Ray Charles Is In Town - Chronology 1998

Concert at Montauk, 1998.  Photo by Walter Iooss.

Portrait, c. 1998.

1998

Interviewed for documentary on Little Jimmy Scott. See this.

Ray meeting up with his first trumpet man and (kind of) bandleader, Renald Richard (who wrote the lyrics of I've Got A Woman) at RPM in Los Angeles. Read this.


5 January 1998
Performance at event where INS introduced new stamp honoring immigrants. See this.

7 January 1998
Donates $ 25,000 to Los Angeles Police Department for its youth mentoring program at a City Hall ceremony.

February 1998
The Q.E. Theater, Vancouver, for The Variety Club Telethon on BCTV. See this.


10 March 1998
Infomercial at QVC (campaign launch date). See this.

14 February 1998
Private Valentine’s Day concert at a residence in Beverly Hills.

27 February 1998
Ray Charles performs at kickoff of the 1998 Ray-Ban collection at the Twirl Club (with Sam Moore and Isaac Hayes). Photos here and here.

With Sam Moore and Isaac Hayes.

18 February 1998
Playing at wedding of Sharon Stone.

28 February 1998
Fantasy Springs Casino's Bingo Palace, near Indio; tickets $37.50-$75.

14 March 1998
Infomercial My Early Years, on QVC (campaign launch date). See this.

18 March 1998
Ft. As Sammy In The Nanny. See this.

20 and 21 March 1998
Casino Estoril in Estoril, Cascais, Portugal PT.

24 March 1998
An Evening with Ray Charles at Riverside Centroplex Exhibition Hall for Our Lady of the Lake Foundation's 13th annual gala, Baton Rouge LA (1,200 people).

28 March 1998
With Atlanta Symphony Orchestra at Centennial Olympic Park, Atlanta.

11 April 1998
Performing at Quincy Jones... The First 50 Years (air date). See this.

16 April 1998
Plaza of Nations in Vancouver BC.

17 to 19 April 1998
The Orleans Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas NV.

25 April 1998
Arrival at Sydney Airport, concert at the Opera House with Sydney Symphony Orchestra, Sydney AU (“he was expected to arrive yesterday but missed his flight”). See this. Photo here.


27 April 1998
Melbourne Concert Hall with Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, Melbourne AU. Photo here.

29 April 1998

Posing with a shirt of the Brisbane Lions.

With symphonic orchestra at the Brisbane Convention Center, Brisbane AU.
Shooting of the commercial for Griffith University. See this.

Photo shot at Sheraton Hotel in Brisbane, by Aaron Tate:

"I had the privilege to photograph Ray Charles in Brisbane on his tour in 2003 for a Griffith campaign created by Redsuit Advertising.
The morning shoot was in the Sheraton Hotel, now the Sofitel. Before I started my shoot I was told by one of his minders “I was not to speak to Mr Charles, that he would sit in his chair and you will photograph him when he smiles”, I thought this was strange. Ray entered the room, immaculately dressed in a black suit with a black shirt. He walked in guided by a young man. As Ray sat down the young man lent in and asked Ray if he would like a glass of water, Ray replied “yes, please” and the young man went away. During this moment I decided to ignore the minder’s direction as I considered it rude not to introduce yourself to somebody before taking their portrait. So I quietly said “Good morning, Mr Charles, my name is Aaron, it’s an honour to meet you and I’ll be taking your photograph” and Ray replied, “Thank you, it’s nice to meet you, too”. The minder didn’t say a word. The boy returned without the water and again he lent in but this time I couldn’t hear what he said, Ray replied “don’t tell me that, now I must have some!”. The young man went away and returned once more with a pint glass of what looked like cider and he placed it near Ray’s right foot and tapped Ray’s leg to indicate the glass was on that side. The young man left and Ray picked up the glass and took a nice long drink and smiled. I took some shots and the result is the photograph you see today. It wasn’t until after the shoot I found out he wasn’t drinking cider, it was Dom Pérignon Champagne.
I also love Ray’s music so to meet him and take his photograph was a real thrill. To cap off a great shoot I also went to see him perform that evening. It was a memorable day."

30 April 1990
Back at the Opera House with Sydney Symphony Orchestra, Sydney AU.

On or around 12 May 1998
Interviewed by Swedish Radio See this.

12 May 1998
King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden bestowes the Polar Music Prize in Stockholm.
See this and this. Photos here.

Photo by Michael Brannäs.

20 May 1998
John Harms Center, Englewood NJ.

4 June 1998
Chicago Blues Festival, at the Petrillo Music Shell in Grant Park, Chicago IL, in a concert themed The Golden Anniversary Of Ray Charles, with Hank Crawford, David Fathead Newman, Leroy Cooper, Phillip Guilbeau, Marcus Belgrave, and Mable John. Photo here.







7 June 1998
Kültürpark Open Air Theatre in Izmir TR.

25 June 1998
Foxwoods Resort Casino in Mashantucket CT; tickets $45 and $35.

1 July 1998
Fox Theatre at the Foxwoods Casino, Mashantucket.

Stage/audio plan made by casino staff.

3 July 1998
Headlining the Ottawa Citizen Bluesfest, Ottawa ON.

Photo by Randy MacNeil (erroneously dated in 2001).

4 July 1998
Concert at Koussevitzky Music Shed, Lenox MA. Read this.

5 July 1998
Salle Wilfrid-Pelletier, Jazz Festival, Montreal QC.


18 July 1998
Performing at The Goodwill Games Opening Celebration, World Financial Center Plaza, Battery Park, New York City NY. See this.


22 July 1998
Lexus Jazz at the Bowl, Hollywood Bowl, Hollywood CA. More photos here.

24 July 1998
Concord Festival, San Francisco.

24 - 25 July 1998
30th Annual Concord Jazz festival at Pavilion, Concord CA, with California Symphony.

4 August 1998
With Roomful of Blues at Bally's Ocean Downs.


5 August 1998
Cultural Center, Scranton - canceled ("because the Cultural Center could not authorize a final settlement to pay Mr. Charles"; "No pay, no Ray")

6 August 1998

Photos by David Corio.

Radio City Music Hall, New York City NY.






8 August 1998
Palace Theatre, Stamford CT; tickets $35-$50.

9 August 1998
Sugar Bush Mount Ellen, Fayston.

10 August 1998
Musikfest, Kunstplatz, Bethlehem PA ("dazzles in drizzle", "moving easily from lovely cat's creep to striking abstract gospel to rousing big-band shout").

11 August 1998
Wolf Trap Filene Center, Vienna VA ("nearly rocked the legs off his piano stool ").


13 - 16 August 1998
Blly's Grand Hotel and Casino, Atlantic City NJ (4 sold out shows, tickets $30 and $40).

15 August 1998
Million Children March, Washington; with Stevie Wonder.

18 August 1998

Photo probably made at RPM, LA.(source associates this picture with the Hollywood Paladium).

20 and 21 August 1998
Cypress Bayou Casino Pavilion in Charenton LA.

24 August 1998
Lorain Palace Civic Center, Lorain OH; tickets at $28 to $38).

25 August 1998
Opening 150th Michigan State Fair at the Fairgrounds.

26 August 1998
Kresge Auditorium, Interlochen MI.

28 August 1998
Meskwaki Bingo & Casino's outdoor arena, Tama IA (4,500 people).

30 August 1998
Opening Bloomingdale's in Skokie.

Grand Casino, Hinckley.

2 September 1998
Lexus Jazz at the Bowl series, Hollywood Bowl, Hollywood CA; with Nnenna Freelon, tickets at $7.50-$75.

 Photo by Clarence Williams, probably at RPM Studio, published in LA Times on Aug. 18.

4 September 1998
Waco Convention Center in Waco TX.

6 September 1998
At Island Green Country Club, Amenia, with Hudson Valley Philharmonic. Read this and this.

6 and 7 September 1998
33rd Annual Muscular Dystrophy Telethon in Hollywood. See this.

11 September 1998
Concert in Kansas City.

12 September 1998
Concert in Pittsburgh celebrating National City Family House Polo Match' 15th anniversary.

19 September 1998
At Wheeler Opera House in Aspen CO.

25 September 1998
North Carolina Blumenthal Performing Arts Center, Charlotte NC.

27 September 1998
Jackie Gleason Theater, Miami - canceled.

1 October 1998
Charlotte Center, City Fest, Charlotte NC.

19 October 1998
Interviewed on NPR's Fresh Air. See this.

26 October 1998
Palais des Congrès, Paris.

Ticket stub (coll. Jean Francis Merle).

5 November 1998
Benefit concert for the Children's Specialized Hospital in Mountainside.

1 November 1998
In concert with Akiko Wada at Hall A 1 in Tokyo JP, to commemorate Akiko's debut 30 years ago; "the duo will give a dream performance".
This concert was part of a bigger Japan tour:

Souvenir program of '98 Japan tour, cover.

9 November 1998
Performs At Award Event For Bland & Ertegun, House Of Blues, LA. See this.

(Coll. Joël Dufour).

14 November 1998
James L. Knight Center, Miami FL.

27 and 28 November 1998
John Ascuaga's Nugget, Sparks NV.

16 December 1998
Ft. As Sammy In The Nanny. See this.

From Musician, Nov. 1, 1998.