Charles, Ray

Charles, Ray (1930-2004), American pianist and singer, one of the most influential figures in the history of popular music. In the 1950s Charles—often called simply “The Genius”—fused gospel music with rhythm and blues (R&B) to pioneer a distinctive style that came to be known as soul music. He also recorded in and helped shape a wide variety of other musical genres, including blues, jazz, country, and rock.

Ray Charles Robinson was born in Albany, Georgia, and grew up in Greenville, Florida. He lost his sight by the age of seven, probably as a result of glaucoma. Charles received his first musical training at the St Augustine (Florida) School for the Deaf and Blind. Aged 15, with both his parents dead, Charles left school, formed his own trio, and began touring the South, shortening his name to avoid confusion with boxer Sugar Ray Robinson. A few years later he moved to Seattle, Washington, where he continued to learn and experiment with various musical styles. Two of Charles’s biggest influences during this time were the smooth jazz sounds of Nat King Cole and the piano blues of Charles Brown.

His first commercial recording was “Confession Blues” for the Downbeat label in 1948. In the early 1950s Charles moved to Los Angeles, California, and began recording. His first national success came with the 1951 song “Baby Let Me Hold Your Hand”. His style further developed after he signed with Atlantic Records and recorded the hit song “I’ve Got a Woman” (1954). The faster tempo and emotional intensity of these songs often drew from the gospel tradition, but Charles replaced the religious themes with lyrics about personal relationships. His grainy, pleading style of singing was also very distinctive. Over the next few years Charles continued to grow in popularity and recognition with singles such as “Drown in My Own Tears” (1955), “Leave My Woman Alone” (1956), “Lonely Avenue” (1956), and “The Right Time” (1958). His first recording that became widely popular with both white and black audiences was “What'd I Say” (1959), which prominently featured his backup singers, the Raelettes. The call-and-response feature of the song was borrowed from church music, and was combined with powerful brass arrangements to make an exciting fusion. Thus, his talents as a bandleader and arranger were also highly effective.

Charles’s popularity peaked in the early and mid-1960s. In 1960 he recorded the classic “Georgia on My Mind”, which became that state’s official song in 1979. In 1961 he had a hit with a version of Percy Mayfield’s song “Hit the Road, Jack”. Throughout this time Charles continued to perform and record various different kinds of music. He addressed his long-standing love of country music with the album Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music (1962). The recording, helped by the hit single “I Can’t Stop Loving You”, sold more than 2.5 million copies and established Charles as the first black musician to become a star in country music.

Beginning in the late 1960s, Charles mostly recorded versions of traditionally popular songs, as opposed to original material. He also developed his own record label, Tangerine, and appeared on recordings by other artists. A recognized celebrity, he appeared in films such as The Blues Brothers (1980). He featured on the all-star charity record, “We Are The World” in 1985.

The artist published his autobiography, Brother Charles, in 1978. Co-written with David Ritz, the book describes his nearly two-decade addiction to heroin, which he overcame after a series of high-profile incidents with the police in the mid-1960s.

During his career Charles received 18 Grammy Awards, a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award (1987), a Kennedy Center Honor (1986), and a National Medal of Arts (1993). He was one of the first artists to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1986. Charles continued to perform and record during his final years, finishing a Grammy award-winning album of celebrity duets, Genius Loves Company (2004), and giving his approval to a cinematic version of his life story, Ray, released in 2004 to great critical acclaim and Academy Award success. He died at his home in Beverly Hills, California, on June 10, 2004.