Ray Charles - The Genius

by Erika Cox

Ray Charles was born Ray Charles Robinson on September 23, 1930 in Albany, Georgia. His family moved to Greenville, Florida when he was very young. At this time Ray Charles could see his whole family and remember the tragedies in his family and he could also remember the events that led up to his blindness.

His first tragedy happened when he was about six when his younger brother drowned while playing in a washtub. Ray had tried desperately to save his brother but to no avail soon after this Ray started to lose his sight, some sources say it was Glaucoma but others say it was due to Trachoma, whichever one it was, it was another tragedy in his young life. Soon after his parents enrolled him in the Florida School for the Deaf and Blind in St. Augustine.

While attending the school he learned how to read and write music in Braille, also learned how to play a host of instruments including; the piano, alto, organ, clarinet, drums, and the trumpet, an amazing accomplishment for a teenager, especially a blind teenager. Unfortunately another tragedy would take place, his mother died when he was fifteen, soon afterward he left school and started playing around Florida in local clubs as a musician.

Although his musical influences were widespread including Chopin, Art Tatum, Sibelus, and Artie Shaw, his musical style at the time was country and jazz.

In 1947, at the age of sixteen Ray moved to Seattle, Washington and began playing at clubs all around Seattle. Soon Ray started recording with his first label, Swing Time Records, and shortened his name to Ray Charles so to not be confused with the boxer, Ray Robinson. His first hit was “Baby, Let Me Hold Your Hand”, which made it all the way to the Top Ten on the R&B charts in 1951.

Slowly, Ray’s musical style was changing perhaps from various artists he ran into and persuaded him to switch from the jazz style to a more blues sound and eventually mixing it up with Rock and Roll music. Nat King Cole was an influence on his early sound but he eventually signed on with Atlantic Records and in 1955 he recorded “I’ve Got A Woman”, which changed the sound of Ray Charles.

Ray Charles had also worked with Guitar Slim, a popular bluesman on the club circuit, and recorded a couple of songs at Cosimo Matisso’s studio in New Orleans. Here, Ray recorded a couple of songs, one becoming a million dollar blues hit, that ultimately cemented his new style. The song included a strong gospel based piano, a seven-piece arrangement set, and Ray’s raspy voice producing a mixture of blues and gospel sounds.

Ray had changed from the somewhat mellow, jazzy performer of the past to a more energetic and enthusiastic performer. Ray Charles new musical style was now a combination of Gospel, Rhythm and Blues, Blues, and Country and Western. This was a new style of Rock and Roll music and it belonged to the master Ray Charles.

Ray eventually signed on with ABC Records continuing his success.

Arguably his most successful and popular song “What I’d Say” recorded in 1959 happened while Ray and his band were finishing up with a recording session. Ray explained to his band to just repeat what he said and start the music on queue. Ray started the song and the band followed, what took place was a recording session that was full of music, joy and excitement similar to that of a gospel celebration.

Like so many of the pioneer artists of the 50’s, Ray Charles ran into some personal problems during the 60’s, however, in the 70’s and 80’s Ray found renewed fame and interest from younger people through movies and television shows like Saturday Night Live, the Blues Brothers and the Cosby Show. Ray Charles performed at the Olympic games in 1996 and his last performance was in 2004 at the opening of his music studio, which is a historic landmark in Los Angeles.

Ray Charles died on June 10, 2004 of liver disease. Some artists are only recognized as major players in the music world after their deaths. Ray Charles was recognized before and after his death as an icon, a genius, an innovator and influential.

His song “Georgia on My Mind” officially became the Georgia State song and in 1981 he was given a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1986 as one of the first artists to be inducted at its formation and in 1994 he was inducted in the Jazz Hall of fame.


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