Biography

Ray Charles Robinson – a pianist, vocalist and songwriter in the style of jazz, blues, rock'n'roll and country, who intertwined these styles into a single entity. His genius put Charles on a par with the best musicians of the 20^th century and turned him into one of the symbols of American culture. Rolling Stone magazine named him the 10^th in the "List of Immortals" and the 2^nd in the hundred best vocalists of all time.

The future musician was born on September 23, 1930, in Georgia into a poor family. When the boy was only a few months old, the family moved to the town of Gainesville (Florida), where Ray spent his childhood and youth. Soon after, his father left the family, and Ray and his younger brother were raised by their mother. At the age of five, the boy experienced a tragedy when he witnessed his younger brother drown before his eyes. At the age of six, Ray began to lose his sight due to glaucoma, which proved incurable, and by the age of seven, he was completely blind. After what happened, his mother sent him to a boarding school for deaf and blind children. There, Ray learned Braille and how to play the piano, organ, saxophone, trombone, and clarinet. Teachers noticed Ray's musical talent and vocal abilities and invited him to sing in the Baptist choir. Blind Ray Robinson, for obvious reasons, could not play from sheet music, but he could easily reproduce what he heard. This ability delighted everyone around him. Once he heard a melody, Ray was able to reproduce it with amazing accuracy.

After graduating from school, the young man decided to become a professional performer. At the age of 17, Ray Charles moved to Seattle. There, together with guitarist Gosadie McGee, he founded the jazz-blues band MacSon Trio. In 1949, he recorded his first hit, ‘Confession Blues’. The fame of the brilliant blind musician quickly spread not only throughout Seattle, but also across the entire West Coast. In 1952, Ray signed a contract with ‘Atlantic Records’, since ‘Swingtime Records’, with whom he had been working until then, did not give him creative freedom. Charles also arranged songs for other artists, including Cole Porter (‘Ghost of a Chance’) and Dizzy Gillespie (‘Emanon’). At the same time, Ray decided to drop his surname, becoming simply Ray Charles – this was necessary to avoid associations with the boxer Ray Robinson.

Charles' single ‘It Should Have Been Me’ sold over a million copies. It was then that the singer’s unique style began to take shape. In 1954, his song ‘I've Got a Woman’ opened up new horizons for popular music, demonstrating a new sensuality. At the beginning of his career, Charles could imitate the style of virtually any famous musician, but as a result, he created his own style – an ecstatic mixture of gospel and rhythm-and-blues, which gave rise to soul and disco. In many ways, it was Ray who contributed to soul and R&B no longer being judged from the perspective of racial prejudice – his music was listened to regardless of skin colour. Four years later, Charles was awarded his first Grammy for the classic blues song ‘Let the Good Times Roll’.

Ray Charles essentially invented modern soul music, combining soulful vocals with jazz improvisation and the staccato choral intonations of African-American spiritual music (1958 album ‘Soul Brothers’).

ABC Records offered Ray Charles a contract, and he soon became the highest-paid musician in the world, recording his signature songs ‘You Are My Sunshine,’ ‘Hit The Road, Jack,’ and, of course, ‘Georgia On My Mind.’ For obvious reasons, Ray began to be invited to perform in Georgia more and more often (‘Georgia On My Mind’ was originally dedicated to a girl with that name, but everyone quickly forgot about that). However, starting in 1961, performances in this traditionally racist place ceased for 20 years. Ray performed in his home state years later, when the law equalised the rights of blacks and whites, and his song became the anthem of Georgia.

Ray Charles reached the peak of his popularity in the 1960s. He dedicated the requiem song ‘Busted’ to President John F. Kennedy after the latter's death. At the same time, it was a difficult period of rehabilitation from many years of drug addiction. In the second half of the 1960s, the musician was less interested in rock and soul, giving priority to pop melodies and jazz. Among the best albums of that period are the 1966 disc ‘Crying Time’ and the finalist of the top five jazz recordings, ‘A Portrait of Ray’.

Many critics, musicians, actors and politicians rightly call him the king of soul and jazz. Ray Charles released many records, some of which came out after his death. During his 50-year career, Ray Charles received 17 Grammy Awards in 37 nominations. He is the only performer to have received such an honour over the course of half a century. Ray Charles was a symbol of musical America, a lively and cheerful man who loved life in all its manifestations. He was married twice and had 12 children from nine different women.

In May 2002, the musician gave a concert at The Colosseum in Rome. In the autumn of the same year, Ray Charles visited Moscow and St. Petersburg. The Russian National Orchestra, conducted by Vladimir Spivakov, participated in one of his concerts.

In the last year of his life, the musician was badly ill and had great difficulty speaking. However, even despite this, Charles worked regularly in the studio, recording new melodies and performing keyboard parts for new compositions. On June 10, 2004, Ray Charles died of liver cancer at his house. A few months later, the film ‘Ray’ was released, depicting the musician's life and career from the mid-1930s to 1979.

Ray Charles' creative work resulted in the release of more than fifty albums, Grammy Awards and many other honours. Today, the name of this great musician is listed in both the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the Jazz Hall of Fame. Several streets in the United States are named after Ray Charles.

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