Charles: Public Memorial, Private Funeral

A public memorial for Ray Charles will be held Thursday (June 17) in the South Hall of the Los Angeles Convention Center. Charles died June 10 at age 73 from complications of liver disease.
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The viewing will be open for eight hours beginning at noon. A book of condolences will also be available for mourners to sign.

A private funeral mass will be held at 10 a.m. the following day at the city's First AME Church on Harvard Blvd. Willie Nelson, B.B. King, Clint Eastwood, Stevie Wonder, Glen Campbell, Cicely Tyson, Billy Preston, Rev. Jesse Jackson and L.A. Mayor James Hahn are among those expected to attend the two-hour, invitation-only ceremony.

Following the service, the funeral procession will pass by Charles' recording studios. The building at 2107 Washington Blvd. was recently designated a city historical landmark in a ceremony that marked the performer's final public appearance before his death.

"I love this place," Charles said at the late April event. "It's the only home I've truly had for most of my professional career and I would never leave it."

Charles' body will be interred at Inglewood Cemetery.