Childhood and youth
Ray Charles Robinson was born on September 23, 1930, to Aretha and Bailey Robinson. But soon the parents separated, and Aretha and her sons moved from Georgia to South Florida, to the tiny village of Greenville. There she raised her sons, trying to get out of hopeless poverty. When Ray was five years old, his younger brother George drowned. The elder brother could not save him.
Singer Ray Charles
After this tragedy, Ray began to lose his sight and by the age of seven he was blind. He had to learn to live with this, and the boy was sent to boarding school. There Ray developed his musical abilities. He sang in a choir and learned to play the piano, organ, saxophone, trombone and clarinet. After the death of his parents, the blind young man had to make his way in life on his own. At seventeen, Ray Robinson formed the MacSon Trio. In 1949, his song became a hit for the first time.
Musical career: first steps
The further biography of Ray Charles (the period after completing his studies at the boarding school) is replete with the names of numerous musical projects in which he took part. They often performed country or jazz. The greatest influence on the formation of Ray's style and manner of performance was exerted by such famous jazzmen as Count Basie, Art Tatum, and Artie Shaw.
The first group of which the musician became a full member was called The Florida Playboys.
A trip to Seattle in 1947 was a very significant event for seventeen-year-old Ray. With $600 saved up and the support of guitarist Gossady McGee, he founds and develops the MacSon Trio. To record his first compositions, Ray collaborated with the group of the famous performer Lowell Fulson. Ray's task was to accompany the musicians on the piano. Two years later, Ray Charles's first rhythm and blues song was released. Then several more compositions were released, which later became hits.
Music
In the 50s, the musician’s official pseudonym was born. The surname was dropped to avoid confusion with boxer Ray Robinson. Ray Charles is looking for his own style, achieving a unique sound for his compositions. Experiments with the voice, including wheezing, screaming and other sounds in songs that enhance the emotional coloring of the words.
Ray Charles in his youth
In 1955, his soul single "I Got a Woman" climbed to the top of the R&B charts. During this time, Ray sang gospel songs and blues ballads. He performed traditional “black” music, revealing its beauty to everyone.
The first iconic song written entirely by Ray, What'd I Say, became a rock and roll classic. Ray collaborated with major orchestras, jazzmen, and experimented with country music. The result was that he was awarded a Grammy. The vocalist's powerful and voluminous expressive voice impressed music critics and ordinary listeners.
By the early 60s, the singer was earning so much money that he was able not only to undergo a full medical examination from eminent doctors, but also to purchase a luxurious mansion in the Golden Triangle of Beverly Hills. However, Ray was unable to regain at least partial sight.
Ray Charles at the piano
Having received creative freedom, the singer expanded his collaboration with other musicians. Ray performed the song Hit The Road Jack as a duet with Margie Hendricks. The new sound brought the composition to the top of popularity for two weeks. The fame was so great that it reached Russia: Soviet jazz bands included it in their repertoire.
During the same period, Ray's signature album, Georgia On My Mind, was recorded. Initially, the author of the song, Hog Carmichael, dedicated it to a girl with that name. But the performer made the song a hit, and residents of the state of Georgia, impressed by his vocals, declared it their anthem.
After the 70s, the musician performed a lot and paid more and more attention to country compositions. In the last decades of his life, Ray Charles included the sound of electronic instruments in his melodies. He wove into a single whole the music of different peoples who became the population of the United States by the 20th century. The classic song "America the Beautiful" was reborn with Ray's performance and gospel/R&B arrangement.
Ray Charles
Biography of Ray Charles
Ray Charles was born on September 23, 1930, in the small town of Albany, Georgia, father - Bailey Robinson, mother - Aretha Robinson. Ray's family was very poor - as he himself said, “Even among other blacks... we were on the bottom rung of the ladder, looking up at the rest. Nothing below us is only the earth.” Ray's family moved to the small community of Greenville, South Florida, when he was just a few months old. His father did not play a significant role in Ray's life, and some time after his birth, he abandoned their family altogether, leaving Ray and his younger brother George in the care of Aretha and her mother-in-law, Mary Jay Robinson. When Ray was five years old, his brother George, who was a year younger, began drowning in a tub that stood outside. Ray, who witnessed this incident, tried to help him, but could not do anything, since his brother was too heavy for him. George drowned, and Ray, presumably from the shock he suffered, gradually began to go blind and became completely blind at the age of seven.
Video - Songs by Ray Charles
Ray Charles - Georgia On My Mind (Live At Montreux 1997)
Ray Charles - I Got A Woman
Ray Charles-Hallelujah I Love Her So
Somewhere Over The Rainbow - Ray Charles
Ray Charles & Diana Krall - You don't know me.
AMERICA THE BEAUTIFUL by Ray Charles
RAY CHARLES "I Can't Stop Loving You"
RAY CHARLES - Hit The Road Jack (The Loose Cannons Remix)
Let it be Ray Charles
Ray Charles "CRY" by 反町信之助.
Not "Mess Around - Ray Charles"
That Spirit of Christmas - Ray Charles (CC Closed Captions)
Ray Charles — Night Time Is The Right Time (Movie version)
Ray Charles - I Believe to My Soul
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Ray's musical talent first began to manifest itself at the age of 3 - this was facilitated by the owner of a nearby pharmacy, who played the piano. He attended a school for the deaf and blind in St. Augustine, Florida. There, Ray learned Braille and playing several musical instruments - piano, organ, saxophone, trombone and clarinet. At school, Ray's musical talent manifested itself - he sang in the Baptist choir. In 1945, the mother died, and two years later, the father died.
After graduation, Ray participated in many musical projects, mainly in jazz and country styles. In his work, he drew inspiration from famous jazzmen - Count Basie, Art Tatum and Artie Shaw. The first group in which he took an active part was called “The Florida Playboys”. In 1947, seventeen-year-old Ray, having saved $600, went to Seattle. There he founded the MacSon Trio (sometimes called Maxim) with guitarist Gossady McGee. He soon began recording, initially under Swingtime Records. His first three recordings were "Guitar Blues", "Walkin' and Talkin'" and "Wonderin' and Wonderin'". He collaborated with renowned R&B singer Lowell Fulson and his band, accompanying them on piano. His first hit was “Confession Blues” (1949). His next popular song was “Baby, Let Me Hold Your Hand” (1951). After this, he moved to Atlantic records (1952), as he realized that Swingtime Records would never give him the creative freedom he desired. His name was soon shortened to Ray Charles to avoid confusion with boxer Ray "Sugar" Robinson. On July 31, 1951, he married Eileen Williams, but a year later their marriage broke up. It is noteworthy that of Ray's 12 children, only 3 were born in marriage. In 1955, Ray remarried, this time to Della Beatrice Robinson (née Howard). This marriage lasted until 1977.
After some time, during the Newport Festival, Ray gained widespread popularity. The album "Ray Charles at Newport" was recorded there, which included such hits as "What'd I Say" and "The Night Time (Is the Right Time)".
Ray gradually began to move beyond the blues/gospel mix, recording songs with large orchestras, jazz musicians (Milt Jackson), and recording his first country song, "I'm Movin On" (featuring Hank Snow). Ray received his first Grammy Award in 1959 for the classic blues song “Let the Good Time Roll.” Incredibly expressive, powerful and energetic vocals captivated both specialists and ordinary listeners.
Ray then moved to ABC Records, concluding an exorbitant contract for those times, becoming one of the highest paid musicians at that time. Soon he moved to Beverly Hills, where he became the owner of the largest mansion in the area. There, Beverly Hills, Los Angeles, the musician lived until his death.
Ray Charles has one of the most recognizable voices in world music. “Ray Charles has the most unique voice in pop music. He did these improvisational things, like little chuckles or grunts. … (Ray) took the squeals, the screams, the growls, the moans, and made music out of them” (Billy Joel). Here are the words of musicologist Henry Pleasants.
Ray Charles is an American blind musician, author of more than 70 studio albums, one of the world's most famous performers of music in the styles of soul, jazz and rhythm and blues. He was awarded 17 Grammy Awards, was inducted into the Rock and Roll, Jazz, Country and Blues Halls of Fame, and the Georgia Hall of Fame, and his recordings were included in the Library of Congress.
Frank Sinatra called Ray "the only true genius in show business." Paul McCartney, Elton John, Stevie Wonder, Tom Cruise, Bruce Willis, Billy Preston, Van Morrison and many others admired his talent. In 2004, Rolling Stone magazine ranked Ray Charles number 10 on its "Immortal List": the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time[1] and number 2 on its list of the "100 Greatest Vocalists of All Time". His song What'd I say was ranked 10th on the magazine's "500 Best Songs of All Time" list. Along with many artists of the 1960s, Ray is a key figure in the development of modern music and is often included in various token lists of the best musicians of the 20th century. Singer Billy Joel said: “This may sound blasphemous, but I believe Ray Charles was more important than Elvis Presley. I don't know if Ray was one of the originators of rock 'n' roll, but he was definitely the first in a lot of things... Who the hell ever mixed so many styles together and made it work?!"
As Ray himself stated, the cause of his blindness remains unknown, but there is evidence that it is a consequence of glaucoma. There are rumors that in the 80s, having already become famous, Ray submitted an anonymous advertisement looking for a donor willing to donate one eye to the musician. However, doctors considered this operation pointless and risky, and it did not take place.
Ray Charles was married twice and is the father of twelve children from nine women. His first marriage to Eileen Williams was short: from July 31, 1951 to 1952. He has three children from his second marriage to Della Beatrice Howard Robinson: April 5, 1955 to 1977. At the time of his death, his girlfriend and partner was Norma Pinella.
One of Ray's last public appearances occurred in 2003, during the annual banquet of electronic media journalists, which took place in Washington. He performed the songs "Georgia On My Mind" and "America the Beautiful." Ray Charles' last performance took place on April 30, 2004 in Los Angeles. Ray's health was undermined by hip surgery, from which he could not recover for a long time - despite the illness, he continued to work on the album “Genius Loves Company”. Ray died at the age of 73 at his home in Beverly Hills, California. The cause of his death was a long and serious illness, apparently liver cancer, which began to manifest itself back in 2002. According to the recollections of David Ritz, in recent months Ray could no longer walk and almost did not speak, but every day he came to his own RPM studio and did his job. “I won’t live forever,” Ray Charles once said during an interview. “I’m smart enough to understand this. It’s not a matter of how long I will live, the only question is how beautiful my life will be.” Ray is buried in Inglewood Park Cemetery in Inglewood, California.
Two months after his death, his last album, Genius Loves Company, was released. This album includes songs performed by Ray together with other musicians. Among them are such names as B.B. King, Van Morrison, James Taylor, Michael McDonald, Elton John, Bonnie Raitt, Norah Jones and Johnny Mathis. This album received 8 prestigious Grammy awards. Five of them were awarded to Ray himself - “Best Pop Vocal Album”, “Album of the Year”, “Record of the Year”, “Best Pop Collaboration” (the song “Here we go again” with Norah Jones) and “Best Gospel Performance”. . Stevie Wonder, BB King and Willie Nelson came to the church for the memorial ceremony. After the mass, the coffin was opened so that thousands of fans could say goodbye to Ray to the sounds of the song “Over the Rainbow”, chosen for this by himself. In the fall of 2004, a large concert in memory of Ray Charles was held in a 20,000-seat hall in Los Angeles. Many famous musicians paid their tribute to the singer, performing his most iconic songs. The concert ended with a recording of Ray’s performance on the big screen showing the song “America the Beautiful,” which received a standing ovation from the audience. In 2005, another posthumous album of the musician, “Genius & Friends”, was released, which included previously unreleased duets with modern pop and soul stars (Chris Isaak, Mary J. Blige, Ruben Studdard, George Michael, John Legend and others). All musicians were personally selected by Mr. Charles.
RAY CHARLES "I Can`t Stop Loving You". Jerry Lee Lewis, Little Richard, Ray Charles, BB King. I`ve got a woman — Ray Charles live at Olympia. Stevie Wonder and Ray Charles living for the city. Ray Charles - Cry. Glen Campbell & Ray Charles -Cryin Time (Live Goodtime Hour). Barbra Streisand & Ray Charles - "Crying Time". Ray Charles "Mess Around". Ray Charles - Mess Around (Movie-Scene). Ray Charles - Say No More. Ray Charles - A. Song For You. Aretha Franklin & Ray Charles – It Takes Two To Tango Live Midnight Special 1975. Ray Charles – Georgia On My Mind. Ray Charles-Georgia On My Mind. RAY CHARLES "What'd I Say". Ray Charles - What'd I Say.1948. Ray Charles - Say No More. Ray Charles - My World.
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Personal life
The musician loved women, and nine of them became the mothers of his children. But Ray entered into an official union with only two women: with Eileen Williams (July 31, 1951) and Della Beatrice Howard Robinson (April 5, 1955). The first marriage broke up a year later, the second union lasted 22 years, the couple raised three sons: David, Ray Charles and Reverend Robinson.
Ray Charles and his children
In addition to them, Ray admitted nine more illegitimate children. Before completing his life's journey, the father gave each child a million dollars. The musician's last companion was Norma Pinella.
Death
For the last two years of his life, Ray Charles battled cancer. He had a hard time recovering from surgery. However, even after losing the ability to walk, the musician went daily to his own recording studio RPM, where he worked on the album Genius Loves Company. He died on June 10, 2004 at home. He is buried in Inglewood Park Cemetery in Inglewood, California.
Ray Charles in old age
In the fall in Los Angeles, a concert in memory of Ray Charles brought together twenty thousand spectators and famous musicians in one hall, who performed his songs, which became iconic.
The singer’s biography is reflected in the film “Ray,” which was released in October of the same year. The plot was based on the autobiography “Brother Ray,” written in 1978. The production team consulted with Charles during the production process. Jamie Foxx starred in the title role, and was awarded an Oscar for it. Sometimes photographs of the actor in this role are confused with photographs of the musician.
Jamie Foxx as Ray Charles
The second posthumous album included new works with modern pop and soul stars. To record the third posthumous album, advances in computer sound processing were used. The restored vocal recordings of the singer were combined with melodies performed by the Count Basie orchestra.
Modern technologies allow the singer to communicate with the listener even a decade after his death. Concord Records continues to work with Ray's old recordings, returning his compositions to fans in a new sound.
