Ray Page #12

Really?

Ah, good, good, good. Tell...

tell Sam I said thank you.

All right.

All right, then.

Oh, yeah!

What, Ray?

What? Come on, now.

Ray, tell me what happened.

ABC got the case dropped.

The police

didn't have a warrant.

They bought them off.

Damn it, Bea, do you

want me to go to prison?

No. Ray, I want you

to stop lying to yourself,

and they are making that

completely impossible.

You know what,

you don't understand.

Then make me understand,

Ray!

Baby, when I walk out that door,

I walk out alone in the dark!

I'm trying to

do something

that ain't nobody ever done

in music and business.

But I can't do it if I'm

alone everywhere I go.

I don't want to

be alone here, Bea.

Not in my own home.

Look, Bea,

if you don't understand me,

then who will?

I don't know, Ray.

David? I'm coming!

Mama's coming!

Ray, we pull you out of the

fire, and you want country music?

Look here, I've been singing

country music all my life.

As a matter of fact, I used to

play with the Florida Playboys.

We made a big

investment in you

and it's paying off

handsomely.

For both of us,

I might add.

We don't want to

lose your fan base.

Yeah, you know,

you got a point there,

but I actually think that we have

more to gain than we do to lose.

Ray, it's a bad idea.

When I came to ABC, you guys

put in the contract

that I can choose

my own music.

You want to read

that paragraph?

It's on page three.

I don't need to see it.

Good evening, Saint Louis.

It's time

for the main attraction.

The innovator of soul.

The genius himself.

Ray Charles!

Go on, go on, Ray!

Thank you so much.

You know what, I know that a

lot of y'all don't know that

I... I was brought up

in the South.

You know, every time you turn

on the radio there in the South,

you hear the Grand Ole Opry.

That's what I grew up singing,

so I hope you don't mind,

I... I want to sing something to

give you a taste of my country roots.

Unchain My Heart!

Georgia on My Mind, Ray!

I can't stop loving you

Turn 'em, the lights up top

and on the mezzanine,

let's take everything down

and hit Ray with a follow spot.

We're doing it,

on it on my count.

To live in memory

IN 5, 4...

of the lonesome times

Yeah

I can't stop wanting you

It's useless to say

So I'll just live my life

I'll live my life

in dreams of yesterday

Those happy hours

Those happy hours

that we once knew

Cab's here.

Okay.

Dad, if you can't see, how can

you choose the right color socks?

I'm... I'm gonna show you,

all right?

Let me show you something.

See? Right here?

The two, right there, I got it

sewn in thick, so I can feel it.

So, it means two is brown.

One is black. Three is blue.

And... and... and where's four?

Nowhere.

Four ain't nowhere. There

ain't no four. You're right.

Heals a broken heart

But time has stood still

Time has stood still

Since we've been apart

Since we've been apart

Still working on the balcony.

Okay, guys, we got

10 minutes to load out!

Change back at the hotel.

They bought that country

jive hook, line and sinker.

Ray, man,

you're amazing.

I'm gonna tell you something. Country

music. You know why they like it?

The stories, man.

They got great stories.

Hey, Joe.

Ray, I want to introduce you to

Joe Adams. Hal Ziegler hired Joe

as the announcer

for the rest of the tour.

I know you,

Mayor of Melody.

I used to listen to your

radio show in L.A. In the '50s.

We've both come

a ways since then.

What was that counting

you were doing back there?

I was cueing down the lights.

That shuts up the audience

so you can sing your ballad

instead of having to scream it.

Hey, well, I'll be damned.

Who told you to do that?

No one.

It just needed to be done.

See, that's what

I'm talking about.

I like to hear a person say

"It needed to be done"

as opposed to a person

saying, "It ain't my job."

You know,

tell me about Central Avenue.

I know you know

Jack Lauderdale.

Hello, New York!

Hello, Boston!

Hello, Saint Louis!

Good evening, San Francisco!

Bye bye love

Bye bye happiness

Ray, I got

some good news for you.

We got the cover of Cash Box.

"The nation's hottest album:

Modern Sounds of Country & Western."

You are hotter

than hell.

That's what they say.

I've been watchin', your albums

are going through the roof,

your concerts are

always selling out.

You'll need shelters

for your money.

You're in a

new tax bracket.

Keep your drawers on, Fathead!

I got the instruments!

Jeff, Joe was in

the film Carmen Jones.

Who was

the director again?

Otto Preminger.

He was also on Broadway

with Lena Horne.

She was the star.

I was supporting.

Is that a fact?

Prepare for an extraordinary

evening of music.

Perhaps the most innovative,

unique

and energetic

musical voice today.

Please welcome

to the stage...

It is my distinct pleasure...

Please give your warmest

welcome, the one-of-a-kind...

I present Mr. Ray...

Ray... Ray Charles!

Bye bye love

Bye bye sweet caress

Hello emptiness

I think I'm gonna die

Bye bye love

I think I'm gonna die

I think I'm gonna die

...Ray Charles!

I think I'm gonna die

I think I'm gonna die

Bea, there's a park right

at the end of the street.

You can see the whole L.A.

Basin from there.

Not even Beverly Hills

has views like that.

How does it look, Bea, huh?

You like it, don't you?

I don't know.

I haven't seen it.

You got to like it.

Voil.

This foyer is designed to impress

anybody who walks through the door.

It has a big winding staircase,

just like Gone With the Wind.

We should get our portraits

painted, like Rhett and Scarlett.

Bea, bring him in here.

Ray, wait till you hear what's

waiting in the living room.

What is it?

I had them build you a solid

marble fireplace, two stories high.

Hot damn!

How do you like it, Bea?

It's awful big.

It sure is:

8,500 square feet.

Biggest house in

the neighborhood.

So, does this meet

with your approval?

Man, this is a palace.

You think this is big? Wait

until tomorrow when you see

30,000 square feet

of RPM Incorporated.

Yeah, headquarters!

This is it, Ray. Your

brand-new recording studio.

Did you get

everything I asked for?

Totally state-of-the-art.

Tom Dowd built an eight-track mixing

console, two recorders, the works.

Now, this room is bigger

than most people's houses.

Got your own private bathroom

to your left.

Right behind you

is my adjoining office.

And step over to your

private bar to your left.

Got a bottle of Bols

right in the center.

You know me pretty good.

If you run out, shout,

I'm right next door.

This is nice, right here.

It's the house

that Ray built.

Yes, it is.

Born to lose

I've lived my life

in vain

Ray Junior, slow down!

This ain't no

baseball diamond!

Charles residence.

Mr. Charles?

Hey, girl,

Bring that boy over here!

I got a hot dog with his

name on it! Come on, now.

Hello.

Uh, yes,

I know who you are.

What? Oh, God, no.

Ray.

Yes, I'll get on a plane and

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