Etc...

Now I wish I had a ride

When he placed fourth in the London Marathon April 18, Huw Lobb may have thought he'd done as well as he could against tough competition in a distance race. If so, he was wrong. Last weekend, the Bedford, England, resident made a bit of history (and picked up $45,500 in prize money) by becoming the first human to win the annual 22-mile man vs. horse event at Llanwrtyd Wells, Wales. Lobb beat the first equine across the finish line by 2 minutes, 17 seconds.

Ray Charles's passing last week has inspired many appreciative retrospectives of his life and music. Two songs in particular illustrated his ability to take an existing tune and make it his own. "Georgia on My Mind" became his signature, earning him a Grammy Award in 1960. But was written 29 years earlier by Hoagy Carmichael and Stuart Gorrell. The other, "America the Beautiful," he turned into a bluesy version of the patriotic classic that was written as a poem in 1893. In all, Charles won 12 Grammys. The numbers that earned them for him, and the year each was released:

"Georgia on My Mind" 1960
"Let the Good Times Roll" 1960
"Hit the Road, Jack" 1961
"I Can't Stop Loving You" 1962
"Busted" 1963
"Crying Time" 1966
"Living for the City" 1975
"I'll Be Good to You" 1990
"A Song for You" 1993
- Ray Charles Enterprises