(ThyBlackMan.com) Ray Charles, affectionately known as Brother Ray, is one of the most influential musicians of all time. His ability to seamlessly blend blues, jazz, gospel, country, and R&B into an ...

I'll know that today is the "Fourth of July" (no matter what the calendar insists) when I hear my friend's stereo pulsing out "America the Beautiful." The Ray Charles version, of course. Charles's ...

As we were preparing to gather with family for dinner while sheltering from the coronavirus, an email arrived from a reader. Its subject line was “I-m-a-g-i-n-e.” Attached was a video of Ray Charles ...

The poem that inspired the song, America the Beautiful, is 130 years old today, and despite the threats to democracy, it resonates more than ever. At this moment of deep political division, bold ideas ...