Ray Charles
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Ray Charles Robinson, Sr.[note 1] (September 23, 1930 – June 10, 2004) was an American singer, songwriter, pianist, and composer. Among friends and fellow musicians he preferred being called “Brother Ray”. He was often referred to as “the Genius”.[3][4] Charles was blinded during childhood, possibly due to glaucoma.[2]
Charles pioneered the soul music genre during the 1950s by combining blues, jazz, rhythm and blues, and gospel styles into the music he recorded for Atlantic.[2][5][6] 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.[7][8][9] While he was with ABC, Charles became one of the first black musicians to be granted artistic control by a mainstream record company.[5]
Charles’s 1960 hit “Georgia On My Mind” 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 became his first album to top the Billboard 200.[10] Charles had multiple singles reach the Top 40 on various Billboard charts: 44 on the US R&B singles chart, 11 on the Hot 100 singles chart, 2 on the Hot Country singles charts.[11]
Charles cited Nat King Cole as a primary influence, but his music was also influenced by Louis Jordan and Charles Brown.[12] He had a lifelong friendship and occasional partnership with Quincy Jones. Frank Sinatra called Ray Charles “the only true genius in show business,” although Charles downplayed this notion.[13] Billy Joel said, “This may sound like sacrilege, but I think Ray Charles was more important than Elvis Presley”.[14]
For his musical contributions, Charles received the Kennedy Center Honors, the National Medal of Arts, and the Polar Music Prize. He won 18 Grammy Awards, including 5 posthumously.[10] Charles was honored with the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 1987, and 10 of his recordings have been inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame.[10] Rolling Stone ranked Charles No. 10 on their list of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time,[3] and No. 2 on their list of the 100 Greatest Singers of All Time.[15]
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