By the late 1950s Ray Charles was referred to as The Genius, with his final album for Atlantic aptly titled Genius Sings the Blues. The song crossed over to Top 40 radio and reached number six in the US pop chart. Ray Charles released his breakthrough single, What'd I Say, in July 1959. During this time, Charles also became popular with jazz fans, playing at the Newport Jazz festival and recording two highly acclaimed records. They changed their name to the Raelettes and began recording with Charles in New York. More R&B hits followed and Ray recruited a girl group from Philadelphia to be his backing band. By this time Charles' singing style was unique, containing elements of gospel, a style which would later feed into soul. The single featured on Ray Charles' self-titled debut album, released in 1957. After signing to Atlantic in 1952, Charles celebrated his first number one in the R&B singles chart, I Got a Woman, which catapulted him to fame in America. In 1949 Ray had his first hit with Confession Blues, released on Swingtime Records. Ray's early musical career was fashioned after Nat King Cole, evident in some of his first recordings such as Walkin' and Talkin' and All to Myself Alone. Musical Career: On leaving school Ray toured the South, playing black dance halls with bands, before moving to Seattle, Washington in 1947. While playing in one of his first bands, The Florida Playboys, Ray began wearing his trademark sunglasses. His influences ranged from the jazz and big band sounds of Artie Shaw, Duke Ellington and Louis Jordan, to blues, classical, hillbilly, and gospel music. At school Ray received a formal musical education and learned to read, write and arrange music in Braille score for big bands and play piano, organ, sax, clarinet, and trumpet. When Ray was fifteen his mother died, followed two years later by his father. Ray left home and became a student at the school for the deaf and blind in St. Supported by his mother, Ray learned to cope with his sight loss and to be independent. Ray also began to lose his sight, possibly due to glaucoma, and was completely blind by the age of seven. At the age of five, Ray witnessed his younger brother, George, drown in a laundry tub. The family moved to Greenville in Florida, but Bailey was rarely present, leaving Aretha to bring up the family alone. It was the Great Depression and times were hard for a black family living in the South. Ray's father, Bailey Robinson, was a railroad repair man, and his mother, Aretha Williams, was a sawmill worker. (Celebrity Net Worth)Ĭhildhood: Ray Charles Robinson was born in Albany, Georgia on 23rd September 1930. Net worth: Ray Charles had an estimated $100 million net worth before his death. Ray Charles was an American singer, composer and pianist. Ray Charles (born Ray Charles Robinson, - )
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