LIFE AND TIMES OF RAY CHARLES
Born, Ray Charles Robinson, on the 23rd day of September, 1930, in Albany, Georgia to a mechanic father and a sharecropper mother - Ray grew to become a powerful influencer and pioneer of soul music. It will interest you to know that a traumatic childhood experience contributed greatly to shaping his future.
Ray, during his childhood years witnessed firsthand, the drowning death of his younger brother - this in his later formative years took a huge toll on his sight. At age 7, Ray completely lost his sight and this saw him being enrolled into the Florida School for the Deaf and the Blind (State Owned) in St. Augustine, Florida. Here, Ray learnt to read, write and arrange musical compositions in Braille language - he picked very keen interest in playing the piano, trumpet, clarinet, saxophone, and organ all of which he mastered proficiently well.
Integrating gospel, country, pop, jazz, and R&B, Ray Charles created new age music hits like - Georgia on My Mind, Hit the Road Jack and Unchain My Heart. A great pioneer of the soul music genre in the 1950s, often times called - the Father of Soul - Ray Charles, through the course of his very bright and successful musical career left a lasting impression on contemporary music across various genres the world over.
Ray's mother's death as he turned 15 years old made him pick up an addictive habit - Heroin. Same year, found Ray on the road touring the south of the country popularly called the - Chitlin Circuit. Ray Charles at age 16, migrated to Seattle where he hooked up with legendary music producer, Quincy Jones - the duo through the course of time became inseparable. Ray's early playing style closely resembled those of his mentors, Nat King Cole and Charles Brown - until he refined his playing style to sound very unique through the later course of his life.
1949, saw Ray release his first single - Confession Blues - where he featured the then popular, Maxin Trio - which was a big R&B hit; followed by - Baby Let Me Hold Your Hand and Kissa Me Baby (1952) - all of which topped the R&B charts of the time. 1953, saw Ray land a record deal with Atlantic Records where he celebrated his very first hit - Mess Around - with the label. In 1954, Ray took the world by the storm as his now classic evergreen song - I Got a Woman - hit the No.1 spot on the R&B charts. I Got a Woman - showcased an evident advancement in Ray's playing style ridding him of the Nat King Cole influence he was widely known for before now.
The following years saw Ray being referred to by other musicians as - The Genius. A title which stuck, as Ray, was largely known to for his wild musical fusions which often times turned out to be widely accepted. To awe the world, Ray ventured into pop music and hit the No. 6 spot with his - What'd I say - pop music hit. Ray Charles was awarded with his very first Grammy award in 1960 for his - Georgia on My Mind and Hit the Road Jack - hits. Creatively harnessing a queer level of control over his works, Ray pushed the boundaries of his music experimentation quite further with his dive into both western and country music.
Ray Charles's personal life was one of a struggle, especially with habits such as heroin addiction - which landed him in trouble with the authorities in 1965 - where he was arrested for possession. Fortunately, Ray escaped jail time for heroin possession but got rid of his addiction habit at a Los Angeles clinic. his career blossomed through the 70s and he retained a very influential spot in music circles. The early 80s saw Ray Charles being inducted (as one of the first stars) into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, along with the likes of Buddy Holly, James Brown, Sam Cooke, and Elvis Presley. Ray who was always in the spotlight, made very high profile appearances in the 90s with his Pepsi commercial cameo where he sang his catch-phrase - You Got the Right One, Baby!.
Due to a hip replacement surgery which went successful, Ray Charles for the first time in 53 years cancelled an intended tour in 2003 soon after which he was diagnosed with liver disease. Ray Charles died the following year at his Beverly Hills country home in California. Ray, during the course of his lifetime performed at more than 10,000 concerts and released more than 60 albums.
In 2004, an independently produced biographical movie depicting 30years of the legend, Ray Charles, titled - Ray - was premiered and released. Ray's character was played by popular Hollywood actor - Jamie Foxx.
