Ray Charles, America The Beautiful | Music Lifts 🎶 🏋

In the 36^th edition of Lit Music That Lifts, we’re uplifted by legendary musician, Ray Charles, performing “America The Beautiful.”

Welcome to Lit Music That Lifts (LMTL), or Music Lifts 🎶 🏋 for short! Music Lifts seeks to highlight songs that encourage, inspire, and uplift the spirit; songs that exude fortitude, positivity, and resolve, even in the face of adversity.  Featured songs aren’t genre-specific; songs may or may not be faith-based. The goal is for these songs to make you feel better – be LIFTED to new heights!  So, for the 36^th edition of Music Lifts 🎶 🏋 (2022), we highlight “America The Beautiful” as performed by Ray Charles.

“Oh beautiful, for heroes proved / In liberating strife,” Ray Charles sings in the first verse of his rousing, soulful rendition of “America The Beautiful”.  The tried-and-true patriotic record features the poetic text of Katharine Lee Bates.  Charles, of course, takes more liberties in this interpretation, continuing the obscure verse, “Who more than self, our country loved / And mercy more than life.” He then delivers the chorus, though much like his first verse of this gem from 💿 A Message From the People (1972), it’s not the one you expect. No worries, of course, as in the second verse, Charles opts for the familiar, beloved ‘first verse’ and chorus (with a few ad-libs):

“Oh beautiful, for spacious skies

For amber waves of grain

For purple mountain majesties

Above the fruited plain

…America, sweet America

You know, God done shed his grace on thee

He crowned thy good, yes he did, in a brotherhood

From sea to shining sea.”

Backtracking, some other notes must be made about this amazing rendition.  It begins with an exceptional opening snare drum cadence, followed by the addition of horns.  This sets up this uniquely Ray Charles version of “America The Beautiful.” Accentuating the beauty is the organ, which adds a gospel component, and, of course, a signature, bluesy performance by the icon, who brings ample personality to this record.  Celebrating America never sounded better 🇺🇸!

🎙 Ray Charles • 💿 A Message From the People • 🏷 Tangerine • 📅 1972

Ray Charles, “America The Beautiful”: Music Lifts 🎶 🏋 No. 36 (2022) [📷: Arek Socha, Benjamin Balazs, Brent Faulkner, Clker-Free-Vector-Images, Ketut Subiyanto, The Musical Hype, Pexels, Pixabay, Tangerine]