stamps: ray charles

Image from: beyondtheperf.com

The USPS honors Ray Charles with a new stamp today! This is one of several stamps in the Music Icons series. Ray Charles is a composer, singer, and pianist, blind since childhood, went beyond category, blending blues, gospel, country, jazz and soul music in a unique and highly influential pop music style. Some of his many hits include "I've got a Woman," "Georgia on My Mind," and "I Can't Stop Loving You."

The artwork on the new stamp features a picture of Charles, taken later in his career, by photographer Yves Carrére. The stamp sheet was designed to evoke the appearance of a vintage 45 rpm record sleeve. One side of the sheet includes the stamps and the image of a sliver of a record seeming to peek out the top of the sleeve. A larger version of the photograph featured on the stamp and the logo for the Music Icons series appear on the reverse side.

Art director Ethel Kessler worked on the stamp sheet with designer Neal Ashby. The Ray Charles stamp is being issued as a Forever® stamp.