ABSTRACT
Charles circled the globe, and fans of every nation showered him with gold. He began
to live as a prince of the modern city, a life not without danger.
Ray’s decade opened on January at the Hollywood Palladium, his second gig at the
Sunset Strip club and his first booked by Hal Zeiger. “The Most Creative Musical
Giant of the Generation!” Zeiger headlined the newspaper ads. “RAY CHARLES and
His Orchestra and Entertainers, Playing His Hit Records in Person!” The show sold
out, and Zeiger began to play a major role in Ray’s career. According to one who knew
him well, Hal Zeiger was a “hard-hitting guy who loved music and money and man-
aged to make both.” Tall, balding, and possessed of a “do it my way” manner, Zeiger
had started in show business promoting a show called the Borschtcapades, but he soon
saw bigger money in black music. By he was booking R&B shows in El Monte and
sharing an office at Hollywood and Vine with bandleader Johnny Otis. Zeiger’s sim-
ple but brilliant idea was that he could make a fortune by shaping Ray Charles, king
of the black dance halls, into a class act that he could present to integrated audiences
in the top theaters and concert halls of any big city in America. For the next four years
Zeiger did just that, promoting shows for Ray in dozens of cities, renting the hall, tak-
ing out ads in white as well as black newspapers, and bankrolling advance expenses.
