Ray Charles
For Ray Charles of the Ray Charles Singers and longtime vocal conductor for Perry Como, see Ray Charles (elder).Ray Charles was the
stage name of
Ray Charles Robinson (
September 23,
1930 –
June 10,
2004). He overcame the handicap of
blindness to become a pioneering
American pianist and
soul musician who shaped the sound of
rhythm and blues and brought a soulful sound to everything from
country music to
pop standards to a now-famous rendition of "
America the Beautiful."
Frank Sinatra called him "the only true genius in the business."
Early years
Ray Charles Robinson was born in
Albany, Georgia to Bailey and Aretha Robinson. The family moved to the small North Florida hamlet of
Greenville when he was only a few months old. His father wasn't around much as he worked and had two more families, leaving his mother to raise the family with the aid of his father's wife Mary Jane, who helped raise Ray. When Ray was 5 his younger brother, George, who was around 4, drowned in an outside tub. Ray witnessed him fall and tried to pull him out, but he was too heavy for Ray. Ray began going blind soon after and was totally blind by the age of seven. He said that the causes were undiagnosed. (* Note - there are sources which attribute Ray's blindness to
glaucoma.) He attended school at the
Florida School for the Deaf and the Blind in
St. Augustine, Florida, as a charity case; he learned how to read
Braille, as well as to write music and play various
musical instruments. While he was there, his mother Aretha 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, eventually moving to
Seattle in
1947 at the age of seventeen. He soon started recording, first for the label Swingtime Records, achieving his first hit songs with "Confession Blues" (
1949) and "Baby, Let Me Hold Your Hand" (
1951) before signing with
Atlantic Records in
1952. When he entered
show business, his name was shortened to Ray Charles to avoid confusion with
boxer Sugar Ray Robinson.
Middle years
Charles scored his first Atlantic hit in
1953 with the release of the
Ahmet Ertegun-composed "
Mess Around" single, he had another hit with the version of "It Should Have Been Me," but his career went into high gear with the
gospel drive of "
I Got a Woman" (
1955). This was followed by "This Little Girl of Mine," "Drown in My Own Tears," "Hallelujah I Love Her So", and "Lonely Avenue." Half of them were gospel songs converted with secular lyrics, and the others
blues ballads.
 |
Charles' landmark album Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music |
The essence of this phase of his career can be heard on his live album
Ray Charles In Person, recorded by radio station
WAOK before a mostly
African American audience in
Atlanta in 1956. This album also features the first public performance of "
What'd I Say." It broke out as a hit in Atlanta from the tape, months before it was recorded in the studio in a two-part version with better fidelity.
Shortly afterward, in an appearance at the
Newport Jazz Festival he achieved mainstream success with "The Night Time (Is The Right Time)" which appeared on
Ray Charles at Newport (1959) and his signature song, "
What'd I Say".
Ray had already begun to go beyond the limits of the blues-gospel synthesis while still at Atlantic, which now called him
The Genius. He recorded with very large orchestras and with jazz artists like
Milt Jackson and even made his first country music
cover song with
Hank Snow's "I'm Movin' On."
He then moved on to
ABC Records, where he was given a great deal of control over his music, and broadened his approach, not on experimental side projects, but with
pop music, resulting in such hits as "Unchain My Heart", "You Are My Sunshine", and the
#1 hits on the
Billboard pop charts, "
Georgia On My Mind" and "Hit the Road Jack." In
1962, Charles surprised his new, broad audience with his landmark album
Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music, which included the numbers "I Can't Stop Loving You" and "You Don't Know Me".
In 1961, Charles cancelled a concert scheduled to take place in the Bell Auditorium in
Augusta, Georgia to protest against
segregated seating. He wasn't banned from the state of Georgia as inaccurately claimed in the biopic,
Ray, though Charles did have to pay $800 compensation to the promoter [
1].
Later years
In
1965, Charles was arrested for possession of
heroin, a drug to which he had been addicted for 17 years. It was his third arrest for the offense, but he avoided prison time after kicking the habit in a clinic in
Los Angeles. He spent a year on parole in 1966.
After the
1960s, Charles' releases were hit-or-miss, with some massive hits and critically acclaimed work, and some music that was dismissed as unoriginal and staid. He concentrated largely on live performances, although his version of "
Georgia On My Mind," a
Hoagy Carmichael song originally written for a girl named Georgia, was a hit and soon was proclaimed the
state song of Georgia on
April 24,
1979, with Charles performing it on the floor of the
state legislature. He also had success with his unique version of "America the Beautiful."
Film audiences enthusiastic for a
soul music and
R&B resurgence, fueled in part by the music performances of comic frontmen
John Belushi and
Dan Aykroyd in the April 22, 1978, episode of
Saturday Night Live, snapped up albums, heavily requested Top 40 releases and swelled the box office take of summer 1980's
The Blues Brothers. In one of the film's notable cameos, Ray Charles plays a blind music store owner and offers a lively "
Shake Your Tailfeather."
Then in the late
1980s, a number of events increased Charles' recognition among young audiences. In
1985, "Night Time is the Right Time" was featured in the episode "Happy Anniversary" of
The Cosby Show. The cast members used the song to perform a wildly popular lip-synch that helped the show secure its wide viewership. In
1986, he performed his rendition of "America the Beautiful" at
WrestleMania 2. Charles' new connection with audiences helped secure a spokesmanship for
Diet Pepsi. In this highly successful advertising campaign, Charles popularized the
catchphrase "
You Got the Right One, Baby!" As well, Charles made appearances on
The Super Dave Osbourne Show, where he performed and appeared in a few vignettes where he was somehow driving a car. At the height of his newfound fame in the early nineties, Charles did guest
vocals for quite a few projects. He also appeared (with
Chaka Khan) on long time friend
Quincy Jones' hit "I'll Be Good To You" in
1990, from Jones' album
Back on the Block.
Final performances
 |
Cover of a posthumous release, Genius Loves Company |
Charles performed his classic "
Georgia On My Mind" during the Opening Ceremonies of the
1996 Olympic Games in
Atlanta,
Georgia.
In
2002 Charles headlined during the
Cognac festival in southern
France. At one point in the performance a young fan rose to his feet and began to sing an
a cappella version of Charles' early song,
Mess Around. Charles adored this show of respect and bravery and decided to show this fan his admiration by playing the song.
One of Charles' last public performances was in
2003 at a televised annual electronic media journalist banquet held in
Washington, D.C. He performed "Georgia On My Mind" and "America the Beautiful." Ray Charles' final public appearance came on
April 30,
2004, at the dedication of his music
studio as a
historic landmark in the city of Los Angeles.
He died at age 73 on June 10, 2004 (11:35 a.m.) of
liver disease at his home in
Beverly Hills,
California, surrounded by family and friends. He was interred in the
Inglewood Park Cemetery in
Inglewood, California.
His final album,
Genius Loves Company, released two months after his death, consists of duets with various admirers and contemporaries:
B.B. King,
Van Morrison,
Willie Nelson,
James Taylor,
Gladys Knight,
Michael McDonald,
Natalie Cole,
Elton John,
Bonnie Raitt,
Diana Krall,
Norah Jones,
Idina Menzel, and
Johnny Mathis. The album won 8
Grammy Awards, including 5 for Ray Charles for Best Pop Vocal Album, Album of the Year, Record of the Year and Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals for "Here We Go Again" with
Norah Jones, and Best Gospel Performance for "Heaven Help Us All" with
Gladys Knight; he also received nods for his duets with Elton John and B.B. King.
Ray biopic and legacy
|
Promotional poster for biopic, Ray, starring Jamie Foxx as Ray Charles |
Charles was significantly involved in the biopic
Ray, an October
2004 film which portrays his life and career between
1930 and
1966 and stars
Jamie Foxx as Charles. Foxx won the
2005 Academy Award for
Best Actor for the role.
Before shooting could begin, however, director
Taylor Hackford brought Foxx to meet Charles, who insisted that they sit down at two pianos and play together. For two hours, Charles challenged Foxx, who revealed the depth of his talent, and finally, Charles stood up, hugged Foxx, and gave his blessing, proclaiming, "He's the one... he can do it."
Charles was able to attend a showing of the completed film, but he died before it opened in theaters. The film's credits note that he is survived by 12 children, 21 grandchildren, and 5 great grandchildren. Many of today's artists continue to honor the legacy of Charles. The
2005 Grammy Awards were dedicated to him.
In August 2005, the
United States Congress honored Charles by renaming the former
West Adams Station post office in Los Angeles the "Ray Charles Station".
Besides winning dozens of Grammy Awards in his career, Charles was also honored in many other ways. In
1976, he was one of the first honorees of the Georgia Music Hall of Fame being recognized for being a musician born in the state, a full three years before his version of "Georgia On My Mind" was made into the official state song. In
1981, he was given a star on the
Hollywood Walk of Fame and was one of the first inductees to the
Rock & Roll Hall of Fame at its inaugural ceremony in
1986. In
1991, he was inducted to the Rhythm & Blues Foundation, and in
2004 he was inducted to the
Jazz Hall of Fame.
Despite his support of
Martin Luther King, Jr. in the
1960s and his support for the
American Civil Rights Movement, Charles courted controversy when he toured
South Africa in
1981 despite an international boycott of the country because of its
apartheid policy. He faced pickets in South Africa and in 15
North American cities he toured subsequently, including
Albany,
New York; Los Angeles;
New York City; and
Toronto. The
United Nations agency supporting the boycott asked him to apologize and promise not to visit South Africa until the abolition of apartheid, to which he did not respond well. Despite having described himself as a "
Hubert Humphrey Democrat," Charles accepted $100,000 to perform "America the Beautiful" at former
U.S. President Ronald Reagan's
second inaugural ball. In response to criticism, his manager Joe Adams commented: "For that kind of money he would have sung 'America the Beautiful' at a
Ku Klux Klan (KKK) rally."
A notorious ladies' man, Charles was married twice and fathered twelve children by seven different women. His first marriage, to
Eileen Williams on July 31, 1951, resulted in one child and ended in divorce in 1952. Three additional children are from his second marriage, on April 5, 1955, to
Della Beatrice Howard Robinson. She was not one of his original
Raelettes. Their marriage ended in divorce in
1977. In a
60 Minutes profile, he admitted to
Ed Bradley that he "auditioned" his female back-up singers. The saying was, "To be a Raelette, you've got to
let Ray."
From the time of his switch from straight rhythm and blues with a combo, Charles was often accused of
selling out. He left behind his classic formulation of rhythm and blues to sing country music, pop songs, and soft-drink commercials. In the process, he went from a niche audience to worldwide fame.
*
Ray Charles discography*
Ray (film)*
Official website*
Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame Inductee Information*
Ray Charles analysis and photo gallery*
"The Genius Of Ray Charles", an article about an
1986 segment on Charles from
60 Minutes*
"Ray Charles Helped Integrate Birmingham" A blog post on
HungryBlues presenting historical documents about the role Ray Charles played in the Civil Rights Movement in Birmingham, AL, 1963.
*
"No Ray of Hope", a critical article regarding Charles' politics by Toronto journalist Norman Otis Richmond in NOW Magazine
*
Bohème Magazine Obituary: Ray Charles (1930 – 2004)
*
Ray Charles Memorial in Greenville, Florida*
Ray Charles at
Findagrave.com
