 Blind by age 7 and an orphan at 15, Ray Charles spent his life defying and redefining musical categories by creating music that spanned soul, rock 'n' roll, R&B, country, jazz, big band and blues. The gifted pianist and saxophonist is considered to be the architect of Soul music, opening the door for such performers as Chuck Berry, Elvis Presley, Sam Cooke and the birth of rock 'n' roll.
Ray Charles Robinson was born Sept. 23, 1930, in Albany, Georgia. His father, Bailey Robinson, was a mechanic/handyman, and his mother, Aretha, stacked boards in a sawmill. His family moved to Greenville, Florida when Charles was an infant.
Although his family struggled with extreme poverty at the height of the Depression, Charles began dabbling in music at the age of 3, encouraged by a cafe owner who played the piano. When he was 5, he witnessed his brother drown in his mother’s laundry tub, and nine months later his sight was gone. Glaucoma is often mentioned as a cause, however there was nothing ever diagnosed. In a 2002 interview, Charles credited his mother with pushing him to be independent, despite his blindness.
"She'd make me cut wood, wash clothes and build a fire under the pot. ... People thought that was abusive. My mother had the attitude 'He's got to learn, and just because he's blind doesn't mean he's stupid.'"
It was at the state-supported St. Augustine School for the Deaf and the Blind where Charles learned to read and write music in Braille. He also scored music for big bands, and learned to play instruments such as the trumpet, clarinet, organ, alto sax and the piano.
"Learning to read music in Braille and play by ear helped me develop a damn good memory," Charles later said. "I can sit at my desk and write a whole arrangement in my head and never touch the piano. There's no reason for it to come out any different than the way it sounds in my head."
His musical influences were wide ranging and encompassed Chopin, Sibelius, country and western stars from the Grand Ole Opry, Duke Ellington, Count Basie, Art Tatum and Artie Shaw.
Unfortunately, by the age of 15, Charles was an orphan as well as a graduate of St. Augustine. To make a living, he played gigs on the chitlin' circuit before relocating to Seattle. There, he dropped his last name and formed a group that backed rhythm 'n' blues singer Ruth Brown. He also met a young Quincy Jones, whom Charles taught to write music. It was the beginning of a lifelong friendship.
When Charles was 22, Atlantic Records bought out his contract with Swingtime Records. Two years later he recorded "I Got a Woman," a raw unheard-of blend of gospel and rhythm 'n' blues, pioneering what later would be called Soul. He quickly earned the nickname "The Genius" and performing in coveted venues such as Carnegie Hall and the Newport Jazz Festival.
His first big hit was 1959's "What'd I Say," a song which ended up being banned because of the suggestive moaning from his backup singers, the Raeletts. The song’s producer Jerry Wexler later said he has worked with only three geniuses in the music business: Bob Dylan, Aretha Franklin, and Charles.
"In each case they brought something new to the table," Wexler told the San Jose Mercury News in 1994. Charles "had this blasphemous idea of taking gospel songs and putting the devil's words to them."
Charles won 9 of his 13 Grammy Awards between 1960 and 1966, including “best R&B recording” for three consecutive years with "Hit the Road Jack," "I Can't Stop Loving You" and "Busted."
His remakes of other people’s songs are legendary and include "Makin' Whoopee," the achingly stirring "America the Beautiful," and the forever classic "Georgia on My Mind" (originally penned by Hoagy Carmichael and Stuart Gorrell in 1931) which became Georgia's official state song in 1979, the year after he released his autobiography, "Brother Ray."
In the following decade Charles wiuld be introduced to a new generation of fans via a wildly popular Pepsi commercial campaign (the "uh huh" theme), an appearance on the Quincy Jones-produced 1985 all-star recording of "We Are the World." and appearances in movies such as "The Blues Brothers." Charles was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1986, received a lifetime achievement honor in 1987.
Although by now he was a considered an American treasure, Charles had a reputation throughout his career for womanizing and was known to fight a 20 year battle with a heroin addiction before quitting cold turkey in 1965 after an arrest at Boston’s Logan airport. He later became reluctant to talk about the drug use, fearing it would damage his audience’s view of his work.
Also in1986, Charles received a Kennedy Center Honor, and was cited as "one of the most respected singers of his generation ... the pioneer who broke down barriers between secular and sacred styles, between black and white pop." His last Grammy was awarded in 1993 for "A Song for You."
Charles never dropped out of the music scene and would continue to tour for the next decade. In 2002, he released the album Thanks For Bringing Love Around, which included a new version of "What'd I Say." That same year, he also celebrated the 40th anniversary of his first hit on the country music charts, "I Can't Stop Loving You,” and in May of 2003, he played his 10,000th concert last in Los Angeles. His last public appearance was made on April 30 for a ceremony dedicating his longtime recording studio in Los Angeles as an historic landmark. When Charles was forced to cut short a North American tour in the summer of 2003 due to hip pain, it was the first series of concerts he had missed in more than 50 years.
"Music's been around a long time, and there's going to be music long after Ray Charles is dead," he told The Washington Post in 1983. "I just want to make my mark, leave something musically good behind. If it's a big record, that's the frosting on the cake, but music's the main meal."
After a long fight with liver disease, "The Father of Soul" passed away June 10, 2004 at the age of 73. Mourned around the globe, Charles’ Los Angeles memorial service was attended by many of the music industry’s biggest names.
Divorced twice and single since 1952, he was survived by 12 children, 20 grandchildren and five great-grandchildren. His posthumous release Genius Loves Company bowed August 2004, debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard 200 and featured duets with such performers as Elton John, Norah Jones, B.B. King, Diana Krall, Johnny Mathis and Willie Nelson.
RIP Ray Charles.
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