Crate Diggers: Anniversary of Ray Charles' Death

Friday, June 10, 2016

Anniversary of Ray Charles' Death

“Love is a special word, and I use it only when I mean it. You say the word too much and it becomes cheap” - Ray Charles
(Ray Charles)
Ray Charles was born as Ray Robinson on September 23rd, 1930 in Albany, Georgia, USA. As a baby Robinson moved to Greenville, FL. Charles was raised by his biological mother. At age 3 Robinson learned how to play piano. At age 4 he started to lose his sight. When he was 5 he witnessed his younger brother drown. At age 7 Robinson completely lost his sight. In 1937 Robinson attended school at the Florida School for the Deaf and the Blind in St. Augustine, FL. When Robinson was 14 his mother died. In 1945 Robinson moved to Jacksonville, FL. At age 16 he moved to Orlando, FL. In 1947 he moved to Tampa, FL. He got a job being apart of 2 bands. In 1948 he moved to Seattle, WA. He then met Quincy Jones.
(Robinson in 1948)
In 1949 he had his 1st national hit "Confession Blues”. In 1950 he moved to Los Angeles, CA. In 1951 he started going by “Ray Charles”. In 1952 he signed to Atlantic records.
(Charles in 1952)
In 1953 he released “Mess Around”. In 1954 he had hits with "It Should Have Been Me" and "Don't You Know" which became his first chart success for Atlantic. He also released “I Got a Woman”. It reached No. 2 on the R&B charts. In 1955 he had hits "This Little Girl of Mine" and "A Fool for You”.
(Charles in 1955)
In 1956 Charles recruited a young all female singing group named the Cookies, and reshaped them as The Raelettes. In 1959 Charles reached the Billboard Top Ten with "What'd I Say”. He then signed to ABC Paramount Records. In 1960 he released  “Genius + Soul = Jazz”. He also released the single “Georgia on my Mind”. He then received 4 Grammy awards. He then released the hit song “Hit the Road Jack”.
(Charles in 1960)
In 1961 Charles had expanded his small road ensemble to a full scale big band. Also in 1961 Charles faced a near death experience when the pilot of his plane lost visibility, as snow and his failure to use defroster caused the windshield of the plane to become completely covered in ice. In 1962 he founded his own record label Tangerine Records. In 1963 he had major pop hits with "Busted" and “Take These Chains From My Heart”. In 1965 Charles was arrested for possession of heroin.
(Charles in 1965)
He went to rehab to avoid jail. In 1966 he released "I Don't Need No Doctor" and "Let's Go Get Stoned”. In 1967 he released “Here We Go Again”. In 1972 he released “America the Beautiful”.
(Charles in 1972)
In 1974 he signed to his own label Crossover records. In 1977 he signed to Atlantic records again. Also in 1977 he hosted “Saturday Night Live”.
(Charles in 1977)
In 1979 Charles’ song “Georgia on my Mind” was proclaimed the state song of Georgia. In 1980 he appeared in the movie The Blues Brothers.
(Charles in The Blues Brothers (1980))
 In 1981 Charles was criticized for performing at South Africa's Sun City resort during an international boycott of its apartheid policy. In 1983 Charles signed with Columbia records. In 1985 he was apart of the song “We Are the World”.
(Charles (Center) with Stevie Wonder (Left) and Michael Jackson (Right))
Also in 1985 he performed at Ronald Reagan’s inauguration. In 1990 Charles had a duet with Chaka Khan on the song “I’ll be Good to You”.
(Charles (Right) with Chaka Khan (Left))
In 1993 he released the album “My World”. Also in 1993 he performed at Bill Clinton’s inauguration. In 1996 he released the album “Strong Love Affair”. In 2002 he released the album “Thanks for Bringing Love Around Again”. In 2003 he was inducted into the songwriters hall of fame.
(Charles in 2003)
He also had hip surgery. In 2004 a movie on his life was released called Ray.
(Charles (Left) and Jamie Foxx (Right))
On June 10th, 2004 Ray Charles died of liver disease in Beverly Hills, California, USA. He was 73 years old.
(Charles’ funeral)
Today is the 12th anniversary of his death. Take time to remember this great musical artist today.


Albums by Ray Charles
  • “Ray Charles” (1957)
  • “The Great Ray Charles” (1957)
  • “Yes Indeed!” (1958)
  • “Soul Brothers” (1958)
  • “What’d I Say” (1959)
  • “The Genius of Ray Charles” (1959)
  • “The Original Ray Charles” (1959)
  • “The Fabulous Ray Charles” (1959)
  • “The Genius Hits the Road” (1960)
  • “The Genius Sings the Blues” (1961)
  • “Soul Meeting” (1961)
  • “The Genius After Hours” (1961)
  • “Dedicated to You” (1961)
  • “Ray Charles and Betty Carter” (1961)
  • “Genius + Soul = Jazz” (1961)
  • “Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music” (1962)
  • “Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music Volume Two” (1962)
  • “Ingredients in a Recipe for Soul” (1963)
  • “Sweet & Sour Tears” (1964)
  • “Have a Smile with Me” (1964)
  • “Together Again” (1965)
  • “Crying Time” (1966)
  • “Ray’s Moods” (1966)
  • “Invites You to Listen” (1967)
  • “A Portrait of Ray” (1968)
  • “I’m All Yours Baby!” (1968)
  • “Doing His Thing” (1969)
  • “My Kind of Jazz” (1970)
  • “Love Country Style” (1970)
  • “Volcanic Action of My Soul” (1971)
  • “A Message From the People” (1972)
  • “Through the Eyes of Love” (1972)
  • “Jazz Number II” (1972)
  • “Come Live with Me” (1974)
  • “Renaissance” (1975)
  • “My Kind of Jazz Part 3” (1975)
  • “Porgy and Bess” (1976)
  • “True to Life” (1977)
  • “Love & Peace” (1978)
  • “The Tender Side of Ray Charles” (1978)
  • “Ain’t It So” (1979)
  • “Brother Ray is at it Again” (1980)
  • “Wish You Were Here Tonight” (1983)
  • “Do I Ever Cross Your Mind” (1984)
  • “Friendship” (1984)
  • “The Spirit of Christmas” (1985)
  • “From the Pages of My Mind” (1986)
  • “Just Between Us” (1988)
  • “Would You Believe” (1990)
  • “My World” (1993)
  • “Strong Love Affair” (1996)
  • “Thanks for Bringing Love Around Again” (2002)
  • “Genius Loves Company” (2004)


Films starring Ray Charles
  • Swingin' Along (1961) as himself
  • Ballad in Blue (1964) as himself
  • The Big T.N.T. Show (1966) as himself
  • The Blues Brothers (1980) as Ray
  • Limit Up (1989) as Julius
  • Listen Up: The Lives of Quincy Jones (1990) as himself
  • Love Affair (1994) as himself
  • Spy Hard (1996) as Bus Driver
  • The Extreme Adventures of Super Dave (2000) as himself
  • Blue's Big Musical Movie (2000) as G-Clef


Videos of Ray Charles



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