Ray Charles Robinson was an American singer, songwriter, pianist, and composer. He pioneered the soul music genre during the 1950s by combining blues, jazz, rhythm and blues, and gospel styles. Charles cited Nat King Cole as a primary influence, but his music was also influenced by Louis Jordan and Charles Brown. He won 17 Grammy Awards, including 5 posthumously.
About Ray Charles in brief
Ray Charles Robinson was an American singer, songwriter, pianist, and composer. 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. He was blinded during childhood due to glaucoma. Charles cited Nat King Cole as a primary influence, but his music was also influenced by Louis Jordan and Charles Brown. He won 17 Grammy Awards, including 5 posthumously. 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. Rolling Stone ranked Charles No. 10 on their list of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time, and No. 2 on theirList of the100 Greatest Singers of All time. Charles died in 2008 at the age of 89, and is survived by his wife, Mary Jane, and their three children, all of whom were born in the U.S. The couple had a son, George, who drowned in his mother’s laundry tub when he was four years old. Aretha became pregnant by Bailey, a laborer, and later gave birth to Ray, who was known as ‘Brother Ray’ Aretha and Bailey lived in Greenville, Florida, with Aretha’s mother, a laundress, and her husband, who had lost a son. Charles’ musical curiosity was sparked at Wylie Pitman’s Red Wing Cafe, when Pitman played boogie woogie on an old upright piano. Pitman subsequently taught Charles how to play the piano.
His teacher, Mrs Lawrence, taught him how to use braille music, a difficult process that requires the hand and hand movements by left and right movements with the right hand. Despite his initial protest, Charles attended the Deaf and Blind School for the Blind in St. Augustine from 1937 to 1945. Charles and his mother were always welcome at the Red Wing cafe and even lived there when they were in financial distress. 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 charts, 2 on the hot Country singles charts. 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. Billy Joel said, \”This may sound like sacrilege, but I think Ray Charles was more important than Elvis Presley\”. For his musical contributions, Charles received the Kennedy Center Honors, the National Medal of Arts, and the Polar Music Prize. He also received the Grammy lifetime achievement award in 1987. He died at age 89 in California on December 17, 2008. He is survivedby his wife Mary Jane and his son George, whom he had never met, and his daughter-in-law, Toni, who he had married in the early 1960s. Charles is buried in Florida in a suburb of Greenville.
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