VOA标准英语2013--For Ray Charles' Birthday a New CD/DVD and a Postage Stamp

 

For Ray Charles' Birthday a New CD/DVD and a Postage Stamp

This week, marking what would have been Ray Charles 83rd birthday, the U.S. Postal¹ Service honored the singer with a new postage stamp. And, there’s also a new CD and DVD collection featuring great Ray Charles performances.

“Ray Charles Forever” opens with a newly remastered version of fellow piano man Leon Russell’s “A Song For You.”  It's one of a dozen tunes² on the CD in the collection.

President of the Ray Charles Foundation Valerie Ervin says that while fans of the singer and pianist may already have most of this music, there are extras that make this set special.  

“We released some DVD footage, some of that has never been seen or put out in many, many years," she said. "Some of it was shot over in Europe, it was a live show, so we are releasing that to DVD. That will be bonus footage for everyone to enjoy. And a lot of the tracks were remastered, so the sound comes up to today’s quality of sound, if you will.”

But there is one never-before-released recording³ on “Ray Charles Forever.”

“They Can’t Take That Away From Me” is a song that Ray always performed in his live shows, but it’s never been put out on record," Ervin said. "So, a lot of people are going to get this track for the very first time and hear it for the very first time.”

We often think of Charles as a great Rhythm and Blues⁴ singer, so hearing a swinging version of a George and Ira Gershwin classic - or his country songs - is a good reminder⁵ that he sang all kinds of American popular music.

Valerie Ervin explains that Charles believed singing was another form of storytelling.

“It heals people, it helps people, no matter what genre⁶ you’re singing," she said. "So, for him to take an old gospel song and sing it and bring it to life, everyone gravitates to it. You go ‘I never heard that song before.’ But when he puts his stamp on it, you thought that it really happened to him. And that’s what music is all about.”  

The 20-minute DVD portion of the package includes songs recorded during some mid-1990s festivals and interviews from the 1980s. A music-only version of “Ray Charles Forever” is available for download, as well. 

1 postal   

adj.邮政的，邮局的

参考例句：

• A postal network now covers the whole country.邮路遍及全国。
• Remember to use postal code.勿忘使用邮政编码。

2 tunes   

n.曲调，曲子( tune的名词复数 )v.调音( tune的第三人称单数 )；调整；（给收音机、电视等）调谐；使协调

参考例句：

• a potpourri of tunes 乐曲集锦
• When things get a bit too much, she simply tunes out temporarily. 碰到事情太棘手时，她干脆暂时撒手不管。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 recording   

n.录音，记录

参考例句：

• How long will the recording of the song take?录下这首歌得花多少时间？
• I want to play you a recording of the rehearsal.我想给你放一下彩排的录像。

4 blues   

n.抑郁，沮丧；布鲁斯音乐

参考例句：

• She was in the back of a smoky bar singing the blues.她在烟雾弥漫的酒吧深处唱着布鲁斯歌曲。
• He was in the blues on account of his failure in business.他因事业失败而意志消沉。

5 reminder   

n.提醒物，纪念品；暗示，提示

参考例句：

• I have had another reminder from the library.我又收到图书馆的催还单。
• It always took a final reminder to get her to pay her share of the rent.总是得发给她一份最后催缴通知，她才付应该交的房租。

6 genre   

n.(文学、艺术等的)类型，体裁，风格

参考例句：

• My favorite music genre is blues.我最喜欢的音乐种类是布鲁斯音乐。
• Superficially,this Shakespeare's work seems to fit into the same genre.从表面上看， 莎士比亚的这个剧本似乎属于同一类型。