Ray Charles

Ray Charles: Biography in Details

Who is Ray Charles?

Ray Charles was a well-recognized American singer, songwriter, composer, and musician. Charles combined different styles of music such as rhythm and blues, gospel, and blues and pioneered the soul music genre.

Moreover, his music genre went on to produce hits like, Hit the Road Jack, Georgia On My Mind, and Unchain My Heart.

Ray Charles- Age, Parents, Siblings, Ethnicity, Education

Ray Charles was born on 23 September 1930. He died at an age of 73 years old. Likewise, his birthplace was Albany, Georgia, the USA.

Ray was the son of his father, Bailey Robinson whereas his mother was Aretha Robinson. Moreover, he had a brother named George Robinson.

Talking about his nationality, Ray Charles held an American identity whereas his ethnicity was All-American.

Ray Charles started to lose his sight at the age of four or five and he was blind by the age of seven likely because of glaucoma. Despite his blindness, Charles’ mom, Aretha used her connections in the local community to find a school that accepts a blind African-American pupil. Later, he studied at the Florida School for the Deaf and the Blind in St. Augustine from 1937 to 1945.

Ray Charles- Professional Life, Careers

Ray played the piano for the first time for bands at the Ritz Theatre in LaVilla for over a year earning $4 a night. Later, he joined Local 632 of the musicians’ union. he then moved to Seattle in 1947 and became a member of ‘Maxin Trio’. The trio recorded their first song titled, Confession Blues under Down Beat Records.

Additionally, he signed a deal with ‘Down Beat Records’ in 1951 which was now renamed, ‘Swing Time Records’ and they recorded the next famous single named, Let Me Hold Your Hand. Likewise, Charles came with his first hit along with ‘Atlantic Records’ in 1953 when he recorded ‘Mess Around’.

From then, Ray Charles released other singles such as It Should’ve been Me and Don’t You Know. In 1954, the star recorded his own composition, I Got a Woman and the song went on to become his first No.1 hit.

The singer was presented with the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 1987. Ray won a total of 17 Grammy Awards. He was one of the first inductees into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1986. Moreover, Charles was inducted into the Rhythm & Blues Foundation in 1991. He was also honored with the National Medal of Arts in 1993.

Ray Charles- Death

Ray Charles had a successful hip replacement surgery in 2003 and was planning to go back on tour but he again suffered from other ailments. The musician passed away at his home in Beverly Hills, California, due to liver failure on 10 June 2004, at the First African Methodist Episcopal Church of Los Angeles, with several musical figures in attendance.

Some celebrities such as B.B. King, Glen Campbell, Stevie Wonder, and Wynton Marsalis also attended his funeral. Likewise, his last album, Genius Loves Company was released two months after his death.

Ray Charles- Net worth, Salary 2024

A famed American musician, Charles earned a massive amount of money from his profession. He was active in his profession from the year 1947 till 2004.

It is reported that Ray Charles had an estimated net worth of $75 million as of 2024.

Ray Charles was survived by 12 children from 10 different women. According to the terms of his will, each of his children was gifted $500,000. Charles’ remaining assets were gifted to the Ray Charles Foundation- a charity that supports children with hearing and vision impairments.

The foundation had $60 million in assets and generated around $5 million from investment income as of 2011.

Ray Charles- Rumors, Controversy

At an age of 18, Ray first tried marijuana when he played in McSon Trio and was eager to try it as he supposed it helped musicians create music. Later, the star became addicted to heroin for seventeen years. He was first arrested in 1955. Later in 1958, the star was again caught on a Harlem street for possession of narcotics and equipment.

The musician was then arrested on a narcotics charge on 14 November 1961, while waiting in an Indiana hotel room before a performance. However, the case was dismissed because of the manner in which the evidence was obtained, but his situation did not improve until a few years later.

In 1964, Ray Charles was caught for possession of heroin at Boston’s Logan Airport. He then decided to quit heroin and entered St. Francis Hospital in Lynwood, California.

Body features- Height, Weight

Late legendary musician, Ray had handsome looks and an admirable personality. He stood at a height of 5 feet 9inches. Also, he had a balanced body weight of 77 kg.

Furthermore, Charles has brown eyes whereas his hair was white.

Nevertheless, the musician never mentioned other physical details in the public.

Social Media

Regarding his social media presence, Ray Charles was an active personality on social media. Ray had more than 45.2k followers on his official Instagram account @official.raycharles.

Ray Charles was also active on Twitter with around 2.8k followers.

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