Ray Charles: He Lost His Sight at Seven… Then Invented a New Sound
Ray Charles was blind by the age of seven. He learned music in braille, played the blues in clubs, and then mixed church music with the blues to create a new sound: soul. Learn five B1 words with the true story of Ray Charles.
Transcript
Tap a time to jump to that moment. Highlighted words have a meaning: tap them. Words in bold show today's grammar.
At seven, he could not see at all.
Years later, he turned a church song into a love song.
Would people love it, or hate it?
This is the story of Ray Charles.
Welcome to brightlivesenglish.com, where we teach real English using real-life stories.
. A is a big instrument with black and white keys.
Little Ray played the in a small café.
. is the ability to see.
By seven, he had lost his completely.
. The is a kind of slow, sad music from the American South.
He played the in clubs every night.
. When you things, you put them together.
The past is .
He church music with the .
. is a kind of music with very deep feeling.
The new sound was called .
Now, one pattern: used to.
It shows that something was true in the past, but it is not true now.
In the past, he sounded like other singers.
He used to sound like other singers.
Ready? Let's begin.
Ray Charles was born in Georgia in 1930 and grew up very poor in Florida.
Near his home was a small café with an old .
The owner let little Ray play it.
He used to play there as often as he could.
But when Ray was about five, his eyes began to fail.
By seven, he had lost his completely.
His mother was strict.
She told him he had lost his , not his mind.
In 1937, he went to a school for blind children.
He read music in , with his fingers, and learned every song by heart.
He learned the , the saxophone and the clarinet.
At seventeen, he asked a friend which city was farthest from Florida.
The answer was Seattle.
There, he played the in clubs every night.
But he used to sound like other singers.
He wanted his own sound.
In 1954, he had a bold idea.
He took a song from the church and gave it new words, about love.
He church music with the .
Some church people were surprised and angry.
But young people loved I Got a Woman.
It became his first big hit.
The new sound was called .
One night in 1958, his band ran out of songs, with twelve minutes left.
So Ray made up a new song on the stage.
The crowd went wild.
What'd I Say became a huge hit.
In 1960, Georgia on My Mind went to number one.
But in 1961, he cancelled a concert in Georgia, because Black fans had to sit apart.
Would his home state ever welcome him back?
Yes. In 1979, Ray sang it for the lawmakers of Georgia, and it became the state song.
He used to copy other singers.
Later, other singers copied him.
He died in 2004.
Let's review. Little Ray played the in a small café.
By seven, he had lost his completely.
He played the in clubs every night.
He church music with the .
The new sound was called .
And remember: he used to sound like other singers.
Ray Charles's story teaches us: when you lose one thing, you can still find your own sound.
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Step 3
Words from the story
Say the word, guess its meaning, then flip the card. Keep the ones you know, and practise the rest again.
Great work, you know every word in this story. Now try the quiz below.
piano noun
a big musical instrument with black and white keys
“Little Ray played the piano in a small café.”
sight noun
the ability to see
“By seven, he had lost his sight completely.”
blues noun
(the blues) a kind of slow, sad music from the American South
“He played the blues in clubs every night.”
mix verb
to put different things together (past: mixed)
“He mixed church music with the blues.”
soul noun
a kind of music with very deep feeling, from gospel and the blues
“The new sound was called soul.”
keyboard noun
the row of black and white keys on a piano
“His fingers moved fast across the keyboard.”
braille noun
a way of writing with raised dots that blind people read with their fingers
“He read music in braille.”
gospel noun
Christian church music, often sung by a choir with strong feeling
“He took a gospel song from the church.”
Grammar in the story
used to + verb
We use it for: for a habit or a state in the past that is not true now
- used to + verb: He used to sound like other singers.
- didn't use to + verb: He didn't use to have his own sound.
- Did … use to + verb? Did he use to play in a café? Yes, he did.
From the story
- He used to sound like other singers.
- He used to play there as often as he could.
Find it in the story 6 times
Your turn
Little Ray play the café piano as often as he could.
He copy other singers, but later he found his own sound.
Did he play in clubs in Seattle?
Step 4
Story Challenge
10 quick rounds: choose, fill the gap, build the sentence and match the words. Answer in a row to build a streak and earn bonus points.
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Take it further
Before you watch: What kind of music do you like? Can you name a song that makes you feel something very strongly?
After you watch: Write three sentences about yourself with used to. For example: I used to hate vegetables. Now I love them. I used to live in a small town.
Think about it: Ray Charles lost his sight, but he found his own sound. Do you know someone who lost something important and still found a new way? What did they do?
