hard to find equally powerful musicians available for a tightly knit arrangement with him. After the loss of Ellis his next trio eventually turned into a quartet after he added a drummer — first Gene Gammage for a brief time, then Ed Thigpen. In this group Peterson became the dominant soloist. Later members of the group were Louis Hayes, Bobby Durham, Ray Price, Sam Jones, George Mraz, Martin Drew and Lorne Lofsky.

Peterson often formed a quartet by adding a fourth player to his existing trios. He was open to experimental collaborations with jazz stars, such as saxophonist Ben Webster, trumpeter Clark Terry, and vibraphonist Milt Jackson among others. In 1961, the Peterson trio with Jackson recorded a highly praised album, ''Very Tall''.

Further career[link]

From the late 1950s, when Peterson gained worldwide recognition as one of the leading pianists in jazz, he played in a variety of settings: solo, duo, trio, quartet, small bands, and big bands. However, his solo piano recitals, as well as his solo piano recordings were rare, until he chose to make a series of solo albums titled "Exclusively for my friends." These solo piano sessions, made for the Musik Produktion Schwarzwald (MPS) label, were Peterson's response to the emergence of such stars as Bill Evans and McCoy Tyner.

Some cognoscenti assert that Peterson's best recordings were made for MPS in the late 1960s and early 1970s. For some years subsequently he recorded for Granz's Pablo Records after the label was founded in 1973. In the 1990s and 2000s he recorded several albums accompanied by a combo for Telarc.

In the 1980s he played successfully in a duo with pianist Herbie Hancock. In the late 1980s and 1990s, after the stroke, Peterson made performances and recordings with his protégé Benny Green.

Composer and teacher[link]

Peterson wrote pieces for piano, for trio, for quartet and for big band. He also wrote several songs, and made recordings as a singer. Probably his best-known compositions are "Canadiana Suite" and "Hymn to Freedom," the latter composed in the 1960s and inspired by the U.S. civil rights movement.

Peterson taught piano and improvisation in Canada, mainly in Toronto. With associates, he started and headed the Advanced School of Contemporary Music in Toronto for five years during the 1960s, but it closed because concert touring called him and his associates away, and it did not have government funding. Later, he mentored the York University jazz program and was the Chancellor of the entire university for several years in the early 1990s. He also published his original jazz piano etudes for practice. However, he asked his students to study the music of Johann Sebastian Bach, especially ''The Well-Tempered Clavier'', the ''Goldberg Variations'', and ''The Art of Fugue'', considering these piano pieces essential for every serious pianist. Pianists Benny Green and Oliver Jones were among his students.

Stroke, later years and death[link]

Peterson had arthritis since his youth, and in later years could hardly button his shirt. Never slender, his weight increased to , hindering his mobility. He had hip replacement surgery in the early 1990s. Although the surgery was successful, his mobility was still inhibited. Somewhat later, in 1993, Peterson suffered a serious stroke that weakened his left side and sidelined him for two years. Also in 1993 incoming Prime Minister and longtime Peterson fan and friend Jean Chrétien offered Peterson the position of Lieutenant-Governor of Ontario, but according to Chrétien he declined, citing the health problems from his recent stroke.

After the stroke, Peterson recuperated for about two years. He gradually regained mobility and some control of his left hand. However, his virtuosity was never restored to the original level, and his playing after his stroke relied principally on his right hand. In 1995 he returned to public performances on a limited basis, and also made several live and studio recordings for Telarc. In 1997 he received a Grammy for Lifetime Achievement and an International Jazz Hall of Fame Award, another indication that Peterson continued to be regarded as one of the greatest jazz musicians ever to play. Canadian politician, friend, and amateur pianist Bob Rae contends that "a one-handed Oscar was better than just about anyone with two hands".

In 2003, Peterson recorded the DVD ''A Night in Vienna'' for Verve, with Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen (NHØP), Ulf Wakenius and Martin Drew. He continued to tour the U.S. and Europe, though maximally one month a year, with a couple of days' rest between concerts to recover his strength. His accompanists consisted of Ulf Wakenius (guitar), NHØP or David Young (bass), and Alvin Queen (drums), all leaders of their own groups.

Peterson's health declined rapidly in 2007. He had to cancel his performance at the 2007 Toronto Jazz Festival and his attendance at a June 8, 2007 Carnegie Hall all-star performance in his honour, owing to illness. On December 23, 2007, Peterson died of kidney failure at his home in Mississauga, Ontario. He left seven children, his fourth wife Kelly, and their daughter, Celine (born 1991).

Awards and recognition[link]

Musical awards and recognition[link]

''Begone Dull Care'' is an abstract film presentation of Peterson's music, released in 1949.

His work earned him eight Grammy awards over the years and he was elected to the Canadian Music Hall of Fame in 1978. He also belongs to the Juno Awards Hall of Fame and the Canadian Jazz and Blues Hall of Fame.

Peterson received the first Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Achievement Award from Black Theatre Workshop (1986), Roy Thomson Award (1987), a Toronto Arts Award for lifetime achievement (1991), the Governor General's Performing Arts Award (1992), the Glenn Gould Prize (1993), the award of the International Society for Performing Artists (1995), the Loyola Medal of Concordia University (1997), the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award (1997), the Praemium Imperiale World Art Award (1999), the UNESCO Music Prize (2000), the Toronto Musicians' Association Musician of the Year award (2001), and an honorary LLD from the University of the West Indies (2006).

In 1999, Concordia University in Montreal renamed their Loyola-campus concert hall Oscar Peterson Concert Hall in his honour.

In 2005, Peterson celebrated his 80th birthday at the HMV flagship store in Toronto, where a crowd of about 200 gathered to celebrate with him. Long time admirer, and fellow Canadian Diana Krall, sang "Happy Birthday" to him and also performed a vocal version of one of Peterson's songs "When Summer Comes". The lyrics for this version were written by Elvis Costello, Krall's husband. Canada Post unveiled a commemorative postage stamp in his honour. The event was covered by a live radio broadcast by Toronto jazz station, JAZZ.FM.

Peterson received the BBC-Radio Lifetime Achievement Award, London, England.

"Technique is something you use to make your ideas listenable," he once told jazz writer Len Lyons. "You learn to play the instrument so you have a musical vocabulary, and you practice to get your technique to the point you need to express yourself, depending on how heavy your ideas are."

"Some may criticize Peterson for not advancing, for finding his niche and staying with it for an entire career, but while he may not be the most revolutionary artist in jazz, the documentary ''Music in the Key of Oscar'' demonstrates that breaking down barriers can be accomplished in more ways than one." "He was a crystallizer, rather than an innovator."

""His hands could do things few piano players can do," said pianist Bill King who studied with Peterson at his music school. Because Peterson was a big man — six feet three inches — he could stretch his hands over a keyboard in a way few musicians can match.

Ray Charles, in ''Martin Scorsese Presents the Blues - Piano Blues'' (2003), said "Oscar Peterson is a mother fucking piano player!"

Recognition in Canada[link]

While Peterson was recognized as a great jazz pianist both at home in Canada and internationally, he was also regarded in Canada as a distinguished public figure. His notable personage is evident in the acclaim and awards he received, particularly in the latter two decades of his life.

He was made an Officer of the Order of Canada (the country's highest civilian state order for talent and service) in 1972, and promoted to Companion of the order (the highest degree of merit and humanity), in 1984. He was also a member of the Order of Ontario, a Chevalier of the National Order of Quebec, and an officer of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres of France.

From 1991 to 1994, Peterson was chancellor of York University in Toronto. The chancellor is the titular head of the university. Weeks after his death, the Province of Ontario announced a C$4 million scholarship for the "Oscar Peterson Chair" for Jazz Performance at York University with an additional C$1 million to be awarded annually in music scholarships to underprivileged York students in tribute to Peterson.

Peterson's niece, television journalist Sylvia Sweeney, produced an award-winning documentary film, ''In the Key of Oscar'', about Peterson in 1992.

Unlike most other jazz musicians, Oscar Peterson was networked with Canadian elites in the later years of his life. For example, former Ontario premier Bob Rae recalled that in 2007, himself, Ontario Chief Justice Roy McMurtry, and former Ontario premier Bill Davis celebrated McMurtry's retirement with Peterson, his wife, and their wives.

Peterson received honorary doctorates from many Canadian universities: Carleton University, Queen's University, Concordia University, McMaster University, Mount Allison University, the University of Victoria, the University of Western Ontario, York University, the University of Toronto, and the Université Laval, as well as from Northwestern University and Niagara University in the United States.

In 2004, the City of Toronto named the courtyard of the Toronto-Dominion Centre ''Oscar Peterson Square''.

In 2005, the Peel District School Board in suburban Toronto opened the Oscar Peterson school in Mississauga, Ontario, two miles from his home. Peterson said, "This is a most unexpected and moving tribute." He visited the school several times and donated electronic musical equipment to it. Soon after Peterson's death, the University of Toronto Mississauga opened a major student residence in March 2008 as "Oscar Peterson Hall".

Former Canadian prime minister Jean Chrétien wanted in 1993 to put Peterson forward to the Governor General of Canada for appointment to the post of Lieutenant Governor of Ontario, but Peterson felt that his health could not stand up to the many ceremonial duties that this position would require. "He was the most famous Canadian in the world," said Chrétien. Chrétien also said that Nelson Mandela glowed when meeting Peterson. "It was very emotional. They were both moved to meet each other. These were two men with humble beginnings who rose to very illustrious levels."

A major memorial concert, held on January 12, 2008, filled the 2500-seat Roy Thomson Hall in Toronto. People had queued for more than three hours to get in. Governor General Michaëlle Jean reported at the concert that "thousands" more could not get in. Among the performers were Grégory Charles, Herbie Hancock, Quincy Jones, Phil Nimmons and singers Audrey Morris and Nancy Wilson. The "Oscar Peterson" quartet played key pieces; they are Monty Alexander, Jeff Hamilton, Ulf Wakenius and Dave Young. All toured with Peterson during his late "one-handed" period" except Alexander. The Nathaniel Dett Chorale, University of Toronto Gospel Choir and Sharon Riley & the Faith Chorale, under the direction of Andrew Craid along with opera soprano Measha Brueggergosman closed the show, singing an excerpt from Peterson's "Hymn to Freedom". The show was made available for download.

In 2008, a young pianist named Connor Derraugh in Winnipeg, Manitoba wrote a tribute song to Oscar Peterson. He would later play it at an Oscar Peterson tribute concert at a local church and receive a standing ovation. The event was broadcasted on CBC Radio.

A movement was begun on Facebook to rename the Lionel-Groulx Metro station, a transfer station between Montreal's Green Line and Orange Line, in honour of Oscar Peterson. The Montreal Transit Corporation, however, has refused to end its moratorium on renaming Metro stations. The city's policy on landmark tributes is to wait at least a year after a public figure's death.

An Ontario school named Oscar Peterson Public School was opened in Stouffville in the Regional Municipality of York on 30 April 2009, and commenced operation in the 2009-2010 school year.

Grammy Awards[link]

1974 Best Jazz Performance by a Group ''The Trio'' - Oscar Peterson, Joe Pass and Niels- Henning Orsted Pedersen

1977 Best Jazz Performance by a Soloist ''The Giants'' - Oscar Peterson

1978 Best Jazz Instrumental Performance, Soloist ''Oscar Peterson Jam – Montreux '77''

1979 Best Jazz Instrumental Performance, Soloist ''Oscar Peterson and The Trumpet Kings – Jousts'' - Oscar Peterson

1990 Best Jazz Instrumental Performance, Group ''The Legendary Oscar Peterson Trio Live at the Blue Note''

1990 Best Jazz Instrumental Performance, Soloist ''The Legendary Oscar Peterson Trio Live at the Blue Note''

1991 Best Jazz Instrumental Performance, Group ''Saturday Night at the Blue Note''

1997 Lifetime Achievement Award Instrumental Soloist Lifetime Achievement

Honorary Degrees Conferred[link]

1973 Carleton University - Doctor of Laws

1976 Queen's University - Doctor of Laws

1979 Concordia University - Doctor of Laws

1980 Mount Alison, Sackville N.B. - Doctor of Music

1981 McMaster University - Doctor of Laws

1981 University of Victoria, B.C. - Doctor of Laws

1982 York University - Doctor of Letters

1983 Northwestern University, Illinois - Doctor of Fine Arts

1985 University of Toronto - Doctor of Laws

1985 Laval University - Doctor of Music

1991 York University: Installed as Chancellor by the Board of Governors

1994 York University: Chancellor Emeritus

1994 Western Ontario Conservatory of Music - Licentiate in Music Diploma

1994 University of British Columbia - Doctor of Laws

1996 Niagara University, New York - Doctor of Fine Arts

1999 University of Western Ontario - Doctor of Laws

Instruments [link]

Bösendorfer pianos - exclusively in the 1990s and 2000s

Yamaha - Acoustic and Disklavier- 1998-2006 in Canada (Touring and Recording)

Steinway & Sons pianos - most performances from 1940s through the 1980s, some recordings.

Baldwin pianos - some performances in the USA, some recordings.

C. Bechstein Pianofortefabrik pianos - some performances and recordings in Europe.

Clavichord - on album "Porgy and Bess" with Joe Pass

Fender electric piano - several recordings.

Synthesizer - several recordings.

Hammond organ - some live performances and several recordings.

Vocals - some live performances and several recordings.

Discography[link]

See also[link]

Music of Canada

References[link]

External links[link]

Alan Hustak, ''Jazz Legend, Oscar Peterson, dies at 82,'' The Montreal Gazette, 24 December 2007

Canadian Broadcasting Corporation full obituary, December 24, 2007

CBC Digital Archives: Oscar Peterson: A Jazz Giant

Oscar Peterson postage stamp

Jazz Giant The Oscar Peterson Discography

John Fordham, ''Oscar Peterson (obituary),'' The Guardian, 25 December 2007

Live performance photographs Jazz Alley, Seattle, 29 June 2004

NPR">Marian McPartland and Oscar Peterson on NPR

Oscar Peterson video interview in which his passion for photography is discussed

Oscar Peterson, A Portrait, 2002

Oscar Peterson on Jazz Police

Oscar Peterson's Concert Hall

Oscar Peterson entry at the Jazz Discography Project

Oscar Peterson: A Jazz Sensation—A Virtual Exhibition from Library and Archives Canada

Oscar Peterson Tribute: Feelings from the Heart. From The Living Arts Centre, February 14, 2008.

''Oscar Peterson (Obituary),'' The Telegraph, 26 December 2007

''Oscar Peterson (obituary),'' The Times, 26 December 2007

Steve Voce, ''Oscar Peterson: Virtuoso pianist who dominated jazz piano in the second half of the 20th century (obituary),'' The Independent, 26 December 2007

Lesson on Oscar Peterson's blues piano style

Oscar Peterson transcriptions'' December 2010

Category:1925 births Category:2007 deaths Category:Bebop pianists Category:Black Canadian musicians Category:Canadian jazz composers Category:Canadian jazz pianists Category:Canadian Music Hall of Fame inductees Category:Canadian people of Caribbean descent Category:Chancellors of York University Category:Companions of the Order of Canada Category:Deaths from renal failure Category:Fellows of the Royal Conservatory of Music Category:Grammy Award winners Category:Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award winners Category:Knights of the National Order of Quebec Category:Composers awarded knighthoods Category:Musicians awarded knighthoods Category:Mainstream jazz pianists Category:Members of the Order of Ontario Category:Mercury Records artists Category:The Royal Conservatory of Music alumni Category:Verve Records artists Category:Telarc Records artists Category:MPS Records artists Category:Pablo Records artists Category:York University Category:Anglophone Quebec people Category:Musicians from Montreal Category:Juno Award winners

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