RAY CHARLES

Ray Charles

Ray Charles Robinson (September 23, 1930 – June 10, 2004), known by his shortened stage name Ray Charles, was an American musician. He was a pioneer in the genre of soul music during the 1950s by fusing rhythm and blues, gospel, and blues styles into his early recordings with Atlantic Records. He also helped racially integrate country and pop music during the 1960s with his crossover success on ABC Records, most notably with his Modern Sounds albums. While with ABC, Charles became one of the first African-American musicians to be given artistic control by a mainstream record company. Frank Sinatra called Charles “the only true genius in show business.”

The influences upon his music were mainly jazz, blues, rhythm and blues and country artists of the day such as Art Tatum, Nat King Cole, Louis Jordan, Charles Brown, Louis Armstrong. His playing reflected influences from country blues and barrelhouse, and stride piano styles.

Rolling Stone ranked Charles number ten on their list of "100 Greatest Artists of All Time" in 2004, and number two on their November 2008 list of "100 Greatest Singers of All Time". In honoring Charles, Billy Joel noted: "This may sound like sacrilege, but I think Ray Charles was more important than Elvis Presley. I don't know if Ray was the architect of rock & roll, but he was certainly the first guy to do a lot of things . . . Who the hell ever put so many styles together and made it work?"

Birth name: Ray Charles Robinson

Born: September 23, 1930. Albany, Georgia, United States

Origin: Greenville, Florida, United States

Died: June 10, 2004 (aged 73), Beverly Hills, California, U.S.

Genres: Rhythm and blues, soul, blues, soul blues, rock and roll, jazz, vocal jazz, country, pop, gospel

Occupations: Composer, musician, arranger, bandleader

Instruments: Vocals, piano, keyboards, alto saxophone, trombone

Years active: 1947–2004

Labels: Atlantic, ABC, Warner Bros., Swing Time, Concord, Columbia, Flashback

Associated acts: The Raelettes

Picture:

Song:

Movie:

Ray trailer

Concert:

Ray Charles Live At Montreux JAZZ FESTIVAL

Album:

Ray Charles - Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music (1962)