May 21, 2013

Billy Osborn and Ray Charles in the Recording Studio

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*International recording artist Billy Osborne’s irrepressible vocals, poetic lyrics, and evocative musicianship are a faint reflection of the remarkable gifts that characterize the Providence, Rhode Island, native son. Billy spent the early part of his illustrious career enchanting music lovers as a key percussionist for some of the greatest jazz musicians of our time, including [...]




Ray Charles Foundation Donates $3 Million to Morehouse

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*During Morehouse’s 25th Annual “A Candle in the Dark” fundraising gala over the weekend, the Ray Charles Foundation stunned the room by announcing their donation of $3 million to the college. “I know that Ray Charles had a long-standing relationship with Morehouse based on professionalism, integrity and honesty,” said Valerie Ervin, president of The Ray [...]




Ray Charles Foundation to Appeal Heirs’ Court Win

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*The Ray Charles Foundation says it will appeal the decision of the United States District Court to allow some of the late singer’s children to reclaim copyrights on about 60 of his best-known compositions. As previously reported, U.S. District Judge Audrey Collins threw out a number of claims that the foundation had filed against the [...]




Ray Charles’ Children Win Copyright Dispute

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*Seven of Ray Charles’ children have prevailed against the Ray Charles Foundation’s legal effort to prevent them from reclaiming copyrights on about 60 of his best-known compositions, reports Variety. U.S. District Judge Audrey Collins threw out a number of claims that the singer’s namesake foundation had filed against the children after they filed termination notices [...]




Richard Pryor, Whitney Houston LPs in Grammy Hall of Fame

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*Recordings by Richard Pryor, Whitney Houston, James Brown and Ray Charles are among the 27 that will be added  to the Grammy Hall of Fame this year for its 40th anniversary. Charles’ “Hit the Road Jack,” Brown’s “I Feel Good” and Houston’s self-titled 1985 will join other historic recordings in the Hall, including Richard Pryor’s [...]




Ray Charles’ Music Publishers Win $6.6 Million Suit

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*Publishers of Ray Charles’ “Georgia on My Mind” won a lawsuit against LiveUniverse, Inc. for posting the lyrics of the song online. Founded by Brad Greenspan, a co-founder of Myspace, LiveUniverse has to cough up $6.6 million to Warner Chappell Music, Peermusic, and Bug Music for copyright infringement. Bummer. The Hollywood Reporter says that on [...]




Lil Wayne Reaches Billboard Hot 100 Milestone

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*Lil Wayne has just set a record on Billboard. [SUBSCRIBE TO EURWEB's RSS FEED] Thanks to the birthday boy’s appearance on Game’s new song “Celebration,” which debuted at #82 this week, the rapper now has the highest number of entries on the publication’s Hot 100 chart – at 109. He surpasses the 108 posted by [...]




Ray Charles’ Grandson Auditions for ‘X Factor’

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*Nestled among the 5,000 plus hopefuls who auditioned for “The X Factor” in Greensboro, North Carolina on Tuesday was a young man with a very famous grandpa. [SUBSCRIBE TO EURWEB's RSS FEED] An on-set source told The Hollywood Reporter, “This guy came on and told the judges a story about how his grandmother was in [...]




Ray Charles’ Children Sued by Singer’s Estate

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*Seven of Ray Charles’ children have been sued by members of the late singer’s charity foundation, reports CNN. Executives behind The Ray Charles Foundation claim they were named the sole benefactors, with Charles setting up a $500,000 trust for each of his kids in exchange for a guarantee that they “relinquished and waived any further [...]




‘Playboy Club’ Taps Saadiq as Sam Cooke; Colon as Ray Charles

(L-R) Amber Heard as Maureen, Naturi Naughton as Brenda, Leah Renee as Alice

*NBC’s “The Playboy Club” has included Raphael Saadiq and the winner of “The Voice” on the list of contemporary musical acts portraying stars of the late 1950s and early ’60s during the season. Javier Colon, who took first place on NBC’s singing competition series this summer, will portray Ray Charles in an upcoming episode, singing [...]




‘Behind The Shades’ (Review of Book By Ray Charles’ Daughter)

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*In an aborted attempt to get the daughter of the late musical legend Ray Charles, Sheila Jean Robinson, to attend the 7th Annual Diamond Literary Festival “Authors Dinner Cruise” in San Diego, I have been provided a fascinating look into an icon, through Robinson’s book, “Behind the Shades.” Robinson was to participate in a book [...]




Producer of Ray Charles Musical Sues Investor for Fraud

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*A producer of the Oscar-nominated film “Ray” who was planning to bring the story of Ray Charles to Broadway has filed a lawsuit claiming the production’s primary investor committed fraud. In a lawsuit filed in Los Angeles Superior Court, Stuart Benjamin says that Maurice Grant promised him $9 million in several installments to get “Ray [...]




Ray Charles Foundation Sues Ray Jr. over Photo

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*Ray Charles Foundation has filed a lawsuit against the late singer’s son over a photo he chose for his recently-released book, “You Don’t Know Me: Reflections of My Father, Ray Charles.” [Pictured above.] The lawsuit, filed Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles against Ray Charles Robinson, Jr. and Random House, begins “This is [...]




Video: Jason Derulo’s ‘Georgia’ Blasted by TV Guide

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*TV Guide’s popular Cheers & Jeers section gave pop star Jason Derulo a big ol’ “Jeer” for his performance of “Georgia on My Mind” this week on “Dancing With the Stars.” He’s no Ray Charles, but TV Guide’s Bruce Fretts expected a better take on the classic than what Derulo delivered. He wrote in Thursday’s [...]




Ray Charles Musical Delayed Until 2011

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*The debut of a new Broadway musical based on the life of Ray Charles has been postponed until 2011, producers announced. Unchain My Heart, produced by Charles’ longtime collaborator Stuart Benjamin, was supposed to begin previews this October, but the launch has been pushed back to next spring due to “logistical reasons.” The play, starring [...]