Albums by Ray Charles
ALBUMRay Sings, Basie SwingsRay Charles & The Count Basie Orchestra
ALBUMGenius Loves CompanyRay Charles
ALBUMThe Spirit of Christmas (Remastered)Ray Charles
ALBUMRay Charles Volume IIRay Charles
ALBUMA Message From the PeopleRay Charles
ALBUMThe Sensational Ray CharlesRay Charles
ALBUMThe Genius Sings the BluesRay Charles
ALBUMThe Genius After HoursRay Charles
ALBUMThe Original Ray CharlesRay Charles
ALBUMRay Charles In PersonRay Charles
Ray Charles's Popular Music Videos
You Are My Sunshine (Lyric Video)
Ray Charles
Till There Was You
Ray Charles
What'd I Say, Pt. 1 & 2 (Lyric Video)
Ray Charles
Seven Spanish Angels (Live)
Ray Charles With Willie Nelson
Hit the Road Jack
Ray Charles
If It Wasn't For Bad Luck (Live On The Ed Sullivan Show, December 8, 1968)
Ray Charles
What'd I Say (feat. Billy Preston) [Live On The Ed Sullivan Show, December 3, 1967]
Ray Charles & The Raelettes
Crying Time
Ray Charles
Yesterday (Live On The Ed Sullivan Show, December 3, 1967)
Ray Charles
There'll Be No Peace Without All Men as One
Ray Charles
Artist Playlists
Ray Charles Essentials
From the ‘50s to the ‘00s, his voice towered over pop.
Inspired by Ray Charles
The work of this R&B monarch touched rockers and soul stars.
Ray Charles: Deep Cuts
Cool jazz and finger-snapping blues thrive in his back pages.
Ray Charles: Influences
The jazz pianists and jump blues singers who inspired The Genius.
Ray Charles: Love Songs
Artist Biography
Ray Charles changed popular music in the U.S., drafting the blueprint for soul music in the 1950s and exerting a massive influence on the R&B and rock that came in its wake. Born in Albany, GA, in 1930, he spent most of his childhood in Greenville, FL, where he began losing his sight at age five, going fully blind by age seven. But by then he was already a talented pianist, playing boogie-woogie and absorbing the gospel and rural blues that surrounded him. When he set out on his own in the late ’40s, his music was clearly modeled after the sleek R&B of early Nat “King” Cole and Charles Brown. In 1952 he signed with Atlantic Records, where he infused his sound with churchy fervor, a heavier blues feel, and more passionate singing. He masterfully exploited his rich baritone to fleck his inventive phrasing with cracks and sighs, overshadowing the jazz-informed brilliance of his piano playing. His music was marked by exquisite tension, the profane battling the holy, but his lyrics addressed more earthly concerns, as on his 1959 hit “What'd I Say,” where his moans and grunts were brazenly sexual. Charles moved to ABC-Paramount later that year and explored his broad interests more freely, making jazz records with singer Betty Carter, cutting the string-drenched standard “Georgia on My Mind,” and diving headfirst into country music. He spent the ensuing decades tackling pop standards, show tunes, and country, returning to the country charts in the early 1980s. His cameo in the 1980 film The Blues Brothers and his role as a Diet Pepsi pitchman cemented his iconic status. Charles toured until his death in 2004; soon after, the acclaimed biopic Ray, with Jamie Foxx, introduced his legend to a new generation.
Hometown
Albany, GA, United States
Genre
R&B/Soul