On a stayover at my home in New Jersey a few years before his death, Ray reached into a bookshelf and removed his biography of John Lennon. I recall thinking of John's line, "Just give me some truth," and how Ray had worked himself to the bone to give John the truthful portrait he deserved.

Ray held the book in his hands a few seconds and stared at the cover. Then a warm smile filled his face. I interrupted his thoughts by snapping a picture. He looked up.

"Memories of John?" I asked.

He nodded.

"Wonderful memories," said one of the very few people who had ever seen life through the fabled eye of the Beatle hurricane. "Wonderful memories of all of them. There was so much laughter. So much music. So much great music. And so much life."

Ray's own life turned around in late 1995 with a four-hour operation during which a cancerous kidney was removed. He described himself afterwards as being at "30% energy" - which was still a good deal faster than most people at 100%.

Unfortunately, the cancer spread during 1996. In my last conversation with him, he was having trouble breathing. There was a tumor pressing against his lung. He talked about how his wife Pamela was, as he put it, "a tower of strength" in attending to him before and after his several operations in the past year. He also talked a bit about his two sons, Miles and Mark.

Then he asked me how a book I was working on was progressing, and if he could be of any further assistance. Here he was, heading for his last moments, and he wanted to help. It reminded me of how so many of the truly great ones — from Michelangelo to Sandy Koufax — are so gifted that they don't just run their race and win it; they also keep an eye on everyone running with them, and they stop and go back if someone is down.

They dust him off, see if he's all right, and get him started again. Then they start again, graciously, and regain the lead with the speed of the 1966 Beatles leaving Candlestick Park. When one sees such a rare race, the kindness is even more dazzling than the talent.