**This class will be held In-Person**
**This is a 3 week course**
Few singers touch our souls as deeply as Etta James and Ray Charles. They took our breath away with naked emotional truth, whether crooning tenderly or smoking ‘em down. But each also transcended typical music labels, straddling jazz, blues, country, R & B, gospel, by creating their own unique soulful sound that was bigger than any genre. This is all the more extraordinary in light of the fact that each of these artists managed not only to survive their difficult early years, fighting Jim Crow laws on the road, they stood up for themselves as they carved out a unique place in music that we now call ‘soul’.
With in-depth biographical detail, archival footage and sing-a-longs we will explore the lives, times and music of these two Soul Masters.
Week One:
Etta James Etta survived her deeply troubled childhood by becoming a child gospel star and was a touring R & B star at the age of 15. We’ll look at her dramatic, chart-topping rise at Chess Records (including the famous ‘At Last’ recordings) and equally dramatic descent into crime and drug addiction.
Week Two:
Etta James & Ray Charles - How Etta James climbed out of a nearly hopeless state to emerge clean, firing up live concert audiences around the world, while shattering traditional music boundaries beyond Blues and R & B, while never betraying her soul roots. We’ll open the book on the life and music of Ray Charles - losing his brother, eyesight and mother when he was young, his unquenchable love of music and drive racked up an enormous run of #1 hits through the 50’s, including ‘What’d I Say”. We’ll explore his unique take on gospel and rhythm, his fiercely independent, genre-smashing ideas about what music could be, and his meteoric rise at Atlantic Records to become ‘The Genius of Ray Charles’.
Week Three:
Ray Charles – The ‘Right Reverend’ – In the late 50’s and early 60’s, Ray Charles continued to stack up chart-busting hits, while using his popularity to confront Jim Crow policies, and create un-heard of financial and artistic freedom for himself. Although troubles with addiction and women complicated his life, he rose to become an American Icon, delivering unforgettable music with joy and passion right up till the end.
