Ray Charles (Ray Charles Robinson), 1930-2004, African-American musician and composer, b. Albany, Ga. Blinded at age seven, he was raised in Florida and at 16 began singing in a local hillbilly group. Two years later he moved to Seattle, where he formed his own trio. Charles rose to fame in the 1950s singing rhythm-and-blues tunes in an exuberant yet sophisticated style to the accompaniment of his piano and band. He had his first national recorded hit, "I've Got a Woman," in 1955. Combining sacred styles with the secular and rooted in gospel music and the blues, his work infused soul into a variety of genres, and it influenced, and was influenced by, jazz and rock music . Among Charles's greatest hits were "Whad'd I Say" (1959), "Georgia on My Mind" (1960), and his soulful rendition of "America the Beautiful" (1984). An outstanding live performer, he also recorded more than 60 albums and won 12 Grammy awards. He was inducted into the Rock-and-Roll Hall of Fame in 1986.

Bibliography: See his autobiography (1978); biographies by D. Ritz (1978) and M. Lydon (1999).

Ray Charles

The American jazz musician Ray Charles (born 1932) was widely admired as a singer, pianist, and composer. He combined elements of jazz, gospel and rhythm-and-blues to create a new kind of African-American music, known as soul.

Ray Charles Robinson was born in Albany, Georgia, on September 23, 1932. His father, Bailey Robinson, worked as a mechanic and handyman; his mother, Reather Robinson, worked in a sawmill. In order to avoid being confused with boxing champion Ray Robinson, he dropped his last name and was known as Ray Charles.

Suffered Blindness and Loss

The family moved from Albany, Georgia, to Greenville, Florida, when Charles was still a child. In Greenville, at the age of five, he began to go blind. At the age of seven, his right eye was removed, soon after which he became totally blind. At the Saint Augustine School for the Blind, in Florida, he learned to read Braille and began his musicianship as a pianist and clarinetist/saxophonist. His blindness required that he exercise his formidable memory for music aided by his gift of perfect pitch.

At 15 years of age, Charles lost his mother; two years later his father passed away. Suffering, somehow, always produces the greater artist. Charles, early orphaned and blind, suffered and grew in the capacity for emotion which infused his music.

Began Career With Country/Western Bands

Upon graduation from the Saint Augustine School, Charles traveled with country/western road bands—an experience he was to capitalize on later when he added country/western songs to his repertoire. Shortly afterwards, he began touring with rhythm-and-blues bands, working as a pianist, clarinetist, saxophonist, arranger, and composer.

As a singer, Charles was early influenced by blues singers Guitar Slim and Percy Mayfield. At the piano he was influenced by the jazz arrangements of Lloyd Glenn. Forever present in his style was the idiom of gospel music, sometimes subsumed by the other styles he sang; sometimes emerging in his pronunciation; sometimes predominating, as soul music. Charles' romantic ballad singing continued fundamentally in the suave Nat Cole school, but was embellished by deep-throated gospel growls and phenomenal falsetto which was frequently mistaken for a female soprano voice. The texture of his voice, his mixing of styles, his consummate musicianship, his versatile falsetto range, and his emotional appeal produced a unique vocal artistry which crossed even language barriers, but for an English-speaking audience his story-telling power added the dimension of meaning that provided a totally emotional experience not often equaled in any quarter of musical art.

Invented Soul

In 1954 an historic recording session with Atlantic records fused gospel with rhythm-and-blues and established Charles' "sweet new style" in American music. One number recorded at that session was destined to become his first great success. Secularizing the gospel hymn "My Jesus Is All the World to Me," Charles employed the 8-and 16-measure forms of gospel music, in conjunction with the 12-measure form of standard blues. Charles contended that his invention of soul music resulted from the heightening of the intensity of the emotion expressed by jazz through the charging of feeling in the unbridled way of gospel. When "It Don't Mean a Thing, If It Ain't Got That Swing" combines with "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot," the result is a beat hard to beat, and Charles never sang a note that was not perfectly on pitch or did not swing in his exceptional rhythmical contexts.

In 1959, on the ABC-Paramount label, Charles recorded his legendary "Georgia on my Mind." In 1961 he won the first of five consecutive polls conducted among international jazz critics by Downbeat magazine. Charles won several Grammy Awards from the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. His virtuosity was internationally recognized. In 1976, he recorded songs from Gershwin's Porgy and Bess with Cleo Laine.

A Pepsi endorsement in the 1990s ensured that Charles would be known to a new generation of music lovers. He kept the albums coming, including My World, The Best of Ray Charles: The Atlantic Years, and Love Affair, and he even had a cameo in the 1996 movie Spy Hard.

Views on Elvis

In 1994, Charles appeared on the NBC news show "Now," admitting that "I'm probably going to lose at least a third of my fans," but telling interviewer Bob Costas that Elvis imitated what African-American artists were already doing. "To say that Elvis was … 'the king,' I don't think of Elvis like that because I know too many artists that were far greater than Elvis." While this statement caused a stir, it was known that rock-and-roll, especially in the early years, was heavily rooted in blues, and many rock artists performed and popularized music that originally belonged to African-American blues singers.

Although described by Nat Hentoff as living within "concentric circles of isolation," Charles was married to the former Della Altwine, herself a gospel singer, with whom he had three children. He was also known to enjoy good friendship with Stevie Wonder and other musicians. Yet there was a loneliness in his music, a kind of self-intimacy which was, perhaps, best reflected in his 1961 recordings with Betty Carter and his recordings from Porgy and Bess.

Of course, loneliness is inherent in the blues, but so much in the art depends upon the feelings of the interpreter that it is clear that there was a kind of loneliness inherent in Charles, himself; a loneliness that we are reminded that we share whenever we hear him sing. There is no more existential art than the art of music, which exists as creative experience only in the time of its performance. As Charles best put it himself, in a 1989 Downbeat interview with Jeff Levinson:

And then you have another kind of person like myself, for whom music is like the bloodstream. It is their total existence. When their music dies, they die. That's me. That's the difference.

How can you get tired of breathing? Music is my breathing. That's my apparatus. I've been doing it for 40 years. And I'm going to do it until God himself says, "Brother Ray, you've been a nice horse, but now I'm going to put you out to pasture."

Further Reading

There is no full-length biography of Ray Charles at this time. Information can be found in Downbeat (January 1989); Ebony (April 1963); New York Post (January 4, 1962); New York Times (October 8, 1961); Newsweek (November 13, 1961); Saturday Evening Post (August 24, 1963); Show Business Illustrated (March 1962); TIME (May 10, 1963); Leonard Feather, Encyclopedia of Jazz (1960); American Heritage (August-September, 1986); Esquire (May, 1986); Rolling Stone (February 13, 1986); and Jet (July 25, 1994). □

Ray Charles

Born: September 23, 1932
Albany, Georgia
African American musician and pianist

The African American musician Ray Charles was widely admired as a singer, pianist, and composer (writer of music). He combined elements of jazz, gospel, and rhythm-and-blues to create a new kind of African American music known as soul.

Early life

Ray Charles Robinson was born in Albany, Georgia, on September 23, 1932. His father, Bailey Robinson, worked as a railroad mechanic and handyman; his mother, Aretha Robinson, worked in a sawmill and sometimes washed other people's clothes to make extra money. In his autobiography (the story of his own life) Brother Ray, Charles remembered that "The old man … was hardly ever around." The family moved to Greenville, Florida, when Charles was still a child. At the age of five Charles watched his four-year-old brother drown in a laundry tub despite his efforts to save the boy.

Soon afterward Charles began to go blind. At the age of seven his right eye was removed, soon after which he became totally blind. He was sent to the Saint Augustine School for the Blind, in Florida, where he learned to read Braille (a system of raised dots on paper that the blind can use to read) and began to play the piano, clarinet, and saxophone. His blindness required him to use his strong memory for music and his gift of perfect pitch. At fifteen years of age Charles lost his mother; two years later his father passed away. The suffering Charles experienced, having gone blind and been left an orphan at an early age, gave his music added depth of feeling.

Early career

After graduation from the Saint Augustine School, Charles traveled across Florida and performed with country and western bands. It was an experience that helped him later, when he added western songs to his performances. Shortly afterward he began touring with rhythm-and-blues bands, arranging and composing music as well as playing the piano, clarinet, and saxophone. In order to avoid being confused with boxing champion Ray Robinson (1921–1989), he dropped his last name and became known as Ray Charles.

Charles grew tired of Florida and decided to use his savings to go as far away as possible. He wound up in Seattle, Washington, where he formed a band called the McSon Trio, which eventually had its own local television show. He also made several records for the Swingtime record company. In 1950 he moved to Los Angeles, California (where Swingtime was based), and continued to record and perform.

As a singer, blues singers Guitar Slim (1926–1959) and Percy Mayfield influenced Charles. At the piano, the jazz arrangements of Lloyd Glenn influenced him. The influence of gospel music was always present in his style. Charles's singing of romantic songs continued in the smooth tradition of Nat "King" Cole (1917–1965), but was boosted by deep-throated growls and high notes that were often thought to be coming from a female voice. His strong voice, his mixing of styles, and his skill as a musician gave him international appeal, but for an English-speaking audience his storytelling power added something extra that made Charles stand out from other artists.

Invented soul music

In 1954 a recording session with Atlantic Records combined gospel with rhythm-and-blues and established Charles's "sweet new style" in American music. Charles used the forms of both gospel music and standard blues in recording such songs as "My Jesus Is All the World to Me," "I Got a Woman," and "Baby, Let Me Hold Your Hand." Charles referred to his invention of soul music as a combination of jazz and gospel. He continued to tour, spending most of the 1950s on the road.

In 1959, on the ABC-Paramount label, Charles recorded his famous "Georgia on My Mind," which later became the official song of the state of Georgia. Charles won ten Grammy Awards from the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. In 1976 he recorded songs from George Gershwin's (1898–1937) Porgy and Bess with Cleo Laine. A television ad for Pepsi in the 1990s helped make sure that Charles would be known to a new generation of music lovers. He also kept the albums coming, including My World, The Best of Ray Charles: The Atlantic Years, and Love Affair. He also appeared in films such as Ballad in Blue, The Blues Brothers, Limit Up, and Spy Hard.

Views on Elvis

In 1994 Charles appeared on the NBC news show Now, admitting that "I'm probably going to lose at least a third of my fans," when he told interviewer Bob Costas (1952–) that Elvis Presley (1935–1977) had just copied what African American artists were already doing. "To say that Elvis was … 'the king,' I don't think of Elvis like that because I know too many artists that were far greater than Elvis." While this statement caused a stir, it was known that rock music, especially in its early years, was heavily rooted in blues. Many rock artists performed and became popular by playing music that originally belonged to African American blues singers.

Later years

Charles is married to the former Della Altwine, herself a gospel singer, with whom he has three children. He is also good friends with Stevie Wonder (1950–), Quincy Jones (1933–), and other musicians. Yet there is always a feeling of loneliness in his music that is, perhaps, best reflected in his recordings with Betty Carter (1930–1998) and his recordings from Porgy and Bess. Charles put it best himself in a 1989 Downbeat interview with Jeff Levinson: "Music is my breathing. That's my apparatus. I've been doing it for 40 years. And I'm going to do it until God himself says, 'Brother Ray, you've been a nice horse, but now I'm going to put you out to pasture.'"

Ray Charles also remains in the news for his generous donations to educational institutions. In 2000 he gave Wilberforce University in Ohio a two-million-dollar gift to fund music scholarships, and in 2001 he donated one million dollars to all-black Morehouse College in Atlanta, Georgia. Both universities awarded honorary degrees (received without having met the usual requirements) to Charles. Charles also appeared in Las Vegas, Nevada, in 2001 to promote a new line of slot machines that the Alliance Gaming Corporation had created for the blind to use.

For More Information

Charles, Ray. Brother Ray: Ray Charles' Own Story. New York: Da Capo Press, 1992.

Lydon, Michael. Ray Charles: Man and Music. New York: Riverhead, 1998.

Ritz, David. Ray Charles: Voice of Soul. New York: Chelsea House, 1994.

Turk, Ruth. Ray Charles: Soul Man. Minneapolis: Lerner, 1996.

Winski, Norman. Ray Charles. Los Angeles: Melrose Square, 1994.