7/4/20: It’s the Fourth of July, and I’ve been wracking my poor brain trying to figure out what on earth to post. Happily, after weeks of worrying, YouTube solved my problem for me. Here’s America the Beautiful sung by Ray Charles. It’s definitely the best this song has ever sounded!

I feel like we’ve all got a complicated relationship with our country right now, but I hope this beautiful music reminds us of all we love about it and of all we can be. Wishing everyone a very safe, happy, healthy Fourth of July. Take it away, Ray!

Though he was taken from us in 2004, you can still follow the luminous Ray Charles on his website and Instagram.