Ray Charles on My Mind Trivia Game | Music

Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. What happened when the cow got dry and the hen wouldn't lay? What happened to someone? What did they get? "I got a cow that went dry and a hen that won't lay A big stack of bills that gets bigger each day."

Answer: Busted

In October, 1963, with a raunchy Big Band sound, "Busted," written by Country songwriter Harlan Howard, reached #4 on the pop charts and grabbed the Grammy for Best R&B Recording for 1963.
Ray Charles later explained his conversion from imitating others to creating his own sound: "In 1994 he told the 'San Jose Mercury News,' "When I started to sing like myself - as opposed to imitating Nat Cole, which I had done for a while - when I started singing like Ray Charles, it had this spiritual and churchy, this religious or gospel sound. It had this holiness and preachy tone to it. It was very controversial. I got a lot of criticism for it." http://www.swingmusic.net/Ray_Charles_Biography.html

2. The loved one treated the singer not with "pride and joy," but treated him for more momentarily reasons, only for what? "To me you were my pride and joy But to you, I was merely a toy A plaything, that you could toss around at will"

Answer: Just For a Thrill

"Just for a Thrill" appeared in 1959. When Charles had to go to school, he got a complete musical education and learned there to arrrange, write and read music in Braille. He could compose scores for big bands and play piano, organ, saxophone, clarinet and trumpet.

He listened to all kinds of music, classical, big band, blues and jazz. All recognize that "Ray Charles loved it all. At night he listened on the radio to the raw melodies and hillbilly twang of the Grand Ole Opry, to the sanctified soulfulness of gospel, and to the secular emotional venting of the blues.

Then,at 15, his mother died and Charles, who said he never used a cane or guide dog or begged for money, left school and began touring the South on the so-called chitlin' circuit with a number of dance bands that played in black dance halls." http://www.swingmusic.net/Ray_Charles_Biography.html

3. What shining image of nature is in the title of this song? "The other night dear, as I lay sleeping I dreamed I held you in my arms When I awoke, dear, I was mistaken So I hung my head and I cried."

Answer: You Are My Sunshine

In December, 1962, "You Are My Sunshine" was #1 on the Rhythm and Blues chart. 1962. It had been #7 on the Pop chart. This song was writen by the governor of Louisiana, Jimmie Davis.

4. Whom or what does this singer think he has got? "She's there to love me Both day and night Never grumbles or fusses Always treats me right Never runnin' in the streets Leavin' me alone"

Answer: I Got A Woman

This was his first rhythm and blues number one single. "I Got a Woman" was Billboard's top rated single in 1955. Ray Charles recorded this in November 1943 in Atlanta, Georgia. Many say that this song was the first song to be the unique blend of gospel and rock and roll called "soul."
Later, in 1976, "I Got A Woman" was nominated for the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences Hall of Fame.

5. What kind of times did the singer feel when he remembered his mother's cautionary words to him before she passed away." "My mother told me Before she passed away Said son when I'm gone Don't forget to pray"

Answer: Hard Times

This powerful, soul-wrenching song grabbed the attention of millions of people. Ray Charles speaks clearly of the importance of respectng jazz and soul music as a integral part of our American heritege, saying "But, we basically created jazz in this country; we own that form of music. And it's sad that we all don't have more extensive knowledge of that fact....

In Europe, though, you find people who know all about our music. I'm talking about the average person. I've been to Europe and talked to people who have records of mine that I forgot I ever made! And I find that incredible." http://www.swingmusic.net/Ray_Charles_Biography.html

6. Having known other loves and lusts, this singer declares with fervent affirmation that he really knows the inevitability of his love for her. What does he know about the rightness of his feeling? "Some others I've seen - might never be mean. Might never be cross. Or, try to be boss. But, they wouldn't do. For nobody else gave me a thrill. With all your faults I love you still."

Answer: It Had to Be You

"Look, let's face it," says Charles, honestly. "Good music is good music. I don't care if it's Beethoven, Chopin, blues, rock. Music's been around a long time, and there's going to be music long after Ray Charles is dead. I just want to make my mark, leave something musically good behind. If it's a big record, that's the frosting on the cake. But the music's the main deal." http://www.kennedy-center.org/calendar/index.cfm?fuseaction=showIndividual&entitY_id=3706&source_type=A

7. Weather is important in Ray Charles' lyrics. This is another song knowing the perfectness, the completeness of his loving feeling. What does he declare about the constancy of his feeling in meteorological terms? "We'll be happy together, unhappy together Now won't that be just fine The days may be cloudy or sunny We're in or out of the money But I'm with you always"

Answer: Come Rain or Come Shine

Ray Charles goes for the lyrics first: "To choose a song I always start with the lyrics. The lyrics must capture my attention. If the music compliments the lyrics, that makes the song work for me. "http://www.raycharles.com/the_man_ray_charles_interview.html

8. Now while you're getting these songs on your mind, what does this singer have on his? "Other arms reach out to me Other eyes smile tenderly Still in peaceful dreams I see The road leads back to you"

Answer: Georgia on my MInd

In 1960, Georgia on My Mind" was #1 on the singles chart. This song was given the Grammy for Best Male Pop Vocal, and it became the official song of the state of Georgia.

9. Here comes the weather again. Here, in his affirmation of love, what does he tell his sweetheart not to do, not to let that "lucky ole' sun" find her doing? "You can cry, cry, cry Yes baby, you can wail Beat your head on the pavement Till the man comes and throws you in jail"

Answer: Don't Let the Sun Catch You Crying

His power of speaking immediately to people's hearts was/is astonishing. In 2004, Jason Gross says of him, "When he truly plumbed the depths of sorrow, I felt like a fool and wondered how I could be so blue when that man REALLY SOUNDED SAD, much sadder than I could ever feel." http://www.furious.com/PERFECT/raycharlestribute.html

10. Jack Kerouac wrote a novel with this name of this place in it. Where does this rejected singer think his "mean woman" make him go? "Woah Woman, oh woman, don't treat me so mean, You're the meanest old woman that I've ever seen. I guess if you said so I'd have to pack my things and go. (That's right)"

Answer: Hit the Road Jack

John Wilson perceptively noted that Charles' voice "worn through years of whooping and hollering in his blues performances, shows a rough, leathery quality in his relaxed approach." http://www.kennedy-center.org/calendar/index.cfm?fuseaction=showIndividual&entitY_id=3706&source_type=A

Source: Author Windswept

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor Dalgleish before going online.
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Ray Charles on My Mind Trivia Quiz

The sound and lyrics of Ray Charles' music are unforgettable. Below are some lyrics from his songs. Can you bring these songs to your mind, hear them, and choose the lyric's correct title?

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