Ray Charles was one of the first soul musicians, a pianist and singer combining gospel and blues music with country and jazz influences to create many unique compositions and recordings. He was immensely creative and productive, and influenced many other artists.
Ray Charles Robinson was born in 1930 in Albany, Georgia. He became completely blind by age 7, probably due to glaucoma. At St Augustines School for the deaf and blind in Florida he learned to play piano, sax, clarinet and trumpet, and to write music in Braille. After leaving school he worked with several bands, playing in different styles including jazz and hillbilly.
In 1947, Ray Robinson moved to Seattle, and soon started recording. His first hit "Baby, Let Me Hold Your Hand" was released in 1951, using the name "Ray Charles" to avoid confusion with the boxer Sugar Ray Robinson. In 1953 he played piano on Guitar Slim's recording of "The Things I Used To Do", which sold over a million copies. His own recordings "It Should Have Been Me" and "Mess Around" made the charts in 1953, but his breakthrough was with "I Got A Woman", which reached #1 on the R&B charts in 1955. "I Got A Woman" was one of the first to use gospel music for a secular theme, a style later to be known as Soul. After this, Ray Charles released a string of R&B hits including "Lonely Avenue", "Drown In My Own Tears" and "The Night Time (Is The Right Time)".
Backed by a female vocal group "The RaeLettes", he released the blues number "What'd I Say", which reached number #1 on the R&B charts and #6 on the general pop charts. This was followed by further pop successes like "Georgia On My Mind" (later proclaimed the state song of Georgia), "Hit The Road Jack" and "Unchain My Heart". During this period, Charles composed and recorded in a variety of styles. He made jazz and big band swing recordings with his old friend Quncy Jones. In 1962, he released the landmark "Modern Sounds In Country & Western Music", which reached number one on the pop album charts, and stayed there for over three months.
Ray Charles had been addicted to herion since he was a teenager, and in 1964 was arrested for possession for the third time. He managed to kick the habit, but for the next twenty years his output was often erratic.
In the late 1980's Ray Charles became more widely known among young audiences, and from then on he appeared in several films and on TV, and performed with other artists such as Chaka Khan, Quincy Jones and Van Morrison. Ray Charles died in 2004 aged 73.
Georgia on my Mind
I Can't Stop Lovin You
LinksSwing Music Bio of Ray Charles
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