Ray Charles, a jazz, rhythm and blues and soul musician, became one of the most famous American musicians. The result of his creative activity was the release of more than seventy albums, multiple awarding of Grammy awards (13 times), as well as membership in the members of the Hall of Fame of individual music genres (rock and roll, jazz, country, blues).
The United States
Library of Congress contains the hits of Ray Charles, and the famous words spoken by Frank Sinatra call him the only genius in show business.
Ray's childhood
Born Ray Charles Robinson saw the world in Albany , Georgia in 1930. The town was small, and the financial and social situation of the Ray family was unfavorable. A few months after his birth, the whole family had to change their place of residence: now they called their home a small graying of Greenville (South Florida).
The father’s role in the musician’s life was short and insignificant, since he left when the boy and his brother George were very young. Parenting was the mother of Areth and grandmother Mary Jane Robinson.
Tragic event
The biography of Ray Charles contains one notorious fact related to the death of his brother. This happened when the future musician was only five years old, and George - four. Having plunged headlong into a deep basin with water that stood on the street, George could not get out and began to choke. Seeing his sinking brother, Ray tried to save him, but he did not have enough strength to pull out the child.
The resulting shock had a profound effect on Ray. He himself suggested that it was for this reason that his vision began to deteriorate until he completely disappeared. Total blindness came when he was seven years old. Later, glaucoma and its consequences were called the likely cause of blindness.
There are rumors that the musician, having achieved fame, tried to find a donor for one eye transplant. However, the operation was never performed due to the opinion of doctors who considered this step pointless and risky.
Ray Charles: Learning Music
The pharmacist, who played the piano and lived near Ray's house, had a direct influence on shaping his future career as a musician. The first manifestations of the musical talent of the boy were noticeable even when he was three years old.
Therefore, after a complete loss of vision, the mother made sure that Rei entered a specialized boarding school. She was in St. Augustine, and here Ray Charles studied Braille, as well as playing the organ, piano, trombone, saxophone and clarinet. Thanks to his success in music, the boy was enrolled in a Baptist choir.
1945 became the year of Ray's death for his mother, his father died two years later.
Musical career: first steps
The further biography of Ray Charles (the period after completing his studies at the boarding school) is replete with the names of numerous musical projects in which he took part. Often they performed country or jazz. The greatest influence on the formation of the style and manner of performance of Ray had such famous jazzmen as County Basie, Art Tatum, as well as Artie Shaw.
The first group, of which the musician became a full member, was called The Florida Playboys.
A trip to Seattle in 1947 was a very significant event for the seventeen-year-old Ray. Carrying the accumulated amount of $ 600 and securing the support of guitarist Gossadi McGee, he is involved in the founding and development of the MacSon Trio band. To record the first songs, Ray resorted to collaborating with a group of famous artist Lowell Fulson. Ray's task was to accompany the piano musicians. Two years later, the light saw the first song of Ray Charles in the style of rhythm and blues. Then came a few more songs, which later became hits.
The musician's activity in the 50s
The new decade was marked for Ray Charles Robinson by a label change and a name reduction. This measure was necessary, since at that time a boxer with a similar name was popular.
Ray's first marriage lasted only a year. Beginning in July 1951, the joint life of the musician and Eilean Williams did not stand the test of time. The next time Ray entered the bark three years later, marrying Della Beatrice Robinson (nee Howard). They lived together until 1977.
Ray Charles's biography in the mid-50s is full of successful songs written independently or in collaboration with other musicians. It is during this period that the formation of a recognizable and original unique sound takes place.
Ray Charles songs were sold in millions of copies, bringing popularity to the musician himself and the styles in which he worked. Ray's repertoire included secular-themed gospels and blues ballads. The popularity of gospel and R&B is largely due to the work of this musician, whose activities attracted a large number of new fans. There were representatives of both black and white audiences. The merit of Ray Chals, as one of the first performers in the style of rhythm and blues, is the impressive spread of "black" music.
The end of the fifties brought Ray universal popularity, participation in the Newport Festival, recording a large number of hits, as well as the first Grammy Award.
Ray Charles Biography: 60s
After receiving worldwide recognition, Ray moved to a huge mansion in Beverly Hills. As one of the few artists to receive the highest fees, he began to use his creative freedom to expand his approach to music. As a result, his works became closer to the style of pop and mainstream. Despite the fact that the new compositions were very different from what he had done before, Ray's music was invariably successful. The breadth and variety of the musician’s repertoire reached stunning volumes.
The song "Georgia On My Mind", which became the anthem of the native state of Ray Charles, was published in the early 60s. This was followed by a significant event: the release of the album Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music. The hits included in it belong to the country genre, which in combination with Ray's racial affiliation has become a kind of revolution.
The anti-racist mood of the musician
Ray Charles, a lower social class member, has been an active champion of racial equality throughout his life. An excellent example of his attitude to this issue can be considered the cancellation of the concert in Augusta in 1961 due to the fact that black and white spectators were planning to sit separately. In addition, Ray contributed (including financially) to the activities of Martin Luther King and openly expressed his disapproval of the policies of J. F. Kennedy.
Some sources mention Ray’s twenty-year ban on entering Georgia, but he really didn’t plan to go there.
Ray Charles and his "monkey on the back"
So allegorically, the musician called his addiction to heroin. After learning what it was at 16, for the next two decades he was addicted to drugs.
In 1961, during a search of Ray's hotel room, illicit drugs were discovered, but no trial was followed, as the procedure was violated (there was no warrant). In subsequent years, the musician was repeatedly noticed for using drugs, and in 1965 he was arrested in Boston on charges of possession of marijuana and heroin.
Life with a clean slate
The decisive step, after which Ray Charles said a decisive “no” to drugs, was a long-term treatment at a clinic in Los Angeles. This measure saved him from being in prison, the court limited himself to a rather mild sentence: one year probation. After a rehabilitation course, Ray Charles did not return to use, finding inspiration and comfort only in music and performances.
Ray, a film about Ray Charles, covers the theme of drug addiction in great detail.
Mainstream and the late years of Ray
Freed from drugs, the musician takes on a new style, approaching the mainstream. A feature of this period is the lack of their own compositions in favor of the fantastic performance of songs by other musicians.
With the onset of the 80s, Ray Charles expands his range of activities: participating in the filming of the Blues Brothers film, in a popular television show, and in Pepsi commercials.
The musician accepts invitations from organizers of charity events, works with popular young performers and speaks at Bill Clinton's inauguration . Ray Charles's vibrant social activities ended in 2004 in Los Angeles when his last performance took place.
In the last years of his life, the musician suffered from liver cancer and the severe consequences of a hip operation. Despite this, he appeared daily at his RPM studio to carry out his work. In one of the interviews, he noted that it does not matter how long life has, it is important how beautiful it is.
After the death of Ray Charles in 2004, his memory was honored with the release of a posthumous album. He received eight Grammy Awards. Later, another collection would be released, including joint compositions by Ray Charles and other artists.
As part of the memorial ceremony, many musicians and thousands of loyal fans bid farewell to Ray.