“America the Beautiful“ is an American patriotic song….with lyrics written by Katharine Lee Bates….while the music was composed by church organist and choirmaster Samuel A. Ward at Grace Episcopal Church in Newark, New Jersey…..as the two never met…..when Bates originally wrote the words as a poem, “Pikes Peak“…..which was first published in the Fourth of July edition of the church periodical The Congregationalist in 1895. At that time, the poem was titled “America” for publication…..while Ward had originally written the music, “Materna”, for the hymn “O Mother dear, Jerusalem” in 1882….although it was not first published until 1892. Ward’s music combined with the Bates poem was first published in 1910 and titled “America the Beautiful”.
The song is one of the most popular of the many U.S. patriotic songs….and as far as we here at ImaSportsphile are concerned…..nobody, and we mean nobody sings the song quite like legendary singer Ray Charles…..as his beautiful, rough and powerful voice seems to catch the essence of just how beautiful the United States of America truly is…..for he captures the very soul of America….with all of its pain and glory in such a way that inspires those who hear him sing it…..cuz it literally sends “goosebumps” up and down ours cumulative spines and touches our hearts. We provided evidence of this comment as truth with our post of Ray Charles performing America The Beautiful before the start of the 1980 World Welterweight Title Fight between Sugar Ray Leonard vs. Roberto Duran in their 2nd meeting…..as Sugar Ray was vividly inspired to go out and inflict NO MAS NO MAS on the once legendary Manos de Piedras after Brother Ray sang for him.
