Don Peake tells the story of his 1964 audition for Ray Charles. After a phone call asking for a guitar player, Peake drove to a round, windowless building, carried his guitars and amplifier upstairs, and found the full Ray Charles orchestra waiting around an empty guitar chair. He read a fast chart, drew praise from baritone player Leroy Cooper, answered Ray’s questions about the old songs, and was hired on the spot. The short interview frames the audition as a meeting of preparation and opportunity: reading ahead, knowing the repertoire, and being ready when the door opened.
“The day I auditioned for Ray Charles, they called me and they said, ‘Hey, we're looking for a guitar player.’ And I said, ‘I'm white.’”
“I've been playing with the jazz band at LA City College and I just got back from the Everly Brothers.”
“That boy is serious.”
“You read ahead about four bars. You're always watching ahead to see what's coming.”
“It's when preparation and opportunity meet at the corner.”
Summary and excerpts edited from the source video captions. Wording is lightly cleaned for readability; follow timestamps for the original recording.