Ray Charles

Ray Charles Robinson (23 Eylül 1930 - 10 Haziran 2004) bilinen adıyla Ray Charles Amerikalı piyanist, müzisyen ve rhythm and blues ustası.Albany, Georgia’ da doğmuştur. Bailey ve Aretha çiftinin çocuğudur. Beş yaşındayken, küçük kardeşi George banyo küvetine kafa üstü düşerek ve boğularak ölmüştür. Bu olaydan birkaç yıl sonra Ray yedi yaşındayken kör olmuştur. (Kör olmasının nedeni glokom adlı bir göz hastalığıdır). Ancak hiçbir zaman görüntüyü tamamen kaybetmemiştir. Okul hayatına Florida Sağır ve Körler Okulu'nda devam etmiştir. Orada kör alfabesini ve enstrüman çalmayı öğrenerek müzik hayatına başlamıştır. Okuldan ayrıldıktan sonra müzisyen olarak çalışmaya başlamıştır.

Ray Charles was the stage name of Ray Charles Robinson (September 23, 1930 – June 10, 2004). He was a pioneering American pianist and soul musician who shaped the sound of rhythm and blues. He brought a soulful sound to country music, pop standards, and a rendition of "America the Beautiful" that Ed Bradley of 60 Minutes called the "definitive version of the song, an American anthem — a classic, just as the man who sang it." Frank Sinatra called him "the only true genius in the business."And in 2004, Rolling Stone Magazine ranked Ray Charles #10 on their list of The Immortals: 100 Greatest Artists of All Time.

Ray Charles Robinson was born in Albany, Georgia to Bailey and Aretha Robinson. Bailey had two more families, leaving Aretha to raise the family. When he was six, Charles began to go blind, becoming totally blind by the age of seven.Charles never knew exactly why he lost his sight, though there are sources which suggest Ray's blindness was due to glaucoma. He attended school at the St. Augustine School for the Deaf and the Blind in St. Augustine, Florida. He also learned how to write music and play various musical instruments.While he was there, his mother died. His father died two years later. After he left school, Charles began working as a musician in Florida in several bands that played in various styles, including jazz and country music. Charles moved to Seattle in 1947 or 1948. He soon started recording, first for the label Swingtime Records, achieving his first hit with "Baby, Let Me Hold Your Hand" in 1951, then signed with Ahmet Ertegun at Atlantic Records a year later. When he entered show business, his name was shortened to Ray Charles to avoid confusion with boxer Sugar Ray Robinson.

Almost immediately after signing with Atlantic, Charles scored his first branch of hits with the label with the rap-like "It Should Have Been Me" and the Ertegun-composed "Mess Around", both charting in 1953. But it was Charles' own self-composed "I Got a Woman" that broke the musician to national prominence. The song reached the top of Billboard's R&B singles chart in 1955 and from there until 1959, Charles would have a series of R&B chart-toppers including "This Little Girl of Mine", "Lonely Avenue", "Mary Ann", "Drown in My Own Tears" and "The Night Time (Is the Right Time)". During this time of transition, he recruited a young girl group from New York named the Cookies as his background singing group changing their name to the Raelettes in the process. In 1959, Charles crossed over to top 40 radio with the release of his impromptu blues number, "What'd I Say", which was initially conceived while Charles was in concert. The song would peak at number one R&B and would become Charles' first top ten single on the pop charts where it peaked at number-six. Charles would also record one of his finest albums, The Genius of Ray Charles, before leaving Atlantic for a more lucrative deal with ABC in 1959. Hit songs such as "Georgia On My Mind", "Hit the Road Jack" and "Unchain My Heart" helped him transition to pop success and his landmark 1962 album, Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music, helped to bring country into the mainstream.

He died on June 10, 2004 of "liver disease", at his home in Beverly Hills, California, surrounded by family and friends. His death was not due to liver cancer as was erroneously reported on certain websites He was interred in the Inglewood Park Cemetery in Inglewood, California.