Authors:
Ray Charles & David Ritz
The perfect last-minute gift
Shop credit bundles
Send as gift
Add to Wish List
Almost ready!
In order to save audiobooks to your Wish List you must be signed in to your account.
Log in Create account
The perfect last-minute gift
Audiobook credit bundles can be delivered instantly, given worldwide, and support local bookstores!
Start gifting
Limited-time offer
Get two free audiobooks!
Now’s a great time to shop indie. When you start a new one credit per month membership supporting local bookstores with promo code SWITCH, we’ll give you two bonus audiobook credits at sign-up.
Sign up todayBrother Ray
Ray Charles' Own Story
Narrator
Andrew L. Barnes
This audiobook uses AI narration.
We’re taking steps to make sure AI narration is transparent.
Learn more
Length
13 hours 22 minutes
Language
English
Ray Charles (1930–2004) led one of the most extraordinary lives of any popular musician. In Brother Ray, he reveals his life story unsparingly, from the chronicle of his musical development to his heroin addiction to his tangled romantic life.
Overcoming poverty, blindness, the loss of his parents, and the pervasive racism of the era, Ray Charles was acclaimed worldwide as a genius by the age of thirty-two. By combining the influences of gospel, jazz, blues, and country music, he invented, almost single-handedly, what became known as “soul.” And throughout a career spanning more than a half century, Ray Charles remained in complete control of his life and his music, allowing nobody to tell him what he could or couldn’t do.
David Ritz is the author and coauthor of many acclaimed autobiographies of entertainers, including Ray Charles, Etta James, Scott Weiland, Grandmaster Flash, and more. Five of his books have been New York Times bestsellers, and he has won the Gleason Award for Best Music Book of the Year four times.
Andrew L. Barnes graduated from the School for the Creative and Performing Arts in Cincinnati, Ohio. His theater and music experience includes work with the Ensemble Theater Company, the Cincinnati Opera Company, and the Sorg Opera Company.
Audiobook details
Narrator:
Andrew L. Barnes
ISBN:
9781483055893
Length:
13 hours 22 minutes
Language:
English
Publisher:
Blackstone Publishing
Publication date:
June 27, 2005
Edition:
Unabridged
Reviews
“Candid, explicit, sometimes embarrassing, often hilarious, always warm, touching, and deeply human—just like his music.”
“An emotional blast as vivid and real, sweaty and straight-talking as the man himself.”
“Andrew Barnes…doesn’t imitate Charles’ distinctive voice but captures all of its passion and style…The text is entertaining and far more compelling than it would have been in print.”
“In his smooth baritone voice, Barnes successfully captures the mercurial personality of ‘Brother Ray,’ allowing listeners to fully grasp the legendary performer’s bravado, humility, wonder, cynicism, callousness, and tenderness…[An] outstanding audio.”
“Andrew L. Barnes’ rich voice captures a variety of accents perfectly, with excellent timing. A good addition to music, biography, and popular collections.”
Expand reviews
The perfect last-minute gift
Libro.fm for Business
Start a membership, get two free audiobooks