Ray Charles(1930-2004)
- Music Artist
- Music Department
- Actor
A tragic fate may have given this visionary a heightened sensitivity,
perception, awareness, even expansion to his obvious musical gifts that
he may have never touched upon had he not suffered from his physical
affliction. Whatever it was, Ray Charles revolutionized American music
and was catapulted to legendary status by the time he died in Beverly
Hills at age 73.
Born on September 23, 1930, to Aretha and Baily Robinson, an impoverished
Albany, Georgia, family that moved to Greenville, Florida while he was
still an infant. It was not a cause for joy and celebration. His father
soon abandoned the family and his baby brother, George Robinson,
drowned in a freak washtub accident. Ray himself developed glaucoma at
the age of five and within two years had lost his sight completely. A
singer in a Baptist choir, he developed a love and feel for rhythms and
studied music at the State School for Deaf and Blind Children, showing
which brought out his talent and ear for playing various instruments,
including the piano and clarinet.
An orphan by his early teens, Ray
joined a country band at age 16 called The Florida Playboys. He moved
to Seattle in 1948 where he and Southern guitarist Gossady McGee formed
the McSon Trio. With an emphasis on easy-styled jazz, Ray also played
in bebop sessions on the sly. He departed from the McSon Trio and
signed with Los Angeles-based Swing Time Records, becoming the pianist
for rhythm and blues great Lowell Fulson
and his band. Atlantic Records eventually picked him up. Along the road
he would add composer, writer and arranger to his formidable list of
talents.
Ray's first R&B hit was "Confession Blues" in Los Angeles in 1949. In
1951, he had his first solo chart buster with "Baby Let Me Hold Your
Hand". His amazing versatility and raw, soulful delivery quickly caught
on with audiences and helped put Atlantic Records on the map. Hits like
"Mess Around", "Things I Used to Do", "A Fool for You", "I've Got a
Woman", "Drown in My Own Tears", and especially "What'd I Say" in 1959,
pushed gospel and R&B to a wider crossover audience. He made a move
into the country music arena--unheard of for a black singer--in the
1960s, doing soulful spins on
Hank Williams and
Eddy Arnold tunes. In 1960, he left Atlantic
and signed with ABC-Paramount. Under ABC-Paramount, hits poured out
during this peak time with "I Can't Stop Loving You", "Hit the Road
Jack", "Busted" and his beloved signature song "Georgia On My Mind".
His landmark 1962 album "Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music"
brought a new swinging style to country music. From there, he traveled
a mainstream route--from interpreting songs from
The Beatles ("Eleanor Rigby") to appearing
in "Diet Pepsi" ads ("You Got the Right One, Baby, Uh-huh!"). He also
showed up sporadically in films, playing himself in the movie
Ballad in Blue (1965) and
guest-starring in
The Blues Brothers (1980) with
Dan Aykroyd and
John Belushi. A television musical variety
favorite with his trademark dark sunglasses and dry humor, he worked
alongside such musical legends as
Ella Fitzgerald and
Barbra Streisand on their very special
evenings of song.
It is hard to believe that with everything he accomplished, Ray also
had to deal with a longstanding heroin problem. In the mid-1960s, he
was arrested for possession of heroin and marijuana and revealed that
he had been addicted for nearly two decades. By 1965, he had completely
recovered. The man who lived life on the edge was divorced twice and
had 12 children both in and outside his marriages.
At the time of his death from liver disease on June 10, 2004, he was working on a recording project
of duets with such performers as
Willie Nelson,
Bonnie Raitt,
B.B. King,
Elton John and
Norah Jones. This collaboration entitled
"Genius Loves Company" led to an incisive win at the Grammy
Awards--eight posthumous trophies including "Album of the Year" and
"Record of the Year".
A few months after his death, the critically-acclaimed feature film biography Ray (2004) was released starring Oscar-winner Jamie Foxx.
perception, awareness, even expansion to his obvious musical gifts that
he may have never touched upon had he not suffered from his physical
affliction. Whatever it was, Ray Charles revolutionized American music
and was catapulted to legendary status by the time he died in Beverly
Hills at age 73.
Born on September 23, 1930, to Aretha and Baily Robinson, an impoverished
Albany, Georgia, family that moved to Greenville, Florida while he was
still an infant. It was not a cause for joy and celebration. His father
soon abandoned the family and his baby brother, George Robinson,
drowned in a freak washtub accident. Ray himself developed glaucoma at
the age of five and within two years had lost his sight completely. A
singer in a Baptist choir, he developed a love and feel for rhythms and
studied music at the State School for Deaf and Blind Children, showing
which brought out his talent and ear for playing various instruments,
including the piano and clarinet.
An orphan by his early teens, Ray
joined a country band at age 16 called The Florida Playboys. He moved
to Seattle in 1948 where he and Southern guitarist Gossady McGee formed
the McSon Trio. With an emphasis on easy-styled jazz, Ray also played
in bebop sessions on the sly. He departed from the McSon Trio and
signed with Los Angeles-based Swing Time Records, becoming the pianist
for rhythm and blues great Lowell Fulson
and his band. Atlantic Records eventually picked him up. Along the road
he would add composer, writer and arranger to his formidable list of
talents.
Ray's first R&B hit was "Confession Blues" in Los Angeles in 1949. In
1951, he had his first solo chart buster with "Baby Let Me Hold Your
Hand". His amazing versatility and raw, soulful delivery quickly caught
on with audiences and helped put Atlantic Records on the map. Hits like
"Mess Around", "Things I Used to Do", "A Fool for You", "I've Got a
Woman", "Drown in My Own Tears", and especially "What'd I Say" in 1959,
pushed gospel and R&B to a wider crossover audience. He made a move
into the country music arena--unheard of for a black singer--in the
1960s, doing soulful spins on
Hank Williams and
Eddy Arnold tunes. In 1960, he left Atlantic
and signed with ABC-Paramount. Under ABC-Paramount, hits poured out
during this peak time with "I Can't Stop Loving You", "Hit the Road
Jack", "Busted" and his beloved signature song "Georgia On My Mind".
His landmark 1962 album "Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music"
brought a new swinging style to country music. From there, he traveled
a mainstream route--from interpreting songs from
The Beatles ("Eleanor Rigby") to appearing
in "Diet Pepsi" ads ("You Got the Right One, Baby, Uh-huh!"). He also
showed up sporadically in films, playing himself in the movie
Ballad in Blue (1965) and
guest-starring in
The Blues Brothers (1980) with
Dan Aykroyd and
John Belushi. A television musical variety
favorite with his trademark dark sunglasses and dry humor, he worked
alongside such musical legends as
Ella Fitzgerald and
Barbra Streisand on their very special
evenings of song.
It is hard to believe that with everything he accomplished, Ray also
had to deal with a longstanding heroin problem. In the mid-1960s, he
was arrested for possession of heroin and marijuana and revealed that
he had been addicted for nearly two decades. By 1965, he had completely
recovered. The man who lived life on the edge was divorced twice and
had 12 children both in and outside his marriages.
At the time of his death from liver disease on June 10, 2004, he was working on a recording project
of duets with such performers as
Willie Nelson,
Bonnie Raitt,
B.B. King,
Elton John and
Norah Jones. This collaboration entitled
"Genius Loves Company" led to an incisive win at the Grammy
Awards--eight posthumous trophies including "Album of the Year" and
"Record of the Year".
A few months after his death, the critically-acclaimed feature film biography Ray (2004) was released starring Oscar-winner Jamie Foxx.