4 Fingertips

CHAPTER 4 Fingertips Everyone at Motown agreed that Little Stevie was a real wonder, but now what? He was only eleven years old. Would he sing love songs? Or play high- energy dance tunes? Or show off his talent at playing the harmonica and other instruments? No one could quite figure out exactly where he fit into the musical picture. Stevie's first album, The Jazz Soul of Little Stevie, was released in September 1962. It was an instrumental. That meant that there were no words to any of the songs. Stevie played the bongos, keyboard, harmonica, and other instruments on the album, but he didn't sing at all. Unfortunately, the album didn't sell very well.

摩城的每个人都认为小史蒂夫是一个真正的奇迹，但现在呢？ 他只有11岁。 他会唱情歌吗？或者演奏高能量的舞曲？ 或者炫耀他在吹口琴和其他乐器方面的天赋？ 没有人能确切地指出他在音乐画面中的位置。 史蒂夫的第一张专辑《小史蒂夫的爵士灵魂》于1962年9月发行。 这是一个工具。这意味着所有的歌曲都没有歌词。 史蒂夫在专辑中演奏手鼓、键盘、口琴和其他乐器，但他根本没有唱歌。 不幸的是，这张专辑卖得不太好。

Just one month later, Stevie's second album was released: Tribute to Uncle Ray. "Uncle Ray" was Ray Charles, a famous singer who was not actually related to Stevie, but who was also blind. Ray Charles was twenty years older than Stevie. On his tribute album, Stevie sang Ray's popular songs. But this second album didn't sell very well, either. Sadly, Stevie's early recordings didn't capture the fun and excitement he showed when he played for friends or studio executives. Whenever there was an audience present, Stevie seemed to really come alive. So Berry Gordy sent Stevie on a tour called the Motortown Revue late in 1962.

仅仅一个月后，史蒂夫的第二张专辑《致敬雷叔叔》发行了。 “雷叔叔”是雷·查尔斯（Ray Charles），他是一位著名的歌手，实际上与史蒂夫没有亲戚关系，但他也是盲人。 雷·查尔斯比史蒂夫大20岁。 在他的致敬专辑中，史蒂夫演唱了雷的流行歌曲。 但第二张专辑也卖得不太好。 遗憾的是，史蒂夫的早期录音并没有捕捉到他为朋友或工作室主管演奏时所表现出的乐趣和兴奋。 每当有观众在场时，史蒂维似乎真的活了起来。 因此，1962年底，贝瑞·戈迪让史蒂夫参加了一场名为“摩托城剧团”的巡演。

Stevie joined Marvin Gaye, the Miracles, the Supremes, the Temptations, and other acts on the Motortown Revue. They rode two old buses and several cars into thirty-six cities over fifty-six days. They performed almost every night. It was an exhausting tour, especially for twelve-year-old Stevie.

史蒂夫加入了马文·盖伊、奇迹乐队、至上乐队、诱惑乐队和其他乐队。 他们乘坐两辆旧公共汽车和几辆小汽车，在56天内前往36个城市。 他们几乎每晚都表演。 这是一次令人筋疲力尽的旅行，尤其是对12岁的史蒂夫来说。

Ray Charles (1930–2004) Ray Charles Robinson was a singer, songwriter, and pianist who is sometimes called the "The Genius" for the way he combined different forms of music— including gospel, R&B, and jazz—to create the style we now call "soul." He is also known as the "Father of Soul Music." Charles grew up in poverty in the South. He lost his sight due to an illness at age seven. He developed a talent for music at the Florida School for the Deaf and the Blind, and he was still a teenager when he began performing professionally. His most famous hits all came in the early 1960s and included "Unchain My Heart," "Hit the Road Jack," and "Georgia on My Mind." In 1986, Ray Charles was among the first group of inductees to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

雷·查尔斯·罗宾逊是一位歌手、词曲作者和钢琴家，他有时被称为“天才”，因为他将不同形式的音乐——包括福音、节奏布鲁斯和爵士——结合在一起，创造了我们现在称之为“灵魂乐”的风格。 他也被称为“灵魂音乐之父”。 查尔斯在南方的贫困中长大。 他七岁时因病失明。 他在佛罗里达聋哑学校培养了音乐天赋，当他开始专业表演时，他还是一个十几岁的孩子。 他最著名的金曲都出现在20世纪60年代初，包括《解开我的心》、《上路吧杰克》和《乔治亚在我脑海里》。 1986年，雷·查尔斯（Ray Charles）成为摇滚名人堂（Rock and Roll Hall of Fame）首批入选者之一。

Until the tour, Stevie had little experience with racism. Kids had called him names before, but he had never felt racial intolerance like he did while on the tour. Some of the stops were at mostly white towns in the South, where racism was still strong. In some cities, Stevie was not allowed to eat in the same restaurants or use the same bathrooms that white people did. After one show in Birmingham, Alabama, the performers heard gunshots as they were leaving. Later, the driver found bullet holes in the "Motortown Revue" sign on one of their buses.

在这次巡演之前，史蒂夫对种族主义几乎没有什么经验。 孩子们以前也骂过他，但他从来没有像巡演时那样感到种族歧视。 其中一些站点是在种族主义仍然很强烈的南方以白人为主的城镇。 在一些城市，黑人不被允许和白人在同一家餐馆吃饭或使用相同的浴室。 在阿拉巴马州伯明翰的一场演出结束后，表演者在离开时听到了枪声。 后来，司机在他们一辆巴士上的“Motortown Revue”牌子上发现了弹孔。