|
Birth Name: Ray Charles Robinson
Born: Sept. 23, 1930
Birthplace: Albany, GA
Father: Bailey Robinson
Mother: Aretha (d. 1946)
Brother: George (d. 1934)
High School: St. Augustine School For The Deaf and Blind, FL
Wife: Elieen Williams (m - July 31, 1951, div. 1952)
Wife: Della Beatrice Howard (m - April 5,-1955)
Mistress: Mary Anne den Bok
Hip Replacement Surgery 2003
Died: June 10, 2004
Location of death: Beverly Hills, CA
Cause of death: Liver Failure |
Born
into poverty in the segregated South, Ray Charles Robinson's already
challenging circumstances steadily became more difficult as his life
progressed: at a very young age he witnessed the death by drowning
of his brother, and by his seventh year he had completely lost his
vision, possibly to glaucoma. He was subsequently enrolled at the
St. Augustine School for the Deaf and the Blind as a charity
student, where he learned to read and write music in Braille and
received training on several different musical instruments. When he
was 15 his mother died, after which he set out on the road to earn a
living as a professional musician, performing in the style of Nat
King Cole. Two years later Charles had had enough of Florida and
gathered up his savings to make the trip over to Seattle, Washington
-- as far from Florida as he could get while still remaining in the
United States.
In Seattle, Charles formed "The McSon Trio" and established himself
on the local club circuit; it was during this time that he first
made the acquaintance of a novice musician named Quincy Jones. A
trip down to Los Angeles was made in 1949 for recording sessions
with the trio, one result of which was the R&B hit Confession Blues
for the Downbeat label. By 1950 Charles made a permanent move down
to L.A., and began recording and touring with the band of Lowell
Fulson; after a year he organized his own band, and upon the
purchase of his contract from Swingtime (formerly Downbeat) by
Atlantic Records, he launched his solo career with the crossover hit
I Got A Woman. By this time his imitative approach had been shed,
and a distinctive style of his own was allowed to emerge.
 A
consistent run on the R&B charts was made throughout the remainder
of the decade, most notably with his trademark song What'd I Say --
another single that made a strong impact on the pop market as well.
Towards the end of 1959 Charles left Atlantic and made a move to ABC
Records, the new label granting him a greater degree of control over
his output. With this new freedom, he continued his success in the
R&B field while improving his standing in pop music, and even
scoring a #1 hit on the country charts in 1962 with the single I
Can't Stop Loving You. The only speed bump for his musical momentum
was to be in the form of an arrest for heroin possession at the end
of 1964, but after time spent in rehab and a year off to recover,
the singer managed to bring an end to his nearly 20-year-long
addiction and concentrate once again on performing. In 1967 he
resumed his success appropriately enough with a cover of Ashford and
Simpson's Let's Go Get Stoned.
In subsequent decades
Charles made regular moves between labels, recording for RCA
and Crossover before returning to Atlantic towards the end
of the 70s, and later spending periods on Columbia and
Warner Brothers. His reputation with younger audiences was
maintained through both his work in film (an appearance in
The Blues
Brothers
and
a musical
contribution to the Clint Eastwood comedy Any Which Way You
Can, both
in 1980),
and frequent collaborations with other artists (Willie
Nelson, Chaka Khan, Billy Preston and Eric Clapton, to name
a few).
In 2003
Charles performed "Georgia On My Mind"
and "America the Beautiful" at a
televised annual electronic media journalist
banquet held in Washington, D.C.
This show would be his
final musical performance in public.
His final public appearance came on April
30, 2004, at the dedication of his music studio as a
historic landmark in the city of Los Angeles.
 See
Studio Story
He died on June 10, 2004 at 11:35 a.m. of liver cancer at
his home in Beverly Hills, California, surrounded by family
and friends.
See
Funeral Story
After the funeral, a BBC spokesman
commented: "it did not go unnoticed that Susaye [Susaye
Greene, former member of the Raelettes as well as of the
Supremes and Wonderlove, and currently a solo artist] was
the only Raelette to sing at Ray's funeral."
His body was interred in the Inglewood Park
Cemetery in Inglewood, California
Ray Charle's final album,
Genius Loves Company,
released two months after his death, consists of duets with
various admirers and contemporaries:
B.B. King, Van Morrison, Willie
Nelson, James Taylor, Gladys Knight, Michael McDonald,
Natalie Cole, Elton John, Bonnie Raitt, Diana Krall, Norah
Jones, and Johnny Mathis.
The album won eight Grammy
Awards, including
five for Ray Charles for Best Pop Vocal Album,
Album of the Year, Record of the Year and Best Pop
Collaboration with Vocals for "Here We Go Again" with Norah
Jones, and Best Gospel Performance for "Heaven Help Us All"
with Gladys Knight; he also received nods for his duets with
Elton John and B.B. King.
The album included a version of Harold Arlen's "Over the
Rainbow", sung as a duet by Charles and Johnny Mathis, which
recording was later played at his memorial service.
 Charles
was significantly involved in the biopic
Ray, an
October 2004 film which portrays his life and career between
1930 and 1966 and stars Jamie Foxx as Charles.
Foxx won the 2005 Academy Award for
Best Actor for the role.
Before shooting could begin, director Taylor Hackford
brought Foxx to meet Charles, who insisted that they sit down at
two pianos and play together. After two hours, he stood up,
hugged Foxx, and gave his blessing, proclaiming,
"He's the one... he can do it."
Charles was expected to attend a showing of the completed film,
but died before it opened. The movie is the all-time number one
biopic per screen average, opening on 2006 screens and making 20
million dollars.
|
