memory

In Loving Memory

Floyd L. "Bobby" White passed away 21 November 2003 at Fort Smith, Arkansas. He was born 15 June 1932 at Jenny Lind, Arkansas to R. F. and Zella White. He was preceded in death by his brother, CB White and his parents. Surviving daughters include Cathy, Laura and Snow. Surviving sons are Ricky, Robert and Bobby. Services will be held Monday at 11:00 a.m. at Edwards Funeral Home, Fort Smith, Arkansas. 
Bob White was a world class musician, master of the steel guitar. He played, as a teenager, with Bob Wills' Texas Playboys. After leaving the Playboys, Bob joined up with Hank Thompson's Brazos Valley Boys. The Brazos Valley Boys were selected country touring band of the year, by Billboard Magazine, for 14 consecutive years. He was a member of the Steel Guitar Hall of Fame and is credited with pioneering the 10 string steel guitar. He originated scores of enduring licks and riffs and introduced the Major 7th and Major 9th pedal changes. Bob was considered the foremost swing steel player of the 1950's.

Bob retired from the road in the early 1970's and returned home to Fort Smith, Arkansas. He was a well known nightclub owner for many years in Fort Smith, he and his brother ran a family business that was originally opened circa 1946. This was known as the Crossroads Club. Bob performed with a house band there for many years.

Unless you ever heard Bob play steel guitar there would be no way to describe the pure electricity that flew from his hands, he was a legend

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Ray Charles, who overcame poverty, blindness and heroin addiction to lay the foundation for soul music and become one of America's most beloved entertainers, died on Thursday at the age of 73 after a long fight with liver disease, his spokesman said.
Charles, hailed as "The Father of Soul" and best known for such hits as "Georgia On My Mind" and "Hit the Road Jack," died at 11:35 a.m. PDT (2:35 p.m. EDT) at his Beverly Hills home, surrounded by family, friends and business associates, according to the singer's longtime publicist Jerry Digney.

"Mr. Charles was conscious and engaged almost to the end, and wanted the world to know that he will miss the chance to entertain his many family and friends, as he had done, up until last summer, for the past 58 years," longtime manager Joe Adams said at a news conference outside the musician's studio.

The legendary entertainer made his last public appearance on April 30, turning up in a motorized wheelchair for a ceremony dedicating his longtime recording studio in Los Angeles as an historic landmark.

Visibly frail, his voice reduced to a whisper, Charles' demeanor then was a far cry from the wildly enthusiastic performer known to millions of fans for more than half a century.

Charles' biographer, David Ritz, said the singer-songwriter had been unable to speak for the past two to three weeks.

Charles was forced to cut short a North American tour last summer due to hip pain, marking the first series of concerts he had missed in more than 50 years. He later underwent hip replacement surgery.

But other ailments were diagnosed, and unspecified complications forced him to scrap plans to resume touring with a performance in New York last month.

Charles triumphed over adversity from a young age. Left blind by glaucoma at the age of 6, he attended a school for the disabled in St. Augustine, Florida, where he learned to read and write music in Braille and play the piano, saxophone, organ, trumpet and clarinet.

In a 2002 interview, Charles credited his mother with pushing him to be independent, despite his blindness.

"She'd make me cut wood, wash clothes and build a fire under the pot. ... People thought that was abusive. My mother had the attitude 'He's got to learn, and just because he's blind doesn't mean he's stupid."'

Quitting school at age 15 after his mother died, Charles moved to Jacksonville, Florida, then on to Seattle to pursue a music career.

Charles came into his own musically in the early 1950s after signing with Atlantic Records, where he recorded the seminal hit "I Got a Woman," popularly credited as the first true soul record ever made.

He went on to collect 13 Grammy Awards during his career, including a lifetime achievement honor in 1987. He played his 10,000th concert last May in Los Angeles and in 2002 celebrated the 40th anniversary of his first hit on the country music charts, "I Can't Stop Loving You."

Charles made his biggest mark in the 1950s by blending the spirituality of gospel music he learned in the black churches of his youth with the sensuality of the blues to pioneer an emotionally raw genre called soul. Soul in turn helped pave the way for such performers as Chuck Berry, Elvis Presley, Sam Cooke and the birth of rock 'n' roll.

"He is one of the most important artists of the last century," Ahmet Ertegun, who signed Charles to his Atlantic Records label 52 years ago, told Reuters. "The only artist that had a greater influence was Louis Armstrong."

Charles released his latest album, "Thanks for Bringing Love Around," in 2002, including a new version of "What'd I Say," a song he originally released in 1959 that became one of his first hits.

Other hits include the ballad "Georgia On My Mind," which became the official state song of Charles' home state, as well as "Hit the Road Jack," "The Right Time," "Yes, Indeed," "Hallelujah, I Love Her So" and "I Can't Stop Loving You."

While best known for his contributions to soul music, Charles achieved success with pop standards, jazz tunes and country music.

As his health was failing in recent months, Charles had been finishing work on an upcoming CD of duets, titled "Genius Loves Company," with such performers as Elton John, Norah Jones, B.B. King, Diana Krall, Johnny Mathis and Willie Nelson. It is slated for release at the end of summer.