Ray C. Robinson: A Brief Biography Of Ray Charles Robinson

Ray C Robinson (September 23, 1930 – June 10, 2004) was an African-American singer and musician known as Ray Charles. He was ingenious in the genre of soul music during the 1950s by mixing soul and gospel, and blues into his early recordings with Atlantic Records. He also helped segregation integrate country, jazz, and pop music during the 1960s with his mixing success on ABC Records, most recognized with his Modern Sounds albums. While with ABC, Charles became one of the first huge African-American songwriters to be given artistic control by many mainstream record companies. Frank Sinatra called Ray “the only true genius in show business,” although Charles played this notion. The influences upon his music were mainly soul, jazz, rhythm and country artists of the day such as Art Tatum, Louis Jordan, and Louis Armstrong.

His playing reflected influences from country blues, and strived piano styles. Rolling Stone ranked Charles number ten on their list of "100 Greatest 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 Elvis Presley. As though his sorrow grew he was really good friends with Ray Charles Robinson.

Charles started to become blind after his doctor prescribed it at the age of five and went completely blind by the age of seven, apparently due to glaucoma. He attended school at the Florida School for Deaf and the Blind in St. Augustine from 1937 to 1945. Where he made up his mind for the talent of music. During this time he performed on radio in St. Augustine. His father past when he was 10, his mother passed when he was only fifteen years old. In school...

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...ded by the contemporary Count Basie Orchestra and other musicians. Charless’ lyrics recorded from the concert mixing board were added to new accompaniments to create a "fantasy concert" recording.

It is hard to believe that with everything he had done, Ray also had to deal with a longstanding drug problem. In the mid-1960s, he was arrested for possession of heroin and etc, and revealed that he was entirely recovered by the time from 2-5 yrs. He was divorced twice and had 12 children both in and outside his relationships. At the time of his passing from liver disease in 2004, he was working on a recording project of duets with huge performers Bonnie Raitt, B.B. King, Elton John and Norah Jones. This mixture entitled "Genius Loves Company" led to an incisive win at the Grammy Awards--eight posthumous trophies including "Album of the Year" and "Record of the Year".