Summary
Born Ray Charles Robinson, Ray Charles was an American musician and soul music pioneer. Charles combined jazz, gospel, and blues to create many of his pieces and is often referred to as the "Father of Soul". He helped to racially integrate country and pop music and became one of the first African-Americans to be given control of a mainstream record company. Charles was even considered "the only true genius in show business" by Frank Sinatra.
Profile
Ray Charles Robinson was born on September 23, 1930, in Albany, Georgia, to Aretha and Bailey Robinson. When Charles was still a baby, he and his family moved to Greenville, Florida. Charles often watch the neighbors do work and became fascinated with the piano when a man by the name of Mr. Wiley Pit was playing a song in his cafe. Pit often watched Ray and his younger brother George. Ray had the misfortune of witnessing his brother's death when he fell into his mother's wash bin and drowned. After his brother's death, Ray began to gradually loose sight and became completely blind at the age of seven due to glaucoma. His mother sent him to the Florida School for the Deaf and Blind in St. Augustine, Florida. According to The Biography Channel website, Charles "learned to read, write, and arrange music in Braille. Later on, he learned to play instruments such as the piano (which he already had begun learning for Mr. Pit), organ, sax, clarinet, and trumpet. Charles had only been taught classical music in school but wanted to play jazz and blues.
Career
In 1946, Charles left school at the age of 15 and moved in with a couple who were friends of his mother. for a year he played the piano for bands at the Ritz Theatre. He later moved to Tampa where he played with The Florida Playboys. Charles wanted to start his own band and moved to Seattle, Washington where he befriended Quincy Jones. His first hit "Confession Blues" went No.2 on R&B charts in 1949. People often criticized Charles for closely resembling Nat King Cole and Charles Brown. He later found his own voice. Charles landed a deal with Atlantic Records in 1953 and recorded his first hit single "Mess Around" in celebration. He continued to record hits like "I Got a Woman" and "This Little Girl of Mine".
Charles became addicted to heroin and was arrested in Indiana when heroin was found in the medicine cabinet of his hotel room. The charges were dropped because the police who arrested him had no search warrant. in 1965, Charles was arrest for the third time for heroin use and this out a halt to his career. In order to avoid going to jail, Charles was checked into a rehabilitation center where he successfully kicked his heroin addiction. He came back into his music career with the same dedication he had before.
Charles became addicted to heroin and was arrested in Indiana when heroin was found in the medicine cabinet of his hotel room. The charges were dropped because the police who arrested him had no search warrant. in 1965, Charles was arrest for the third time for heroin use and this out a halt to his career. In order to avoid going to jail, Charles was checked into a rehabilitation center where he successfully kicked his heroin addiction. He came back into his music career with the same dedication he had before.
Later Life
In April of 1979, Charles's song "Georgia On My Mind" was declared the state song of Georgia. Charles supported the civil rights movement and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Charles Began suffering from a liver disease and died on June 10, 2004. During his lifetime, he recorded 60 albums and did over 10,000 concerts.
