People: Sep. 5, 1983

At 52, Ray Charles is still hitting the ivories and belting out the blues with timeless authority. And to celebrate his 40th year as a performer of jazz and soul, 500 of Charles' friends and fellow musicians showed up at the Cocoanut Grove in Los Angeles. The result is Ray Charles, a Man and His Soul, a TV special that Producer Dick Clark is syndicating nationally in September. Among those who sang Charles' praises: Glen Campbell, Lou Rawls and, by recorded message, Stevie Wonder, who was pretaped doing an old Charles hit slightly reworked into Hallelujah, I Love Ray So. Tears...

Want the full story?

Subscribe Now

Subscribe
Subscribe

Learn more about the benefits of being a TIME subscriber

If you are already a subscriber sign up — registration is free!