The Touch of Ivory

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Years ago I wrote an assay in college about Ray Charles and Stevie Wonder. I grew up listening to their music and have always admired both of these performing artist. Their talented abilities not only amazing, but they are also an inspiration to me. I named the title The Touch of Ivory. So since I had kept the assay, I thought I would share some of it with you. The Touch of Ivory Throughout the centuries there have been many outstanding musicians and composers. There maybe many performing artist with some type of disability, such as blindness, hearing loss or even a debilitating illness, but there are just a few that have ever been as successful as Mozart, Beethoven, Ray Charles, or Stevie Wonder. Even though Mozart and Beethoven are Centuries apart from Ray Charles and Stevie Wonder, all of them have some thing in common. All four processes the gift of being able to compose music, play different types of instruments and each one also had or has some type of impairment. The Gifted Talent and disabilities of Mozart and Beethoven: Mozart started his musical career at an early age, he was considered to be a creative and cognitive genius, he could write down a song note for note after hearing it just one time. Although there is no compelling evidence, it is believed that Mozart may have been mildly autistic. He only lived to be 35, but even in his last year despite his declining health he was still capable of creating the greatest sort of masterpieces. Beethoven suffered from a hearing impairment, but his growing deafness still did not stop him from being able to compose. He was able to compose even without being able to hear external sound because he possessed an exceptional "inner ear". Over a century later two more astonishing composer have also emerged with a unique and talented gift, Ray Charles and Stevie Wonder. Ray Charles and Stevie Wonder are two outstanding performers,which have achieved many outstanding things in their lives, what sets them apart from other performers, is the fact that both of them are blind. Not only were they different because of their blindness, there were also Jim Crow laws that set them apart from the white performers and being able to play for a white audience. Ray Charles Ray Charles Robinson was born in Albany Georgia, Sept,23,1930 and raised in Greenville South Carolina, in a small part of town called Jellyroll, were mostly tar-paper shacks stood. Everyone in the community called him RC and even before he was old enough to start school, those that knew him were amazed by his intelligence. At an early age he began to demonstrate unusual interest in and aptitude for music, by the time he was three he would sneak Wiley Pitman"s Cafe and sit on his lap so he could try to play the piano. In 1935 Ray Charles had lost almost all of his sight, years later it would be determined that congenital juvenile glaucoma had caused his blindness. Since hes mother was not in very good health and knew she would not be around long enough to help raise her son, she tried to make sure he was independent as he possibly could be. Even though he was blind, he still did his chores, such as chop wood, scrub floors and pump water. In order for him to receive a better education, with help from others, his mother sent him to a Deaf and Blind school in Florida, where he was taught the classical piano style of such composers as Mozart and Beethoven. Ray Charles knew by the time he was eight, that he wanted to become a great musician. From 1945 to 1950 RC played in bars, doing an imitation of Nat King Cole and Charles Brown. He became known to the world as Ray Charles in 1950. In 1952 Ray Charles signed on with Atlantic Records and got his first big break in 1955 with the hit song "I Got a Woman". He stayed with Atlantic Records until 1959 , producing a lot of hit recorders during this time. Throughout his career Ray Charles sang both Rhythm & Blues and County Music, and produced a string of hits. During his career he won 12 Grammy's, received the Kennedy Center Honors, The Grammy Lifetime Achievement award and was also inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. On June 10, 2004 Ray Charles died from acute liver disease at the age of 73. During his career Ray Charles has been a great inspiration to many people, including Stevie Wonder who also grew to become an inspiring performer himself. Stevie Wonder On May 13, 1950, a child was born that would follow in Ray Charles's footsteps. Stevland Judkins Morris was born in Michigan and has been blind since shortly after his birth. By the time he was 11 he demonstrated a gift for piano, harmonica, and the drums. Stevland was sighed with Motown after being brought to the attention of Berry Gordy and became known as Little Stevie Wonder and has produced hit after hit. Over the years Stevie Wonder also has become more involved in polities, played for a number of benefits and has also made public servce announcement. Throughout his career Stevie Wonder has been given a huge amount of award, which include 15 Grammy's, Lifetime Achievement Award, Distinguished Service Award, and inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Just like Ray Charles, Stevie Wonder has been a great inspiration to many people throughout his career. Ray Charles and Stevie Wonder have been an inspiration to many people, including myself. Many People have considered them as being a Genus because of their ability to be able to hear the right notes being played or to compose music without making a mistake. What really amazes me is how a blind person has to learn to play the piano. According to Ray Charles,learning to play the piano is difficult for a blind student, to learn a piece student has to play the piano's left-handed part while reading the Braille with their right hand, then switch to the other side and do the same thing. After learning each side they combine the two, because they cannot read the music as they play, they have to learn the bars and then play it from memory. Also, the fact that Ray Charles was able to learn to ride a bike after he was blind, or tell were a door was just by the hollow sound that it made is also amazing. Conclusion Because of the influence and great determination from each of these performers, both have paved the road for future generations to come. By studying both Ray Charles and Stevie wonder's life and careers, it can help a person to understand that with enough strength and perseverance, we can accomplish many things throughout our lives. I know this is long, I hope someone finds it interesting. I also want to add, since I did not add the references while writing this, all information in the assay came for the book on Ray Charles, the Biography Channel website on Stevie Wonder, and music book for Mozart and Beethoven.