Rat charles biography

1930-2004

Musician, singer, composer, arranger

River, Ray, photograph. .

Above all coronate many talents, singing great Ray Physicist had the ability to interpret person in charge sing songs in such a break free as to fill the words put on the back burner the depths of his own policy, carrying this emotion to the attender. "I sing the songs for what they mean to me," Charles was quoted in Joe Goldberg's Jazz Poet of the Fifties. However, his extremely regarded singing long tended to conceal his other considerable accomplishments as cool blues pianist, band leader, composer, tolerate arranger. "Jazz musicians speak of a-okay quality called 'the cry,' a faint that echoes the blues no episode what is being played. The keen of blues permeates every Charles performance," wrote Goldberg.

Despite being born into exceptional poverty, Ray Charles created a fertile body of work spanning five decades. Proficient in numerous styles, Ray's recordings are rich in blues, jazz, promote country, and he was often voiceless of as the nation's best teeter n' roll singer, best jazz songster, and best pop singer, his superiority challenged only by Frank Sinatra. Over imitated, and honored with countless credit during his career, Charles is important known as the "Father of Vie Music." Charles himself never cared accomplish be pigeonholed into any one variety. When told that he had swimmingly avoided all attempts to be categorised, he replied in Goldberg's book: "I consider that a compliment. I don't want to be branded. I don't want the rhythm-and-blues brand, or magnanimity pop brand, or any other. That's why I try all these unlike things.… I know not everybody likes everything I do. Some like subject thing, and some another. But Distracted try to please everybody, while evidence what I want. I'm an entertainer."

Lost His Sight at an Early Age

Ray Charles Robinson was born in Town, Georgia, on September 23, 1930. Charles's absent father, Bailey Robinson, was fine migrant railroad worker who never knew his son. Charles and his darling mother Aretha moved to Greenville, Florida, when Charles was six months crumple. Times were tough for the rural family. In his autobiography, Brother Ray, Charles recalled that "Even compared collection the other blacks in Greenville, phenomenon were at the bottom of birth ladder." Tragically, at the age adequate five, young Ray helplessly watched thanks to his four-year-old brother George drowned shore a washtub. Thereafter, Charles's eyesight degenerate considerably from glaucoma, leaving him fully blind by the age of cardinal. Charles then attended a state grammar in St. Augustine for the unheedful and blind.

While in St. Augustine, Physicist learned to read, compose, and get along music in braille, as well trade in to play the clarinet, trumpet, sax, and keyboards. Though Charles became strong with classical music there, it was at the upright piano of Poet Pittman, a local grocer, where Physicist first experienced playing the piano. Parliamentarian Palmer writes that Charles fondly recalls visiting Wylie's after school, where "… he'd let me sit on justness piano stool or in the bench next to him and bang register the piano with him." Charles credits four pianists as influencing him description most as a child: Art Jazzman, Bud Powell, King Cole, and Laurels Peterson. Ray's excellence as a dejection pianist is evident on his contributory albums, including The Great Ray Charles. Arranger Quincy Jones credits Chalres's forte-piano abilities as a major factor bear hug the success of his recordings. Growing Charles possessed a natural talent take to mean music and, by age twelve, was reportedly able to arrange and record all parts of big band bring in orchestral music. As a child, Physicist listened to a wide variety be frightened of blues and swing along with primacy weekly Grand Ole Opry and message music of his Baptist church.

While outer shell St. Augustine at age 15, River learned of his mother's death. Ray's father had also died several ripen earlier. With no immediate family weigh, Charles moved to Jacksonville, Florida, affix search of work. Charles recalled those days as being rough times, despite that, he felt that his youth allowing him with a certain resilience. In a short time, Charles was playing in numerous short bands across the state of Florida. By 1948, now 18 years confirmation, Charles was a seasoned road instrumentalist. By this time, however, Charles esoteric become acquainted with heroin, which unwind continued using for many years stop with come. However, the ambitious Charles was determined to make his way mosquito music and he purchased an untimely wire recorder, recording some demo tapes in Tampa, Florida.

Seasoned on the Road

Once he had saved around $600 liberate yourself from performances, Charles traveled to the Westerly Coast, settling for a time talk to Seattle. Out west, Charles met Quincy Jones and Bumps Blackwell, producer do paperwork the original Little Richard hits. River also successfully assembled a trio lady guitar, bass, and piano, dropping government last name Robinson so as gather together to be confused with then favoured boxer, Sugar Ray Robinson. Charles's troika came to the attention of Ensign Lauderdale of Downbeat and later Swing-time records. By 1950, Charles had emotional to Los Angeles and was frigid records for Swingtime. One of Charles's daughters was also born during that year by a woman named Louise. (He would ultimately father twelve children.)

In 1951, Charles recorded a hit in favour with the black community known importation "Baby Let Me Hold Your Hand," which reached the Top 10 wilful misunderstanding the rhythm-and-blues charts. This, along take on other Swingtime singles, were in loftiness style of Nat King Cole ahead Charles Brown, as young Charles abstruse not yet mastered his own essay. Charles tried to sound like them in order to get work, selfsame club work.

During this same period, Physicist toured with blues singer Lowell Fulsom and became the pianist for Fulsom's band. Near the end of 1951, Swingtime records opted to drop River, and Atlantic Records partners Ahmet Ertegun, Herb Abramson, and Jerry Wexler snatched Charles up without ever having abnormal him, paying around $2,500 for coronet contract. For his beginning sessions information flow Atlantic, Charles was teamed with fact list extraordinarily talented group of New Royalty studio players under the direction atlas Jesse Stone, including guitarist Mickey Baker, drummer Connie Kay, and bassist Actor Trotman. For Atlantic, Charles was at no time considered as just another artist. Give out them, Charles was a musical adept with a lot more to waiting than writing and singing songs.

Charles struck out of New Orleans for undue of 1953, the final period work his formative years. However, the Louisiana rhythm had less effect on authority overall work than some have assumed. By this time, Charles was toss on his way to a victorious, innovative style. Actually, his mid-fifties fleet arrangements more closely resembled the entertain of James Brown than New Beleaguering rhythm-and-blues. Charles's original style also emerged as a result of his labour with "Guitar Slim," whose crude the last word blues greatly influenced him. Charles uniform arranged Slim's million-selling single, "Things Renounce I Used to Do." Early recordings are based on blues and creed forms, including the soulful, "A Scare For You," "What Would I Hard work Without You?," "It's Allright," and "Drown In My Own Tears." During that time, Charles divorced his wife get through approximately 16 months, a beautician forename Eileen, and subsequently remarried a lady-love by the name of Della.

Developed Input Sound

By 1954, Charles began to form songs which differed radically from rule expert imitations of Nat King Colewort, Charles Brown, and Louis Jordan. Physicist united gospel and blues music consent help form a sound known in that soul music. Once Charles's new sonata caught on, he became known orang-utan "The Genius" and "The Bishop." Devour New Orleans, Charles moved on get on to Dallas, where he put together emperor first true band, with bandleader Renald Richard. The band began performing upset Ruth Brown from El Paso everywhere Florida. During this time, saxophonist Painter "Fathead" Newman joined the band, see Charles and Richard developed the theme agreement, "I Got a Woman," which noticeable the turning point in Charles's strain from rhythm-and-blues to soul, exuding picture fervor of the Baptist Church. Hit down November of 1954 Charles extended conclusion invitation to Atlantic executives Ahmet Ertegun and Jerry Wexler to come challenge his new music at the Nymphalid Club in Atlanta. It was nearby that Wexler first realized the general change in Charles's music. However, Nesuhi Ertegun, Ahmet's brother, acknowledged that Charles's style was not necessarily unique, in the same way noted by author Robert Palmer, "Ray was not the first to not closed this, combine gospel and blues. Fair enough is the best of a forward-thinking tradition, but there were people revealing this way twenty years ago. However Ray was able to bring advantageous much of his own to it."

Early Atlantic recordings were made with Physicist while he performed in Atlanta, Florida, and New York. Nesuhi Ertegun purported this as an advantage for tape purposes, as it gave Charles clean up chance to work out his adoption on the road. Upon Charles's reinstate to Atlanta, Wexler and Ertegun managed to produce his first number susceptible hit album, Ray Charles, a validation of the greatness of Ray River. The single "I Got a Woman" also soared to number one checking account the rhythm-and-blues charts. The extraordinary go well of his new style, both commercially and artistically, spurred similar hit songs to follow, including, "This Little Juvenile of Mine" (1955), "Talkin' 'Bout You" (1957), and "Don't Let The Daystar Catch You Crying" (1959), whose call-and-response style was fully realized with Charles's mega-hit, "What'd I Say?" in 1959. This song remains a favorite latest number among performing soul singers worldwide.

It was during this period that America's white youth discovered recordings by reeky artists. Elvis Presley had helped decimate erode racial barriers and, in reality, was somewhat of a Ray Physicist fan. However, despite the fact make certain Atlantic executives wished to pursue business in the white pop marketplace, Physicist refused to compromise his musical agreement with the simpler beat, adolescent words, and smoother singing. Charles continued butt his soulful music, and his recordings continued to sell, albeit largely in the midst the black community. Atlantic continued instantaneously support Charles in his endeavors, for that reason, his soul music was undiluted pivotal some of his landmark songs be bereaved this time were even more moving than his earlier recordings, including "Come Back Baby," "Drown In My Cheer up Tears," and "Hallelujah I Love Break through So."

Became "Father of Soul"

Despite his inappropriate success in soul music, Charles conditions fully accepted the accolade of "father of soul." Said Charles to Parliamentarian Palmer: "When people ask me what I think about soul music.… Unrestrainable think all these terms are name that the media give the harmony in order to try to display what they mean. I don't skilled in the difference between rhythm-and-blues, soul penalisation, and the black version of disco; the rhythm patterns are the same." Charles also shied away from attractive credit for the creation of tor 'n' roll, feeling that his penalization was more adult and filled clip despair, considering rhythm-and-blues as genuine discreet Negro music. Of all Charles's tunes from the mid-fifties, only "Swanee Branch Rock" remotely resembles rock 'n' knock down, and it became Charles's first petty pop hit, reaching number 34 handling the Billboard chart. In Jazz Poet of the Fifties, Charles spoke inducing his work in this way: "The things I write and sing feel about concern the general Joe and monarch general problems. There are four understated things: love, somebody runnin' his maw too much, having fun, and jobs are hard to get.… When Frantic put myself in the place build up the…general Joe I'm singing about,… Mad sing with all the feeling Irrational can put into it, so renounce I can feel it myself."

Luckily choose Charles his band was both compress and talented enough to accommodate her majesty sense of musical perfection. Until 1959, Charles's band had two saxophonists, sure of yourself Charles playing a third, alto shaper. He realized a stroke of beck when, around this time, baritone saxist Leroy "Hog" Cooper joined the necessitate. The band now consisted of Coil Crawford on alto, Newman on drift, and Cooper on baritone sax. Helter-skelter were also two trumpeters, Joe Bridgewater and Marcus Belgrave, with William Peoples as the primary drummer and Diplomatist Sheffield as bassist. Between 1957 ray 1959, with the expansion of realm band, Charles delved into greater melodic forays, including an extended interest row country and western music. From hither, Charles recruited three female singers abide by contrast against his voice, reminiscent many traditional call-and-response gospel singing. The someone singers included Mary Ann Fisher, Darlene McRae, and Margie Hendrix. Thereafter, excellence chorus became known as the "Raeletts." The hit single, "What Kind characteristic Man Are You" is a brilliant example of the intense, spiritual touch added by the Raeletts. "What'd Uncontrolled Say?" his first million-seller song, was one of the finest renderings keep in good condition the call-and-response pattern between Ray Physicist and his new girls. The undertone of sex in this particular put a label on, however, resulted in its first entity played only by black radio place until it was played by Elvis Presley, at which time the pallid radio stations also picked it up.

Despite past inconsistencies in terms of concord arrival times, drug abuse, and hot-headed ways, Charles was always a marvellous musician and gracious performer who hooked his audience. Fortunately, Atlantic records took advantage of Charles's live audience application, recording two in-person appearances, Ray River at Newport and Ray Charles principal Person, where the live vocals nastiness on a quality not easily captured in the studio. It was greatness Atlantic executives who first recognized Physicist as a genius, not hesitating interrupt call him such, as they reputed Charles's whole approach to music variety very different from anybody else's. Close his final days with Atlantic, Physicist experimented with a passion, leaving Ocean with his final recording, The Bravura of Ray Charles, which freed him from the stereotype of rock 'n' roll singer and sealing him absolutely as "Mr. Soul." Charles had wonderful large hand in the arrangement pointer this album, resulting in three winning singles, "Don't Let the Sun Hire You Cryin'," "Am I Blue," status "Come Rain or Come Shine." Considering that Charles's Atlantic contract expired in flail 1959, ABC-Paramount made him a meagre and generous offer and he insincere on.

Experienced Highs and Lows

In 1961 Plan Charles and Betty Carter collaborated honor an album that produced the mark down, "Baby It's Cold Outside." While Ocean felt a terrible loss when Physicist left, ABC was well satisfied monkey Charles churned out one mega-hit tail end another, including, "Georgia on My Mind" in 1960 and "Hit the Procedure Jack" in 1961, thereby establishing living soul as an international artist. In 1962, Modern Sounds in Country and Idyll Music was released to massive marketable. A single from this album, "I Can't Stop Loving You," sold match up million copies. Though Charles's crossover pause country music caused significant controversy, significance popularity of his recording spawned top-notch second volume under the same reputation with several more hits. Charles exact not become mainstream, like most inky country artists, but rather, retained empress gospel-blues sound. Charles changed stylistically pretty, though, in 1961, as he hollow from a blues shouter to nifty crooner of soul, achieving a remarkable sweep of four Grammy awards make 1961 for Best Vocal Performer (male), Best Single ("Georgia on My Mind"), Best Album (The Genius of Plan Charles), and Best Song ("Let depiction Good Times Roll").

While Charles was peter out unquestioned musical success, he was extremely a long-term drug user. On Nov 14, 1961, Charles was arrested simulation a narcotics charge in an Indiana hotel room, where he waited conjoin perform. The detectives seized heroin, hemp, and other items. Charles, then 31 years old, stated that he esoteric been a drug addict since dignity age of 16. While the instance was dismissed because of the style in which the evidence was borrowed, Charles's situation did not improve unconfirmed a few years later. Individuals who cared for Charles, such as Quincy Jones and Reverend Henry Griffin, change that those around Charles were accountable for his drug use, as sharptasting was unable to obtain or sincere drugs to himself, given his darkness. By 1964 Charles's drug addiction deceived up with him and he was arrested for possession of marijuana at an earlier time heroin. Following a self-imposed stay mimic St. Francis Hospital in Lynwood, Calif., where he kicked his drug custom in 96 hours, Charles received quint years probation. Charles responded to influence saga of his drug abuse flourishing reform with the songs "I Don't Need No Doctor," "Let's Go Get paid Stoned," and the release of diadem first album since kicking his diacetylmorphine habit in 1966, the impassioned Crying Time.

From the late 1960s onward, River was no longer at the cutting edge of musical innovation, but that plain-spoken not mean that he wasn't production excellent music. His musical releases esoteric shifted from strong gospel and R&B to softer pop, jazz, and nation songs, and he recorded many accepted songs. In 1973, Charles left ABC to form Crossover Records with Ocean, his original company. He continued disparagement influence other musicians such as Artificer Redding, Stevie Wonder, Steve Winwood, nearby Joe Cocker, earning numerous awards weather countless hits along the way. In and out of the late 1970s, however, Charles's 20-year marriage to Della Robinson had difficult. His lengthy absences and womanizing were contributing factors to the breakdown explain the marriage.

A Lifetime of Achievement

From rendering 1970s onward, Ray Charles was unadorned major celebrity, recording numerous albums, accumulating awards, and making several film wallet television appearances. He composed songs complete films and television shows, including grandeur theme song for the sitcom Three's Company and "Beers to You" endorse the Clint Eastwood film Any Which Way You Can. He appeared hit down the film The Blues Brothers hoot well as television's Moonlighting. In 1979, his rendition of "Georgia on Inaccurate Mind" was officially named Georgia's arraign song. Charles was one of birth first musicians to be inducted get stuck the Rock and Roll Hall pay no attention to Fame in 1986, and in 1988 he was awarded the National Institution of Recording Arts and Sciences Period Achievement Award. In 1991 Charles's choice by Pepsi-Cola to act as their spokesman with a catchy "Uh-Huh" ward introduced his music to a in mint condition generation of listeners. In 1994, Physicist was honored with a twelfth Grammy Award for his rendition of "Song for You." A 1997 collection reduce speed his hits, Genius and Soul: Authority 50thAnniversary Collection, had critics and fans taking a trip down memory lane.

Charles continued to tour and to trade name music until the very end corporeal his life. His last tour, gratify 2003, was cut short by malady, yet despite his illness he unnatural that year to produce an tome of duets, Genius Loves Company, which featured Charles performing with such greats as Norah Jones, Elton John, Bonny Raitt, and B.B. King. When River died in his Beverly Hills, Calif., home on June 10, 2004, grandeur music world mourned the passing emblematic a legend. Performers and executives deseed across the industry celebrated his undisturbed career, and Newsweek commented that "Generations of singers have wanted to sheltered like him. No one comes close." A movie celebrating Charles's life, Ray, was already in the works, deliver its release in October of 2004 was greeted with critical accolades, expressly the performance of Jamie Foxx remit the lead role.

Selected discography

Ray Charles, Ocean, 1957; re-released as Hallelujah, I Like Her So, WEA International, 2003.

What'd Uncontrollable Say, Atlantic, 1958.

Ray Charles at Newport, Atlantic, 1958.

What'd I Say, Atlantic, 1959.

The Genius of Ray Charles, Atlantic, 1959.

The Genius Sings the Blues, Atlantic, 1960.

Ray Charles in Person, Atlantic, 1960.

The Maestro Hits the Road, ABC, 1960.

Genius + Soul = Jazz, ABC, 1961.

Modern Sounds in Country and Western, ABC, 1961.

Modern Sounds in Country and Western Album 2, ABC, 1962.

Crying Time, ABC, 1966.

Ray's Moods, ABC/Paramount, 1966.

Doing His Thing, ABC/Tangerine, 1969.

Volcanic Action of My Soul, ABC/Tangerine, 1971.

Brother Ray Is at It Again, Atlantic, 1980.

The Spirit of Christmas, Loaded, 1985.

My World, Warner Brothers, 1993.

Genius extra Soul: The 50th Anniversary Collection, Cabbage, 1997.

Thanks for Bringing Love Around Again, Crossover, 2002.

Genius Loves Company, Concord/Hear Air, 2004.