Ray Charles

"Lydon traces Charles' tumultuous career on the road and in the recording studio, bringing to life the highs and lows and the many memorable characters he encountered as he toured the Jim Crow South on the "chitlin curcuit," and the rest of the country. For nearly two decades, Charles struggled with heroin abuse. He loved countless women and became a sultan in a harem of his own making. Veterans of the jazz and soul scene - Quincy Jones, David "Fathead" Newman, Leroy "Hog" Cooper - became lifelong friends and collaborators, and Charles negotiated an unheard-of arrangement with his record label, which gave him complete ownership of his master tapes and made him a millionaire."--BOOK JACKET.