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Name: Ray Charles


Real name: Ray Charles Robinson

Biography:: Ray Charles was born on September 23, 1930 in Albany, Georgia. His father, Bailey Robinson was a railroad Repair Man and his mother, Aretha, stacked boards in a sawmill. The sad fact about Ray was he was blind but not in born blind but he lost his sight at the age of five. According to some source Ray lost his eye sight due to soapy water infection in his eye which was left untreated. He studied at Florida School for the Deaf and the Blind and there he developed the God gifted quality of music ,when he was 10 he lost his father and after 5 years his mother passed away.

In school Charles learned only classical music but he wanted to learn jazz, blues like music and he didn’t go to schools after his mother passed away .He lived in Jacksonville with his mother’s friends and with in a year he learned the skill of playing piano and played the piano for bands at the Ritz Theatre in LaVilla, Charles always wanted a band of his own and for this he moved to Seattle in 1947 and his first recording was for the brand Swing Time Records, achieving his first hit with the 1949 "Confession Blues". The song acquired no 2 position in R&B charts. From then he never looked back and gained huge success.

He brings a soulful sound to country music and pop standards through his modern sound recording techniques. He also appeared in the popular 1980 film, Blues Brothers. Frank Sinatra called him "the only real genius in the Enterprise” In 2004 Rolling stone Magazine selected Charles as 10th best Artist in its 100 all time lists and voted no 2 by them in 2008 list of The 100 Greatest Singers of All Time.


Charles was married twice and he had 12 children by 9 different wives. His first marriage to Eileen Williams was for very short period from July 31, 1951 to 1952. He had three children from his second wife Della Beatrice Howard Robinson from April 5, 1955 to 1977. His long term relation till death was Norma Pinella. He died on June 10, 2004.

Log Comment: After silence,that which comes closest to expressing the inexpressible
is music.

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