参考译文：

雷.查尔斯(1930-2004)：

他创造了一种对流行音乐有着巨大影响的声音

上周，我们向你讲述了一位对美国流行音乐有着巨大影响的盲人音乐家，他因他的爵士、摇滚乐、布鲁斯音乐和乡村音乐唱片而闻名于世，他的名字就是雷.查尔斯.罗宾逊，但世人都愿意称他为雷.查尔斯。

你刚才听到的这首歌叫< Let's Go Get Stoned>(让我们去陶醉吧>，这是典型的雷.查尔斯独有的音乐风格，他独有的声音。他为了创造这种声音而进行了多年的艰苦努力，此前从来没有人尝试过这种声音，他将黑人宗教音乐、布鲁斯音乐和摇滚音乐融合在一起。这种声音取得了巨大的成功。在上世纪五十年代，他的唱片开始以数百万张的规模发行。与此同时，雷.查尔斯还录制爵士唱片，这些唱片的销量同样很好。评论家说，他们感到新鲜和激动。下面就让我们来听听他的这首爵士歌曲：< Sweet Sixteen Bars>(温馨的十六酒吧)。

雷.查尔斯以其能够演唱布鲁斯音乐、摇滚音乐和爵士音乐而闻名，他还喜欢其他种类的音乐。他对唱片公司说，他想录制一张西部乡村音乐专辑，这家唱片公司的老板对他说，如果他录制一张这样的唱片是错误的，他说雷的音乐迷们将不会购买这张专辑。查尔斯对此不同意他的看法，他说他认为他将因此获得许多新的音乐迷，这些新的音乐迷完全能够替代离开的音乐迷。他录制了这张专辑，而且这张专辑立即取得了成功。这张专辑就叫< Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music>(西部乡村音乐的现代声音)，该专辑中的许多歌曲都取得巨大的成功，其中最受欢迎的是< I Can't Stop Loving You>(我不能停止爱你)，这是一首用混合布鲁斯音乐和黑人宗教音乐为一体的雷.查尔斯的声音演唱的西部乡村歌曲。

雷.查尔斯生活在声音的世界之中，每年有六个月他和他的管弦乐队一起到各地的剧场演出，另六个月他在他的录音棚里工作，他的录音棚在加州的洛杉机。他为他自己的专辑而承担了绝大多数的录音工作。雷.查尔斯经常说声音和音乐是他生命中的血液。实际上，他曾多次说过，就是为了能够看见，他也不愿意出卖他的音乐天赋。当你了解到他帮助创建并支持罗宾逊听力障碍基金会，你就会开始明白声音对于雷.查尔斯的真正含义，这个基金会帮助人们应付其听力不好所面临的问题。你也许会认为雷.查尔斯可能会把他的时间和钱用来帮助盲人，然而，他没有这么做，他曾经说：“失明是我的不幸，但耳朵却是我的运气。”他说如果失去听力，那么他也就意味着失去了生命。

雷.查尔斯在其漫长的一生中同样面临着许多问题，有时他吸毒，他多次结婚和离婚，然而，他的声音和他的成功却仍在继续。

他获得12次格莱美奖，他是第一批入选摇滚音乐名人堂的音乐家之一，好多所大学授予他荣誉称号，同样法国和美国政府也授予其荣誉称号。他的家乡乔治亚州以他的< Georgia on My Mind>(乔治亚在我心中)歌曲作为该州的州歌。好几年前，有人请雷.查尔斯在一次政治集会上演唱，他所演唱的歌曲是< America the Beautiful>(美丽的美国)。许多人认为他的唱片是迄今以来最好的唱片。

雷.查尔斯总是在说，他的绝大部分成功应功于他的母亲。他说，在他还是小孩子时，她就给他讲有价值的东西，她对他说：“你能够做你想做的一切，你不能用你的眼睛，但你可以用你的头脑而努力工作。”雷.查尔斯于2004年6月10日去逝，享年73岁。音乐家说，在二十世纪对于改变美国流行音乐来说，他所做的比任何一个人都要多。

在一百多年前，艾丽丝.卡里写了一首诗，这首诗也许正是写给雷.查尔斯的，她这样写到：

我的灵魂充满着呐呐丝语的声音—

我的失明只是我的视觉；

我所害怕的影子不见了

我的一生充满阳光。

简评：

眼睛失明是不幸的，然而，幸运的是，除了眼睛，他还拥有一切，特别是他所钟爱的耳朵，带给他与他人不一样的感觉。

如果说，他的音乐才能与天赋有关的话，那么，他母亲的教导，则是将天赋转化为实在的才能的动力：“你能够做你想做的一切，你不能用你的眼睛，但你可以用你的大脑努力工作。”

如果说他的音乐成就是他个人努力和个人的天赋的结果，那么他创建听觉障碍基金会却是他心灵崇高，对于他而言，听力意味着一切，因此，他想到的是帮助那些听力有障碍的人，而不是去帮助那些失明的人。这正如他母亲所说的，他能够做他想做的一切。

一个人，无论是健全或是有残疾，都完全有可能取得他想取得的成功，只要他有目标，只要他有决心，只要他有毅力。因此，我们不能一味地羡慕他人的成功，而应该立足于自己，无论何时，从现在开始，迈出第一步，坚持下去，终有成功之时。

他是天才，他的心灵也很崇高。但他也是一个人，是人就会犯错误，他吸毒，他多次结婚和离婚。这样的人才是一个真正的人，活生生的人，才是可信的人。

因此，我们不能因为一个人有错误，就忽视其成就。我们也不能因一个人的成就而将其完美化和神圣化。

Ray Charles, 1930-2004: He Created a Sound That Had a Huge Influence on Popular Music 

Last week, we began the story of a blind musician who had a huge influence on American popular music. He was famous for his recordings of jazz, rock-and-roll, blues and country music. His name was Ray Charles Robinson. But the world knew him better as Ray Charles.

The name of that song is "Let's Go Get Stoned."  It is an example of Ray Charles' own kind of music—his own sound. He worked hard for several years to create that sound. No one ever tried it before. He mixed black church music, blues and rock-and-roll. The sound was extremely successful. In the nineteen fifties, his records began to sell millions of copies.  At the same time, Ray Charles recorded jazz music.  Those records sold well, too.  Critics said they were new and exciting. Listen to his jazz song, "Sweet Sixteen Bars."

Ray Charles became famous because he could play blues, rock and jazz. He also liked other kinds of music. He told record company officials that he wanted to record an album of country-and-western music. The president of the record company told him it would be a mistake. He said Ray's fans would not buy the album. Charles disagreed. He said he believed he would gain many new fans to replace the few he might lose.  He produced the album and it was an immediate success.  The album was called "Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music." Many of the songs were major hits. One of the most popular was "I Can't Stop Loving You." It is a country-and-western song with Ray Charles' sound of blues and black church music. 

Ray Charles lived in a world of sound. For six months each year he traveled with his orchestra, performing in theaters. For the other six months, he worked in his recording studio in Los Angles, California. He did much of the recording work to produce his own albums.  Ray Charles would often say that sound and music were his life's blood. In fact, he said many times that he would not trade his musical ability for the ability to see again.  You begin to understand what sound meant to Ray Charles when you learn that he helped create and support the Robinson Foundation for Hearing Disorders. This organization helps people deal with the loss of their hearing.  You might think Ray Charles would have given his time and money to help the blind. He did not. He once said: "Being blind is my handicap. But ears are my opportunity." He said losing his hearing would have ended his life.

Ray Charles lived a long life that included his share of problems. There was a time when he used illegal drugs. He was married and divorced several times. Yet the Ray Charles sound, and his success, continued.

He received twelve Grammy Awards from the recording industry. He was one of the first musicians to be elected to the Rock-and-Roll Hall of Fame. Several universities honored him. So did the French and American governments. His home state of Georgia made his recording of "Georgia on My Mind" the official state song. Several years ago, Ray Charles was asked to sing at a political convention. He performed the song "America the Beautiful." Many people thought his recording was the best ever made.

Ray Charles always said he owed most of his success to his mother. He said when he was a boy, she taught him a valuable lesson. She told him: "You can do anything you want to do. You cannot use your eyes. But you can work hard and use your brain."   Ray Charles died June tenth, two thousand four at the age of seventy-three. Music experts say he did more than anyone in the twentieth century to change American popular music.

More than one hundred years ago, Alice Cary wrote a poem that could have been written for Ray Charles. She wrote:

My soul is full of whispered song, --

My blindness is my sight;

The shadows that I feared so long

Are full of life and light.

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