James Brown said this about his shaky relationship with Ray Charles:
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“Things started out rocky between Ray Charles and me. Especially when I was the closer on a bill (a concert line-up) Ray shared. We were both such intense performers and he followed me as the closer, never an easy thing for anyone to do. Each of us instinctively knew that nobody could follow us. We were the showstoppers and show enders.”

“Ray didn’t like the fact that I was so young and so strong. And, I didn’t appreciate having to do battle for top turf. Also, both of us liked a lot of women, and sometimes the same ones.”

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Here’s how Brown said the tables started to turn between he and Charles eventually:
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“It wasn’t until we sat down and talked man-to-man that I could get past my own insecurities and Ray could see who I really was.”

“As we got to know each other better, I soon came under his glorious spell and we became the best of friends.”

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Brown on how Ray Charles never ceased to amaze him:

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“Despite being blind, Ray always had the uncanny ability to identify me. I don’t know how he did it. I was walking down a hall one day and he happened to pass me and suddenly he broke into a big smile and said, “That’s James Brown…’Please Please Please’ James Brown, isn’t it?”

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[Source: “I Feel Good,” by Marc Eliot]

Ray Charles and James Brown were at the points in their careers where they both were striving for greatness. The competitive nature that they both had was already naturally in them, but their quest to be the greatest is what drove them to be competitive with each other. It’s no different than parents who may have come from a broken home, striving to create a better family for their own children. So that family looks down the street at the family who has a tight-knit, in-tact family and therefore consciously or subconsciously, they strive to be like the family down the street. Regardless of if we’re talking about James Brown and Ray Charles, or the family striving to be better, they all produce a better quality product either through their children, or in Brown’s and Charles’ cases, through their music.

It’s great to see that Ray Charles and James Brown were ultimately able to channel their competitive personalities in a good direction and become extremely close at the end. We always love a happy Old School ending.