The Ray Charles Symposium

Panels and Workshops

Session 4a: A Discussion of the Biography Ray Charles: Man and Music, with the Author

Saturday, September 22
1:00 p.m.–3:00 p.m.
1A

Session Description: Author (and Boston native) Michael Lydon will discuss how he researched and wrote Ray Charles: Man and Music, his definitive biography of "the Genius." Lydon went from Jacksonville to Seattle, L.A., Houston, Dallas, and even to Paris following Charles's trail. He spent endless hours searching library microfilm and in doing over 200 interviews. Then came the task spinning all those threads into an honest and compelling life story of a great artist. Lydon, a founding editor of Rolling Stone, is also a musician, and that helped give him insight into Charles's life work.

Moderator: Michael Lydon