Content Starts Here
Ray Charles Biography
RAY CHARLES BIOGRAPHY
Ray Charles is one of the greatest figures in post-war black music. His music was a bold fusion of gospel, blues and soul and later, even country music. His sharp grip on the business side of his career was in stark contrast to many artists who were victims of unscrupulous entrepreneurs in the 50s. His story is part and parcel of the American dream, - rags to riches and triumph over tragedy. In addition, his singing inspired a generation of white singers including Steve Winwood and Joe Cocker.
Ray Charles Robinson was born on 23 September, 1930 in Albany, Georgia. He was born into extreme poverty in Georgia and grew up in Greenville Florida. In a childhood that would have broken lesser men, Ray witnessed his younger brother's death from drowning in a water tub, and he was blinded by glaucoma by the age of 7. By the age of 15 he had lost his mother, Aretha. He learned to read and write music in Braille learning classical and jazz piano at a special school.
After playing in local dance, jazz and even country bands in Florida, Ray Charles (He dropped the Robinson part of his name in deference to champion boxer Sugar Ray Robinson) moved to Seattle in 1948. He made his first recordings with the McSon Trio playing nightclub covers of Nat King Cole hits and original recordings, including 1951 hit, Baby, Let Me Hold Your Hand. In 1952 Charles signed to Atlantic Records. The following year he played on and produced Guitar Slim's The Things I Used To Do. This impassioned blues performer with gospel fervour greatly influenced Charles who went on to form his own first small group, with David Fathead Newman on tenor sax. The line-up of piano, bass, drums, two trumpets and two saxes became the model for all great R&B and blues bands to follow. The result was fully realized on Ray's 1954 single, I Got A Woman, a song soaked in the fervour of the church but still salacious enough to be daring. Further hits of the time included Mess Around, Lonely Avenue and Hallelujah I Love Her So in 1956. A year later Ray perfectly simulated the call and response of the preacher and congregation by adding a female vocal trio, The Raelettes. The new sound was showcased on the 1959 hit single What'd I Say (Part 1). In the same year Charles also had hits with string soaked ballads such as Drown In My Own Tears and even a minor country and western hit with a cover of Hank Snow's I'm Movin' On.
Charles' unique mix of R&B, gospel, ballads and country would set the pattern for the next decade. In 1959 however Charles left Atlantic for ABC Records who offered him higher royalties and unprecedented ownership of his master tapes, terms which Atlantic couldn't match. (He was also given his own label, Tangerine Records).
Although several commentators feel this was the point where Charles lost his fire, in the ensuing six years, he scored over twenty chart hits, including three No.1's which reflected the eclectism of his work . 1961 hit The Road Jack was an ebullient call and response while Hoagy Carmichael's ballad Georgia On My Mind was incredibly poignant. 1963's No.1, the Don Gibson cover I Can't Stop Loving You was taken from one of Ray's greatest concept albums, Modern Sounds In Country and Western Music. The success established Charles as an international name but he was also battling a serious drug habit at the time and he was finally convicted for possession in 1964. The following year Charles put touring on hold while he entered rehab to conquer his heroin addiction.
After his release, from 1965 onwards, Ray's records appeared on his own Tangerine label but many critics felt his repertoire was growing increasingly bland. There were still highpoints however, including, ironically, Let's Go Get Stoned. Crying Time, Charles' first album since kicking his heroin habit, compared favourably with his earlier releases. But as the 60s progressed, with the innovation of The Beatles, flower power and acid rock, Charles' music became increasingly sidelined, prompting him to cover The Beatles Yesterday and Eleanor Rigby, with which he had substantial success.
From 1973 to 1977 Charles albums appeared on his Crossover label. Two album releases from that time, A Message From The People and Rennaissance included covers of Stevie Wonder's Living For The City and Randy Newman's Sail Away.
In 1980 Charles made a memorable appearance in the movie The Blues Brothers. In the mid 80s Charles recorded a series of mostly lacklustre country albums for Columbia leading to the chart topping Friendship album in 1984 which included duets with George Jones, Willie Nelson and Merle Haggard. In 1985 he made a powerful appearance on the charity record, We Are The World.
In 1990 Charles moved to Warners, making his debut for the label with Would You Believe. 1993's My World was regarded as a return to form, noteworthy for a cover of Paul Simon's Still Crazy After All These years and in 1993 Charles guested on the INXS single Please (You Got That).
On 23 May 2003 Charles played the 10,000th concert of his career in Los Angeles but was sidelined shortly afterwards by a hip ailment. The following year, in June 2004, in the middle of recording an album of duets, Genius Loves Company featuring BB King, Willie Nelson and James Taylor, Charles died of acute liver disease. He was 74 years old. The album was released posthumously and became his first platinum-selling album in over 50 years of recording. At the end of the year the excellent biopic, Ray, starring Jamie Foxx was released to a sympathetic audience.
Despite the patchier periods of his later career, Charles remains an American institution. His marriage of gospel, R&B and blues laid the foundations for soul music. Ray remains one of the most important figures in the history of popular music. Discography
Related Links
Font size
Mail
My account
Help
Community
Print now
Send to a friend
Related articles
Related products
