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| Ray Charles cancels concerts for first time in half a century
LOS ANGELES, Aug 5 (AFP) - Legendary US crooner Ray Charles said Tuesday he was cancelling the remaining shows in his current concert tour due to hip pain, marking the first time he has missed a tour in 53 years. The 72-year-old mellow soul music pioneer, who has been blind from the age of seven, said he had been forced to cancel the remaining 30 concerts in the series because of acute hip discomfort. Adaptive intelligence for a serious advantage: business, investment and technology- BizVantage! "It breaks my heart to withdraw from these shows," Charles said in a statement issued by his publicist here. "All my life, I've been touring and performing. It's what I do. But the doctors insist I stay put and mend for a while, so I'll heed their advice," said the artist who has won 13 Grammys, music top awards. Charles however said he hoped to maintain a light workload at his Los Angeles studios. He is overseeing the production of new releases from his Crossover Records label, mixing a long-planned gospel disc and is starting work on a new album of duets. In May, the singer, who turns 73 on September 30, celebrated giving the 10, 000th concert of his staggering 58-year career at the open-air Greek Theater in Los Angeles. He last performed publicly on July 20 in the eastern US state of Virginia after launching his latest concert tour in June. Charles, best known for mega-hits such as "Georgia on My Mind" and "I Can't Stop Loving You," is a multi-talented musician who has had the rare honour of being enshrined in the halls of fame of Rhythm and Blues, jazz and rock in the United States. A feature film based on his extraordinary life entitled "Unchain My Heart, The Ray Charles Story" has just finished shooting in Hollywood with actor Jamie Foxx in the lead role. ml/mk US-music-people-Charles
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