Ray Charles
Ray
Charles Robinson was born on September 23, 1930 and died on June 10,
2004. Singer, composer, arranger and pianist, Ray
Charles was an
all-rounder who excelled in a wide variety of styles, from jazz
to rhythm and blues,
gospel and
country.
He was also one of the pioneers of soul
music. Ray Charles was
first trained in classical music before making his name in the early
1960s in a more bluesy universe. Georgia
on My Mind, Hit
the Road Jack and
Unchain my Heart are
some of his great tracks that have left their mark in music, both by
their melodies and by their recognizable voices. And Ray Charles'
talent was all the more recognized as he had been blind since the age
of 7. On the strength of his success, Ray Charles decided to set up
his own production company, Ray Charles Enterprises. After a period
of inactivity, particularly due to drug addiction problems, he
returned in the second half of the 1960s with Let's
Go Get Stoned. He then
became more discreet and was one of the singers for We Are the World,
as well as a duet with Chaka Khan in 1989. Nevertheless, he sang to
sold-out audience all over the world for years and released dozens of
albums. Ray Charles received no less than 12
Grammy Awards during
his career and his song Georgia on My Mind has, quite simply, become
the USA state of Georgia's anthem.