Ray Charles

Biography

Ray Charles Robinson (September 23, 1930 – June 10, 2004) was an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. He is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century and was often referred to by contemporaries as "The Genius×The Genius1993 · Album · CompilationSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 26 tracks · 2 discsDisc 11Yesterday2:482Your cheatin' heart3:363Georgia on my mind3:394I' can't stop loving you4:135Together again2:396Take these chains from my heart2:517Half as much3:268Here we go again3:169Born to lose3:2310Eleanor Rigby2:5811You don't know me3:1412Hit the road Jack1:5813I got a woman (Live)6:17Disc 21What'd I say (Live)4:332Cry3:313Unchained my heart2:514Bye Bye Love2:115You are my Sunshine2:586You win again3:307Baby it's cold outside4:118Ruby3:559It makes no differene now3:3010Makin' believe2:5111That lucky old sun4:2312Careless Love3:5813Hey good lookin'2:10". Among friends and fellow musicians, Charles preferred being called "Brother Ray×Brother Ray1980 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 8 tracksA1Compared to What4:21A2Anyway You Want To5:50A3Don’ You Love Me Anymore?5:28A4A Poor Man’s Song3:35B1Now That We’ve Found Each Other4:46B2Ophelia3:32B3I Can’t Change It5:16B4Questions3:59". He lost his vision as a child, possibly due to glaucoma, and consequently wore dark glasses.
Charles pioneered the soul music genre during the 1950s by combining elements of blues, jazz, rhythm and blues, and gospel into his music during his time with Atlantic Records. He contributed to the integration of country music, rhythm and blues, and pop music during the 1960s with his crossover success on ABC Records, notably with his two Modern Sounds albums. With ABC, Charles became one of the first black musicians to be granted artistic control by a mainstream record company.
Charles's 1960s hit "Georgia on My Mind×Georgia on My Mind1981 · Album · CompilationSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 10 tracksA1Georgia on My Mind4:49A2Yes Indeed!2:08A3What'd I Say3:52A4Come Rain or Come Shine3:34A5A Fool for You7:22B1The Right Time2:29B2See See Rider2:41D3Drown in My Own Tears6:16B4I Got a Woman5:57B5Talking 'Bout You4:18" was the first of his three career No. 1 hits on the Billboard Hot 100. His 1962 album Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music×Modern Sounds in Country and Western MusicApril 1962 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 12 tracksA1Bye Bye, Love2:09A2You Don’t Know Me3:14A3Half as Much3:24A4I Love You So Much It Hurts3:33A5Just a Little Lovin’3:26A6Born to Lose3:15B1Worried Mind2:54B2It Makes No Difference Now3:30B3You Win Again3:29B4Careless Love3:56B5I Can’t Stop Loving You4:13B6Hey, Good Lookin’2:10 became his first album to top the Billboard 200. Charles had multiple singles reach the Top 40 on various Billboard charts: 61 on the US R&B singles chart, 33 on the Hot 100 singles chart, and eight on the Hot Country singles charts.
Charles cited Nat King Cole as a primary influence, but was also influenced by Art Tatum, Louis Jordan and Charles Brown. He had a lifelong friendship and occasional partnership with Quincy Jones. Frank Sinatra called Charles "the only true genius in show business", although Charles downplayed this notion. Billy Joel said, "This may sound like sacrilege, but I think Ray Charles was more important than Elvis Presley."
For his musical contributions, Charles received the Kennedy Center Honors, the National Medal of Arts, and the Polar Music Prize. He was one of the inaugural inductees at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1986. Charles has won 17 Grammy Awards (five posthumously), the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 1987, and 10 of his recordings have been inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame. Rolling Stone ranked Charles No. 10 on their list of the "100 Greatest Artists of All Time", and No. 2 on their list of the "100 Greatest Singers of All Time". In 2023, in its revised list for the "200 Greatest Singers of All Time", Charles was replaced at the No. 2 position by Whitney Houston while taking the sixth spot. In 2022, he was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame, as well as the Black Music & Entertainment Walk of Fame.

Early life and education

Ray Charles Robinson was born on September 23, 1930, in Albany, Georgia. He was the son of Bailey Robinson, a laborer, and Aretha (or Reatha) Robinson (née Williams), a laundress, of Greenville, Florida. During Aretha's childhood, her mother died and her father could not keep her. Bailey, a man her father worked with, took her in. The Robinson family—Bailey, his wife Mary Jane, and his mother—informally adopted her, and Aretha took the surname Robinson. A few years later, Aretha became pregnant by Bailey. During the ensuing scandal, she left Greenville late in the summer of 1930 to be with family back in Albany. After Charles's birth, she and the infant returned to Greenville. Aretha and Bailey's wife, who had lost a son, then shared in Charles's upbringing. The father had left Greenville and married another woman elsewhere. By his first birthday, Charles had a brother, George.
In his early years, Charles showed an interest in mechanical objects and often watched his neighbors working on their cars and farm machinery. Charles's musical curiosity was sparked at Wylie Pitman's Red Wing Cafe, at age three, when Pitman played boogie woogie on an old upright piano; Pitman subsequently taught Charles how to play the piano. Charles and his mother were always welcome at the Red Wing Cafe and even lived there when they were in financial distress. Pitman also cared for Ray's younger brother George, to take some of the burden off their mother. George accidentally drowned in his mother's laundry tub at age four.
Charles started to lose his sight at age four or five, and was blind by age seven, likely as a result of glaucoma. Because of his blindness, Charles donned his famous sunglasses. Destitute, uneducated, and mourning the loss of her younger son, Aretha Robinson used her connections in the local community to find a school that would accept a blind African-American pupil. Despite his initial protest, Charles attended school at the Florida School for the Deaf and the Blind in St. Augustine from 1937 to 1945 and learned to play a variety of instruments, including the piano, alto saxophone, clarinet, trumpet, and organ. He focused primarily on the piano.
Charles further developed his musical talent at school, taking classical piano lessons and learning the music of composers such as Bach, Mozart, Beethoven, Chopin, and Sibelius. Charles's music teacher, Mrs. Lawrence, taught him to read and write music using Braille, a difficult process that requires learning the left hand movements by reading braille with the right hand and learning the right hand movements by reading braille with the left hand, then combining the two parts.
Charles's mother died in the spring of 1945, when he was 14. Her death came as a shock to Charles, and he later said the deaths of his brother and mother were "the two great tragedies" of his life. Charles decided not to return to school after the funeral.

1945–1952: Florida, Los Angeles, and Seattle

After leaving school, Charles moved to Jacksonville to live with Charles Wayne Powell, who had been friends with his late mother. He played the piano for bands at the Ritz Theatre in LaVilla for over a year, earning $4 a night (US$48, in 2025 value). He joined Local 632 of the American Federation of Musicians, in the hope that it would help him get work, and was able to use the union hall's piano to practice, since he did not have one at home; he learned piano licks from copying the other players there. He started to build a reputation as a talented musician in Jacksonville, but the jobs did not come fast enough for him to construct a strong identity, so, at age 16, he moved to Orlando, where he lived in borderline poverty and went without food for days. Charles eventually started to write arrangements for a pop music band, and in the summer of 1947, he unsuccessfully auditioned to play piano for Lucky Millinder and his sixteen-piece band.
In 1947, Charles moved to Tampa, where he held two jobs, including one as a pianist for Charles Brantley's Honey Dippers. In his early career, Charles modeled himself on Nat King Cole. His first four recordings—"Wondering and Wondering", "Walking and Talking", "Why Did You Go?" and "I Found My Baby There"—were allegedly done in Tampa, although some discographies claim he recorded them in Miami in 1951 or else Los Angeles in 1952.
Charles had always played piano for other people, but he was keen to have his own band. He decided to leave Florida for a large city, and, considering Chicago and New York City too big, followed his friend Gosady "Garcia" McGee to Seattle, Washington, in March 1948, knowing that the biggest radio hits came from northern cities. There, under the tutelage of record producer Robert Blackwell, he met and befriended the 15-year-old Quincy Jones.
With Charles on piano, McKee on guitar, and Milton Garred on bass, The McSon Trio (named for McKee and Robinson) started playing the 1–5 A.M. shift at the Rocking Chair. Publicity photos of this trio are some of the earliest known photographs of Charles. In April 1949, he and his band recorded "Confession Blues", which became his first national hit, soaring to the second spot on the Billboard R&B chart. While still working at the Rocking Chair, Charles also arranged songs for other artists, including Cole Porter's "Ghost of a Chance" and Dizzy Gillespie's "Emanon". After the success of his first two singles, Charles moved to Los Angeles in 1950 and spent the next few years touring with the blues musician Lowell Fulson as Fulson's musical director.
In 1950, Charles's performance in a Miami hotel impressed record executive and producer Henry Stone, who went on to record a Ray Charles Rockin' record, which did not achieve popularity. During his stay in Miami, Charles was required to stay in the segregated but thriving black community of Overtown. Stone later helped Jerry Wexler find Charles in St. Petersburg.
After signing with Swing Time Records, Charles recorded two more R&B hits under the name Ray Charles: "Baby, Let Me Hold Your Hand" (1951), which reached No. 5, and "Kissa Me Baby" (1952), which reached No. 8. Swing Time folded the following year, and Ahmet Ertegun, founder of Atlantic, signed Charles.
In addition to being a musician, Charles was also a record producer, producing Guitar Slim's No. 1 hit, "The Things That I Used to Do".

1952–1959: Atlantic Records

In June 1952, Atlantic bought Charles's contract for $2,500 (US$30,310 in 2025 dollars). His first recording session for Atlantic ("The Midnight Hour"/"Roll with My Baby") took place in September 1952, although Charles's last Swing Time release ("Misery in My Heart"/"The Snow Is Falling") would not appear until February 1953.
In 1953, "Mess Around×Mess Around26 April 2004 · Album · CompilationSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 47 tracks · 2 discsDisc 11I Love You, I Love You2:422Confession Blues2:323Alone in the City2:574Can Anyone Ask for More?2:505Let’s Have a Ball2:346Rocking Chair Blues2:477If I Give You My Love2:388Can’t You See Darling2:399This Love of Mine3:0310How Long Blues2:3711Blues Before Sunrise2:5012A Sentimental Blues2:2713You’ll Never Miss the Water (Until the Well’s Gone Dry)2:5014Ain’t That Fine2:1815Don’t Put All Your Dreams in One Basket2:5216Sittin’ on Top of the World2:1817I’ve Had My Fun (Goin’ Down Slow)2:4318See See Rider2:3619What Have I Done2:3420Honey, Honey2:4421She’s on the Ball2:3222Th’ Ego Song2:2223Late in the Evening Blues3:0624Someday3:09Disc 21I’ll Do Anything but Work2:292I Wonder Who’s Kissing Her Now2:203All to Myself2:004Lonely Boy2:515Baby Let Me Hold Your Hand3:026I’m Glad for You Sake2:417Baby Won’t You Please Come Home2:558Kissa Me Baby3:129Hey Now2:2010The Snow Is Falling2:5011Misery in My Heart3:0512Let Me Hear You Call My Name3:3413Why Did You Go2:5014I’m Wondering and Wondering3:2115Walkin’ and Talkin’3:1016Guitar Blues2:3417Back Home2:3318The Sun’s Gonna Shine2:3919Roll With My Baby2:3820The Midnight Hour3:0121Jumpin’ in the Morning2:4722Mess Around2:4123Funny but I Still Love You3:14" became Charles's first small hit for Atlantic; during the next year, he had hits with "It Should've Been Me" and "Don't You Know". He also recorded the songs "Midnight Hour" and "Sinner's Prayer" around this time.
Late in 1954, Charles recorded "I've Got a Woman". The lyrics were written by bandleader Renald Richard, but Charles claimed the composition. They later admitted that the song went back to the Southern Tones' "It Must Be Jesus" (1954). It became one of his most notable hits, reaching No. 2 on the R&B chart. "I've Got a Woman" combined gospel, jazz, and blues elements. In 1955, he had hits with "This Little Girl of Mine" and "A Fool for You". In upcoming years, hits included "Drown in My Own Tears" and "Hallelujah I Love Her So".
Charles also recorded jazz, such as The Great Ray Charles (1957). He worked with vibraphonist Milt Jackson, releasing Soul Brothers in 1958 and Soul Meeting in 1961. By 1958, Charles was not only headlining major black venues such as the Apollo Theater in New York, but also larger venues such as Carnegie Hall and the Newport Jazz Festival, where his first live album was recorded in 1958. Charles hired a female singing group, the Cookies, and renamed them the Raelettes. In 1958, Charles and the Raelettes performed for the famed Cavalcade of Jazz concert produced by Leon Hefflin Sr. held at the Shrine Auditorium on August 3. The other headliners were Little Willie John, Sam Cooke, Ernie Freeman, and Bo Rhambo. Sammy Davis Jr. was also there to crown the winner of the Miss Cavalcade of Jazz beauty contest. The event featured the top four prominent disc jockeys of Los Angeles.
Charles reached the pinnacle of his success at Atlantic with the release of "What'd I Say", which combined gospel, jazz, blues and Latin music. Charles said that he wrote it spontaneously while he was performing in clubs with his band. Despite some radio stations banning the song because of its sexually suggestive lyrics, the song became Charles's first top-10 pop record. It reached No. 6 on the Billboard Pop chart and No. 1 on the Billboard R&B chart in 1959. Later that year, he released his first country song (a cover of Hank Snow's "I'm Movin' On") and recorded three more albums for the label: a jazz record (The Genius After Hours×The Genius After Hours3 October 1961 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 8 tracksA1The Genius After Hours5:24A2Ain’t Misbehavin’5:41A3Dawn Ray5:03A4Joyride4:39B1Hornful Soul5:29B2The Man I Love4:27B3Charlesville4:56B4Music, Music, Music2:54, 1961); a blues×Blues1994 · Album · CompilationSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 19 tracks1What Have I Done?2:362Goin’ Down Slow2:193Now She’s Gone2:204Rockin Chair Blues2:515A Sentimental Blues2:306Can Anyone Ask for More2:527Honey Honey2:378Baby Won’t You Please Come Home2:529You Always Miss the Water (When the Well Runs Dry)2:4410How Long2:3111Alone in the City3:0012Let’s Have a Ball2:3213This Love of Mine3:0814Can’t You See Darling2:4315If I Give You My Love2:3816Some Day (Blues Is My Middle Name)3:0117Don’t Put All Your Dreams in One Basket2:4818I Found My Baby There2:3619She’s on the Ball2:24 record (The Genius Sings the Blues, 1961); and a big band record (The Genius of Ray Charles, 1959) which was his first Top 40 album, peaking at No. 17.

1959–1967: Crossover success

Charles moved from Atlantic Records to ABC when ABC offered a contract Atlantic could not match; Charles later offered the details: "ABC took me from Atlantic and gave me a contract that was unheard of in those days. I made 75 cents on every dollar. It was ridiculous. Nobody ever heard of a deal like that. Never! Never! That's what [ABC] did in order to get me to leave Atlantic. I didn't want to leave. Checking it out with [founders] Jerry Wexler or Ahmet Ertegun. They will tell you. I took the contract and showed it to them and said, 'I don't want to leave you guys, so if you can match this—you don't have to beat it, just match it—I'll stay here'. And they said, 'Ray, if these people are sincere, if they're legitimate, then you go with them, because there is no way for us to match it. There is no way we can give any artist 75 cents of every dollar; we just can't do it'. And Atlantic Records and Ray Charles remain friends until this day. I can call Ahmet up right now and ask him for anything and I'll get it, because we left on good terms. There was no bad vibes or bad feelings".
ABC offered him a $50,000 (US$552,226 in 2025 dollars) annual advance, higher royalties than before, and eventual ownership of his master tapes—a very valuable and lucrative deal at the time. During his Atlantic years, Charles had been hailed for his inventive compositions, but by the time of the release of the largely instrumental jazz album Genius + Soul = Jazz×Genius + Soul = Jazz1961 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 10 tracksA1From the Heart3:40A2I’ve Got News for You4:32A3Moanin’3:21A4Let’s Go2:44A5One Mint Julep3:09B1I’m Gonna Move to the Outskirts of Town3:46B2Stompin’ Room Only3:48B3Mister C.4:33B4Strike Up the Band2:39B5Birth of the Blues5:14 (1960) for ABC's subsidiary label Impulse!, he had given up on writing in favor of becoming a cover artist, giving his own eclectic arrangements of existing songs.
With "Georgia on My Mind×Georgia on My Mind1981 · Album · CompilationSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 10 tracksA1Georgia on My Mind4:49A2Yes Indeed!2:08A3What'd I Say3:52A4Come Rain or Come Shine3:34A5A Fool for You7:22B1The Right Time2:29B2See See Rider2:41D3Drown in My Own Tears6:16B4I Got a Woman5:57B5Talking 'Bout You4:18", his first hit single for ABC-Paramount in 1960, Charles received national acclaim and four Grammy Awards, including two for "Georgia on My Mind" (Best Vocal Performance Single Record or Track, Male, and Best Performance by a Pop Single Artist). Written by Stuart Gorrell and Hoagy Carmichael in 1930, the song was Charles's first work with Sid Feller, who produced, arranged and conducted the recording. Charles's rendition of the tune helped elevate it to the status of an American classic, and his version also became the state song of Georgia in 1979.

Charles earned another Grammy for the follow-up track "Hit the Road Jack×Hit The Road Jack1993 · Album · CompilationSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 12 tracks1Hit the Road Jack2:002I Can't Stop Loving You4:143Crying Time2:594Yes Indeed2:085Born to Lose3:146Yesterday2:497Ruby3:538Busted2:079Take These Chains From My Heart2:5610Georgia on My Mind3:4211Unchain My Heart2:5012Let's Go Get Stoned2:55", written by R&B singer Percy Mayfield.
In 1961, Charles had expanded his small road ensemble to a big band, partly as a response to increasing royalties and touring fees, becoming one of the few black artists to cross over into mainstream pop with such a level of creative control. Concerts in Antibes and later Zurich, Lyon and Paris led to Charles becoming the No. 1 bestselling jazz artist in France for many years. This success, however, came to a momentary halt during a concert tour in November 1961, when a police search of Charles's hotel room in Indianapolis, Indiana, led to the discovery of heroin in the medicine cabinet. The case was eventually dropped, as the search lacked a proper warrant by the police, and Charles soon returned to music.
In the early 1960s, on the way from Louisiana to Oklahoma City, Charles faced a near-death experience when the pilot of his plane lost visibility, as snow and his failure to use the defroster caused the windshield of the plane to become completely covered in ice. The pilot made a few circles in the air before he was finally able to see through a small part of the windshield and land the plane. Charles placed a spiritual interpretation on the experience, claiming that "something or someone which instruments cannot detect" was responsible for creating the small opening in the ice on the windshield which enabled the pilot to eventually land the plane safely.
The 1962 album Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music×Modern Sounds in Country and Western MusicApril 1962 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 12 tracksA1Bye Bye, Love2:09A2You Don’t Know Me3:14A3Half as Much3:24A4I Love You So Much It Hurts3:33A5Just a Little Lovin’3:26A6Born to Lose3:15B1Worried Mind2:54B2It Makes No Difference Now3:30B3You Win Again3:29B4Careless Love3:56B5I Can’t Stop Loving You4:13B6Hey, Good Lookin’2:10 and its sequel, Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music, Vol. 2, helped to bring country music into the musical mainstream. Charles's version of the Don Gibson song "I Can't Stop Loving You" topped the Pop chart for five weeks, stayed at No. 1 on the R&B chart for ten weeks, and gave him his only No. 1 record in the UK. In 1962, he founded his record label, Tangerine, which ABC-Paramount promoted and distributed. Charles had major pop hits in 1963 with "Busted" (US No. 4) and "Take These Chains from My Heart" (US No. 8). In 1964, Margie Hendrix was kicked out of the Raelettes after a big argument.
In 1964, Charles's career was halted once more after he was arrested for a third time for possession of heroin. He agreed to go to a rehabilitative facility to avoid jail time and eventually kicked his habit at a clinic in Los Angeles. After spending a year on parole, Charles reappeared in the charts in 1966 with a series of hits composed with Ashford & Simpson and Jo Armstead, including the dance number "I Don't Need No Doctor" and "Let's Go Get Stoned", which became his first No. 1 R&B hit in several years. His cover version of "Crying Time×Crying Time1966 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 12 tracksA1Crying Time2:53A2No Use Crying3:13A3Let’s Go Get Stoned2:51A4Going Down Slow4:00A5Peace of Mind2:11A6Tears4:34B1Drifting Blues6:18B2We Don’t See Eye to Eye2:17B3You’re in for a Big Surprise3:30B4You’re About to Lose Your Clown1:53B5Don’t You Think I Ought to Know3:02B6You’ve Got a Problem3:25", originally recorded by country singer Buck Owens, reached No. 6 on the pop chart and helped Charles win a Grammy Award the following March. In 1967, he had a top-20 hit with another ballad, "Here We Go Again×Here We Go Again24 June 2003 · Album · CompilationSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 11 tracks1I Can’t Stop Loving You2Over the Rainbow3You Don’t Know Me4Georgia on My Mind5What’d I Say6Crying Time7Busted8Here We Go Again9That Lucky Old Sun10Unchain My Heart11Your Cheatin’ Heart".

1967–1983: Commercial decline

Charles's renewed chart success proved to be short lived, and by the 1970s, his music was rarely played on radio stations. The rise of psychedelic rock and harder forms of rock and R&B music had reduced Charles's radio appeal, as did his choosing to record pop standards and covers of contemporary rock and soul hits, since his earnings from owning his master tapes had taken away the motivation to write new material. Charles nonetheless continued to have an active recording career. Most of his recordings between 1968 and 1973 evoked strong reactions: either adored or panned by fans and critics alike. His recordings during this period, especially 1972's A Message from the People, moved toward the progressive soul sound popular at the time. A Message from the People included his unique gospel-influenced version of "America the Beautiful×America the Beautiful5 April 2005 · Album · CompilationSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 10 tracks1America the Beautiful6:292I’m Sitting on Top of the World1:393Can Anyone Ask for More2:504Someday3:025If I Give You My Love2:336This Love of Mine3:037The Snow Is Falling2:518I’m Wonderin’ and Wonderin’3:149Don’t Put All Your Dreams in One Basket2:4910Oh Happy Day6:41" and a number of protest songs about poverty and civil rights. Charles was often criticized for his version of "America the Beautiful" because it was very drastically changed from the song's original version. On July 14, 1973, Margie Hendrix, the mother of Ray's son Charles Wayne Hendrix, died at 38 years of age, which led to Ray having to care for the child. The official cause of her death is unknown.
In 1974, Charles left ABC Records and recorded several albums on his own label, Crossover Records. A 1975 recording of Stevie Wonder's hit "Living for the City" later helped Charles win another Grammy. In 1977, he reunited with Ahmet Ertegun and re-signed to Atlantic Records, for which he recorded the album True to Life×True to LifeOctober 1977 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 9 tracksA1I Can See Clearly Now4:22A2The Jealous Kind4:38A3Oh, What a Beautiful Mornin’4:30A4How Long Has This Been Going On5:07B1Be My Love4:19B2Anonymous Love4:36B3Heavenly Music3:38B4Game Number Nine4:07B5Let It Be3:27, remaining with his old label until 1980. However, the label had now begun to focus on rock acts, and some of their prominent soul artists, such as Aretha Franklin, were starting to be neglected. In November 1977, Charles appeared as the host of the NBC television show Saturday Night Live.
In April 1979, his version of "Georgia on My Mind×Georgia on My Mind1981 · Album · CompilationSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 10 tracksA1Georgia on My Mind4:49A2Yes Indeed!2:08A3What'd I Say3:52A4Come Rain or Come Shine3:34A5A Fool for You7:22B1The Right Time2:29B2See See Rider2:41D3Drown in My Own Tears6:16B4I Got a Woman5:57B5Talking 'Bout You4:18" was proclaimed the state song of Georgia, and an emotional Charles performed the song on the floor of the state legislature. In 1980, Charles performed in the musical film The Blues Brothers. Although he had notably supported the civil rights movement and Martin Luther King Jr. during the 1960s, Charles was criticized for performing at the Sun City resort in South Africa in 1981 during an international boycott protesting that country's apartheid policy. Charles later defended his choice of performing there, insisting that the audience of black and white fans would integrate while he was there.

1983–2004: Later years

In 1983, Charles signed a contract with Columbia. He recorded a string of country albums and had hit singles in duets×Duets19 May 1998 · Album · CompilationSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 16 tracks1Night Time Is the Right Time2My Baby! (I Love Her, Yes I Do)3Intro: Goodbye / We’ll Be Together Again4Takes Two to Tango5If It Wasn’t for Bad Luck6Spirit in the Dark (reprise)7Summertime8We Didn’t See a Thing9Rock & Roll Shoes10Seven Spanish Angels11Crazy Old Soldier12Two Old Cats Like Us13Save the Bones for Henry Jones14I Wish I’d Never Loved You at All15Precious Thing16I’ll Be Good to You with singers such as George Jones, Chet Atkins, B. J. Thomas, Mickey Gilley, Hank Williams Jr., Dee Dee Bridgewater ("Precious Thing") and his longtime friend Willie Nelson, with whom Charles recorded "Seven Spanish Angels". In 1985, Charles participated in the musical recording and video "We Are the World", a charity single recorded by the supergroup United Support of Artists (USA) for Africa. Five years later, Charles participated for the first time in the Sanremo Music Festival with song "Good Love Gone Bad", written by Toto Cutugno.
Before the release of his first album for Warner, Would You Believe, Charles made a return to the R&B charts with a cover of the Brothers Johnson's "I'll Be Good to You", a duet with his lifelong friend Quincy Jones and the singer Chaka Khan, which hit No. 1 on the R&B chart in 1990 and won Charles and Khan a Grammy for their duet. Prior to this, Charles returned to the pop charts with "Baby Grand", a duet with singer-songwriter Billy Joel. In 1989, he recorded a cover of the Southern All Stars' "Itoshi no Ellie" for a Japanese TV advertisement for the Suntory brand, releasing it in Japan as "Ellie My Love", where it reached No. 3 on its Oricon chart. In the same year he was a special guest at the Verona Arena during the tour promoting Oro Incenso & Birra of the Italian singer Zucchero Fornaciari.

In 2001–02, Charles appeared in commercials for the New Jersey Lottery to promote its campaign "For every dream, there's a jackpot." In 2003, he headlined the White House Correspondents' Association Dinner in Washington, D.C., attended by President George W. Bush, Laura Bush, Colin Powell and Condoleezza Rice. Also in 2003, Charles presented Van Morrison with Morrison's award upon being inducted in the Songwriters Hall of Fame, and the two sang Morrison's song "Crazy Love" (the performance appears on Morrison's 2007 album The Best of×Best Of1995 · Album · CompilationSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 20 tracks1Hit the Road, Jack1:592I Can’t Stop Loving You4:133Yesterday2:494What’d I Say (live)4:315Your Cheatin’ Heart3:346Eleanor Rigby2:597You Are My Sunshine2:598Bye Bye Love2:119Busted2:1310Crying Time2:5711Makin’ Whoopee (live)6:1912Let’s Go Get Stoned2:5613Together Again2:3914Hey, Good Lookin’2:1215Half as Much3:2616Careless Love3:5817Cry3:3118Unchain My Heart2:5119I Gotta a Woman2:5220Georgia on My Mind3:37 Van Morrison Volume 3). In 2003, Charles performed "Georgia on My Mind×Georgia on My Mind1981 · Album · CompilationSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 10 tracksA1Georgia on My Mind4:49A2Yes Indeed!2:08A3What'd I Say3:52A4Come Rain or Come Shine3:34A5A Fool for You7:22B1The Right Time2:29B2See See Rider2:41D3Drown in My Own Tears6:16B4I Got a Woman5:57B5Talking 'Bout You4:18" and "America the Beautiful×America the Beautiful5 April 2005 · Album · CompilationSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 10 tracks1America the Beautiful6:292I’m Sitting on Top of the World1:393Can Anyone Ask for More2:504Someday3:025If I Give You My Love2:336This Love of Mine3:037The Snow Is Falling2:518I’m Wonderin’ and Wonderin’3:149Don’t Put All Your Dreams in One Basket2:4910Oh Happy Day6:41" at a televised annual banquet of electronic media journalists held in Washington, D.C. His final public appearance was on April 30, 2004, at the dedication of his music studio as a historic landmark in Los Angeles.

Influence on music industry

Charles possessed one of the most recognizable voices in American music. In the words of musicologist Henry Pleasants:

Sinatra, and Bing Crosby before him, had been masters of words. Ray Charles is a master of sounds. His records disclose an extraordinary assortment of slurs, glides, turns, shrieks, wails, breaks, shouts, screams and hollers, all wonderfully controlled, disciplined by inspired musicianship, and harnessed to ingenious subtleties of harmony, dynamics and rhythm... It is either the singing of a man whose vocabulary is inadequate to express what is in his heart and mind or of one whose feelings are too intense for satisfactory verbal or conventionally melodic articulation. He can't tell it to you. He can't even sing it to you. He has to cry out to you, or shout to you, in tones eloquent of despair—or exaltation. The voice alone, with little assistance from the text or the notated music, conveys the message.
Pleasants continues, "Ray Charles is usually described as a baritone, and his speaking voice would suggest as much, as would the difficulty he experiences in reaching and sustaining the baritone's high E and F in a popular ballad. But the voice undergoes some sort of transfiguration under stress, and in music of gospel or blues character he can and does sing for measures on end in the high tenor range of A, B flat, B, C and even C sharp and D, sometimes in full voice, sometimes in an ecstatic head voice, sometimes in falsetto. In falsetto he continues up to E and F above high C. On one extraordinary record, 'I'm Going Down to the River'...he hits an incredible B flat...giving him an overall range, including the falsetto extension, of at least three octaves."
Charles's style and success in the genres of rhythm and blues and jazz had an influence on a number of highly successful artists, including, as Jon Pareles has noted, Elvis Presley, Aretha Franklin, Stevie Wonder, Van Morrison, and Billy Joel. Other singers who have acknowledged Charles's influence on their own styles include James Booker, Steve Winwood, Richard Manuel, and Gregg Allman. According to Joe Levy, a music editor for Rolling Stone, "The hit records he made for Atlantic in the mid-1950s mapped out everything that would happen to rock 'n' roll and soul music in the years that followed." Charles was also an inspiration to Pink Floyd member Roger Waters, who told the Turkish newspaper Hürriyet: "I was about 15. In the middle of the night with friends, we were listening to jazz. It was "Georgia on My Mind×Georgia on My Mind1981 · Album · CompilationSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 10 tracksA1Georgia on My Mind4:49A2Yes Indeed!2:08A3What'd I Say3:52A4Come Rain or Come Shine3:34A5A Fool for You7:22B1The Right Time2:29B2See See Rider2:41D3Drown in My Own Tears6:16B4I Got a Woman5:57B5Talking 'Bout You4:18", Ray Charles's version. Then I thought 'One day, if I make some people feel only one-twentieth of what I am feeling now, it will be quite enough for me.'"
Ray, a biopic portraying his life and career between the mid-1930s and 1979, was released in October 2004, starring Jamie Foxx as Charles. Foxx won the 2005 Academy Award for Best Actor for the role.

Awards and honors

In 1975, Ray Charles was inducted into the American Academy of Achievement and presented with the Golden Plate Award and the Academy of Achievement gold medal.
In 1979, Charles was one of the first musicians born in the state to be inducted into the Georgia Music Hall of Fame. His version of "Georgia on My Mind×Georgia on My Mind1981 · Album · CompilationSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 10 tracksA1Georgia on My Mind4:49A2Yes Indeed!2:08A3What'd I Say3:52A4Come Rain or Come Shine3:34A5A Fool for You7:22B1The Right Time2:29B2See See Rider2:41D3Drown in My Own Tears6:16B4I Got a Woman5:57B5Talking 'Bout You4:18" was also made the official state song of the state of Georgia.
In 1981, Charles was given a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
In 1986, Charles was one of the first inductees to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame at its inaugural ceremony. He also received the Kennedy Center Honors in 1986.
Charles won 17 Grammy Awards from his 37 nominations. In 1987, he was awarded the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award.
In 1990, Charles was given an honorary doctorate of fine arts by the University of South Florida. The following year, he was inducted to the Rhythm & Blues Foundation and was presented with the George and Ira Gershwin Award for Lifetime Musical Achievement during the 1991 UCLA Spring Sing.
In 1993, Charles was awarded the National Medal of Arts. Five years later, he was awarded the Polar Music Prize, together with Ravi Shankar, in Stockholm, Sweden. In 2004, Charles was inducted to the National Black Sports & Entertainment Hall of Fame. The Grammy Awards of 2005 were dedicated to him.
In 2001, Morehouse College honored Charles with the Candle Award for Lifetime Achievement in Arts and Entertainment, and later that same year granted him an honorary doctor of humane letters. Charles donated $2 million to Morehouse "to fund, educate and inspire the next generation of musical pioneers".
In 2003, Charles was awarded an honorary degree by Dillard University, and upon his death he endowed a professorship of African-American culinary history at the school, the first such chair in the nation.
On September 22, 2004, Charles was honored with a Google Doodle on what would have been his 74th birthday. It was one of the first Doodles for someone's birthday.
In 2010, a $20 million, 76,000 sq ft (7,100 m2) facility named the Ray Charles Performing Arts Center and Music Academic Building, opened at Morehouse.
The United States Postal Service issued a forever stamp honoring Charles, as part of its Musical Icons series, on September 23, 2013.
In 2015, Charles was inducted into the Rhythm and Blues Music Hall of Fame.
In 2016, U.S. President Barack Obama wrote via his press secretary, "Ray Charles's version of 'America the Beautiful×America the Beautiful5 April 2005 · Album · CompilationSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 10 tracks1America the Beautiful6:292I’m Sitting on Top of the World1:393Can Anyone Ask for More2:504Someday3:025If I Give You My Love2:336This Love of Mine3:037The Snow Is Falling2:518I’m Wonderin’ and Wonderin’3:149Don’t Put All Your Dreams in One Basket2:4910Oh Happy Day6:41' will always be in my view the most patriotic piece of music ever performed."
In 2022, Charles was posthumously inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame, the third African-American to be inducted after Charley Pride (2000) and Deford Bailey (2005). He was also the 13th person to be inducted into both the Country and Rock Halls of Fame.

Contribution to civil rights movement

On March 15, 1961, shortly after the release of the hit song "Georgia on My Mind×Georgia on My Mind1981 · Album · CompilationSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 10 tracksA1Georgia on My Mind4:49A2Yes Indeed!2:08A3What'd I Say3:52A4Come Rain or Come Shine3:34A5A Fool for You7:22B1The Right Time2:29B2See See Rider2:41D3Drown in My Own Tears6:16B4I Got a Woman5:57B5Talking 'Bout You4:18" (1960), the Albany, Georgia-born musician was scheduled to perform at a dance at Bell Auditorium in Augusta, but cancelled the show after learning from students of Paine College that the larger auditorium dance floor was restricted to whites, while blacks would be obliged to sit in the Music Hall balcony. Charles left town immediately after letting the public know why he would not be performing, but the promoter went on to sue Charles for breach of contract, and Charles was fined $757 in Fulton County Superior Court in Atlanta on June 14, 1962. The following year, Charles did perform at a desegregated Bell Auditorium concert together with his backup singers, the Raelettes, on October 23, 1963, as depicted in the 2004 film, Ray. On December 7, 2007, Ray Charles Plaza was opened in Albany, Georgia, with a revolving, lighted bronze sculpture of Charles seated at a piano.

The Ray Charles Foundation

Founded in 1986, the Ray Charles Foundation maintains the mission statement of financially supporting institutions and organizations in the research of hearing disorders. Originally known as The Robinson Foundation for Hearing Disorders, it was renamed in 2006 and has provided financial donations to numerous institutions involved in hearing loss research and education. The purpose of the foundation has been "to administer funds for scientific, educational and charitable purposes; to encourage, promote and educate, through grants to institutions and organizations, as to the causes and cures for diseases and disabilities of the hearing impaired and to assist organizations and institutions in their social educational and academic advancement of programs for the youth, and carry on other charitable and educational activities associated with these goals as allowed by law."
Recipients of donations include Benedict College, Morehouse College, and other universities. The foundation has taken action against donation recipients who do not use funds in accordance with its mission statement, such as the Albany State University, which was made to return a $3 million donation after not using the funds for over a decade. The foundation houses its executive offices at the historic RPM International Building, originally the home of Ray Charles Enterprises and now also home to the Ray Charles Memorial Library on the first floor, which was founded on September 23, 2010 (what would have been his 80th birthday). The library was founded to "provide an avenue for young children to experience music and art in a way that will inspire their creativity and imagination", and is not open to the public without reservation, as the main goal is to educate mass groups of underprivileged youth and provide art and history to those without access to such documents.

Personal life

Charles stated in his 1978 autobiography, Brother Ray: Ray Charles' Own Story, that he became hooked on women after losing his virginity at 12 years old to a woman who was about 20. "Cigarettes and smack [heroin] are the two truly addictive habits I've known. You might add women," he said. "My obsession centers on women—did then [when young] and does now. I can't leave them alone," he added.

Relationships and children

Charles was married twice. His first marriage lasted less than a year, his second 22 years. Throughout his life, Charles had many relationships with women, and he fathered a dozen children.
Charles was married to his first wife, Eileen Williams, from July 31, 1951, until sometime in 1952.
Charles met his second wife, Della Beatrice Howard Robinson (called "Bea" by Charles), in Texas in 1954. They married the following year, on April 5, 1955. Their first child, Ray Charles Robinson Jr., was born in 1955. Charles was not in town for the birth because he was playing a show in Texas. The couple had two more sons, David and Robert, and raised their children in View Park, California. Charles felt that his heroin addiction took a toll on Della during their marriage. Due to his drug addiction, extramarital affairs on tours and volatile behavior, the marriage deteriorated and she filed for divorce in 1977.
Charles had a six-year-long affair with Margie Hendrix, one of the original Raelettes, and in 1959 they had a son, Charles Wayne. His affair with Mae Mosley Lyles, another member of the Raelettes, resulted in a daughter, Renee, born in 1961. In 1963, Charles had another daughter, Sheila Raye Charles, by Sandra Jean Betts. Sheila Raye, like her father, was a singer-songwriter; she died of breast cancer on June 15, 2017. In 1977, Charles had a child with his Parisian lover, Arlette Kotchounian, whom he had met 10 years earlier. Charles's longtime girlfriend and partner at the time of his death was Norma Pinella.
Charles fathered a total of 12 children with nine different women:

Evelyn Robinson, born in 1949 (daughter with Louise Flowers)
Ray Charles Robinson Jr., born May 25, 1955 (son with wife Della Bea Robinson)
David Robinson, born in 1958 (son with wife Della Bea Robinson)
Charles Wayne Hendricks, born on October 1, 1959 (son with Margie Hendricks, one of the Raelettes)
Robert Robinson, born in 1960 (son with wife Della Bea Robinson)
Renee Robinson, born in 1961 (daughter with Mae Mosely Lyles, one of the Raelettes)
Sheila Robinson, born in 1963 (daughter with Sandra Jean Betts)
Reatha Butler, born in 1966 (daughter with Mary-Chantal Bertrand)
Alexandra Bertrand, born in 1968 (daughter with Mary-Chantal Bertrand)
Vincent Kotchounian, born in 1977 (son with Arlette Kotchounian)
Robyn Moffett, born in 1978 (daughter with Gloria Moffett)
Ryan Corey Robinson den Bok, born in 1987 (son with Mary Anne den Bok)
Charles held a family luncheon for his 12 children in 2002, 10 of whom attended. Charles told them that he was terminally ill and that $500,000 had been placed in trusts for each of them, to be paid out over the next five years.

Drug abuse and legal problems

At 18, Charles first tried marijuana when he played in McSon Trio and was eager to try it as he thought it helped musicians create music and tap into their creativity. He later became addicted to heroin for seventeen years. Charles was first arrested in 1955, when he and his bandmates were caught backstage with loose marijuana and drug paraphernalia, including a burnt spoon, syringe, and needle. The arrest did not deter his drug use, which only escalated as he became more successful and made more money.
In 1958, Charles was arrested on a Harlem street corner for possession of narcotics and equipment for administering heroin.
Charles was arrested on a narcotics charge on November 14, 1961, while waiting in an Indiana hotel room before a performance. The detectives seized heroin, marijuana, and other items. Charles, then 31, said he had been a drug addict since the age of 16. The case was dismissed because of the manner in which the evidence was obtained, but Charles's situation did not improve until a few years later.
On Halloween 1964, Charles was arrested for possession of heroin at Boston's Logan Airport. He decided to quit heroin and entered St. Francis Hospital in Lynwood, California, where he endured four days of cold turkey withdrawal. Following his self-imposed stay, he pleaded guilty to four narcotic charges. Prosecutors called for two years in prison and a hefty fine, but the judge listened to Charles's psychiatrist, Dr. Hacker's account of Charles's determination to get off drugs and he was sent to McLean Hospital in Belmont, Massachusetts. The judge offered to postpone the verdict for a year if Charles agreed to undergo regular examinations by government-appointed physicians. When Charles returned to court, he received a five-year suspended sentence, four years of probation, and a fine of $10,000.
Charles responded to the saga of his drug use and reform with the songs "I Don't Need No Doctor" and "Let's Go Get Stoned" and the release of Crying Time, his first album since kicking his heroin addiction in 1966.

Chess hobby

Charles enjoyed playing chess. As part of his therapy when he quit heroin, he met with psychiatrist Friedrich Hacker, who taught him how to play chess. He used a special board with raised squares and holes for the pieces. When questioned if people try to cheat against a blind man, he joked in reply, "You can't cheat in Chess... I'm gonna see that!" In a 1991 concert, he referred to Willie Nelson as "my chess partner". In 2002, he played and lost to the American grandmaster and former U.S. champion Larry Evans. When Evans complimented him for spotting a tactical trap he had set, Charles replied "Come on man, I play bad, but not that bad!"

Death

In 2003, Charles had successful hip replacement surgery and was planning to go back on tour, but then he began having other ailments. Charles died on June 10, 2004, at age 73, of complications resulting from liver failure at his home in Beverly Hills, California. His funeral was held at the First African Methodist Episcopal Church of Los Angeles eight days later, with numerous musical figures in attendance. B. B. King, Glen Campbell, Stevie Wonder and Wynton Marsalis each played a tribute at the funeral. Charles was interred in the Inglewood Park Cemetery.
Charles' final album, Genius Loves Company×Genius Loves Company27 August 2004 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 12 tracks1Here We Go Again4:002Sweet Potato Pie3:483You Don’t Know Me3:554Sorry Seems to Be the Hardest Word3:595Fever3:316Do I Ever Cross Your Mind?4:357It Was a Very Good Year5:008Hey Girl5:169Sinner’s Prayer4:2510Heaven Help Us All4:3311Over the Rainbow4:5512Crazy Love (live)3:45, released two months after his death, consists of duets with 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, and Johnny Mathis. The album won eight Grammy Awards, including Best Pop Vocal Album, Album of the Year, Record of the Year and Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals (for "Here We Go Again×Here We Go Again24 June 2003 · Album · CompilationSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 11 tracks1I Can’t Stop Loving You2Over the Rainbow3You Don’t Know Me4Georgia on My Mind5What’d I Say6Crying Time7Busted8Here We Go Again9That Lucky Old Sun10Unchain My Heart11Your Cheatin’ Heart", 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. The album included a version of Harold Arlen and E. Y. Harburg's "Over the Rainbow", sung as a duet with Johnny Mathis, which was played at Charles's memorial service.