Ray Charles Robinson Sr. (September 23, 1930 – June 10, 2004) was a singer, composer, and pianist from the United States. He is regarded as one of the most famous and influential singers in history and was often called “The Genius” by his contemporaries. He favored the moniker “Brother Ray” among his friends and other artists. Charles was blinded as a child, possibly as a result of glaucoma.
Who is Ray Charles?
Ray Charles was born in Albany, Georgia on September 23, 1930. He was born in Greenville, Florida, to laborer Bailey Robinson and laundress Aretha (or Reatha) Robinson (née Williams).
Aretha’s mother died while she was a child. Her father was unable to keep her. Bailey, a coworker of her father’s, took her in. Aretha was informally adopted by the Robinson family—Bailey, his wife Mary Jane, and his mother, and acquired the surname Robinson. Aretha fell pregnant by Bailey a few years later. She departed Greenville late in the summer of 1930 to be with family in Albany during the impending scandal.
She and the infant Charles returned to Greenville after the birth of their kid, Ray Charles. Charles was raised by Aretha and Bailey’s wife, who had lost a son. The father abandoned the family, moved away from Greenville, and married another lady. Charles had a brother, George, by his first birthday.
Charles was strongly attached to his mother and subsequently remembers her resilience, self-sufficiency, and pride as guiding lights in his life, despite her bad health and difficulty.
Charles had an early interest in mechanical devices and would frequently see his neighbors working on their cars and agricultural machines. At the age of three, he was piqued by Wylie Pitman’s Red Wing Cafe, where Pitman performed boogie woogie on an antique upright piano; Pitman later taught Charles how to play the piano. Charles and his mother were always welcomed at the Red Wing Cafe, and they even lived there when they were in financial trouble. Pitman would also look after Ray’s younger brother George, relieving their mother of some of the stress. When George was four years old, he drowned by accident in his mother’s laundry tub.
How did Ray Charles die?
Charles had successful hip replacement surgery in 2003 and was planning to resume touring until he developed other problems. He died on June 10, 2004, at the age of 73, at his home in Beverly Hills, California, of complications from liver disease. On June 18, 2004, his funeral was held at the First African Methodist Episcopal Church of Los Angeles, with several musical figures in attendance. At the funeral, B.B. King, Glen Campbell, Stevie Wonder, and Wynton Marsalis each performed a tribute. He was laid to rest in Inglewood Park Cemetery.
Genius Loves Company, his final album, was released two months after his death and features duets with 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 received eight Grammy nominations, including 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), as well as Best Gospel Performance (for “Heaven Help Us All,” with Gladys Knight); he also received nods for duets with Elton John and B.B. King.
The CD contained a duet of Harold Arlen and E. Y. Harburg’s “Over the Rainbow” with Johnny Mathis, which was played at Charles’ memorial ceremony.
Where was Ray Charles buried?
He was laid to rest in Inglewood Park Cemetery.
