Ray Charles biography briefly. Ray Charles - jazz visionary

American Ray Charles is a pianist, vocalist and songwriter in the style of jazz, blues, rock and roll and country, weaving these styles into a single whole. The genius put Charles on a par with the best musicians of the 20th century and turned him into one of the symbols of American culture. Rolling Stone magazine named him tenth on the "List of Immortals" and second on the top 100 vocalists of all time.

Childhood and youth

Ray Charles Robinson was born on September 23, 1930 to Aretha and Bailey Robinson. But soon the parents broke up, and Aretha and her sons moved from Georgia to South Florida, to the tiny village of Greenville. There she raised her sons, trying to get out of hopeless poverty. When Ray was five years old, his younger brother George drowned. The elder brother could not save him.

After this tragedy, Ray began to lose his sight and was blind by the age of seven. It was necessary to learn to live with this, and the boy was sent to a boarding school. There Ray developed his musical abilities. He sang in a choir and learned to play the piano, organ, saxophone, trombone and clarinet. After the death of his parents, the blind young man had to make his way through life on his own. At the age of seventeen, Ray Robinson formed the MacSon Trio. In 1949, for the first time, his song became a hit.

Music

In the 50s, the official pseudonym of the musician was born. The surname was dropped to avoid confusion with boxer Ray Robinson. Ray Charles is looking for his own style, achieving a unique sound of compositions. He experiments with his voice, including wheezing, screams and other sounds in songs that enhance the emotional coloring of words.

In 1955, his soul single I Got a Woman rose to the top of the R&B charts. At this time, Ray sang gospel and blues ballads. He performed traditional "black" music, revealing its beauty to everyone.

The first landmark song written entirely by Ray - What'd I Say - became a rock and roll classic. Ray collaborated with major orchestras, jazzmen, experimented with country music. The result was the award of a Grammy to him. The powerful and voluminous expressive voice of the vocalist impressed music critics and ordinary listeners.

By the beginning of the 60s, the singer was earning so much money that he was able not only to undergo a complete medical examination by eminent doctors, but also to purchase a luxurious mansion in the Golden Triangle of Beverly Hills. However, Ray did not succeed in returning at least partially his vision.

Having received the freedom of creativity, the singer expanded his collaboration with other musicians. The song Hit The Road Jack Ray performed a duet with Margie Hendrix. The new sound took the composition to the top of popularity for two weeks. The fame was so great that it also reached Russia: Soviet jazz bands included her in their repertoire.

During the same period, Ray's "business card" was recorded, Georgia On My Mind. Initially, the author of the song, Hog Carmichael, dedicated it to a girl with that name. But the performer made the song a hit, and the residents of Georgia, impressed by his vocals, declared it their anthem.

After the 70s, the musician performed a lot, paid more and more attention to country-directed compositions. In the last decades of his life, Ray Charles included the sound of electronic instruments in his melodies. Weaved into a single whole the music of different peoples, which by the twentieth century had become the population of the United States. The classic song America the Beautiful was reborn with Ray's performance and gospel/rhythm and blues arrangement.

Personal life

The musician loved women, and nine of them became the mothers of his children. But Ray entered into an official alliance with only two women: with Eileen Williams (July 31, 1951) and Della Beatrice Howard Robinson (April 5, 1955). The first marriage broke up a year later, the second union lasted 22 years, the couple raised three sons: David, Ray Charles and Reverend Robinson.

In addition to them, Ray admitted nine more illegitimate children. Before completing his life, the father gave each child a million dollars. The last companion of the musician was Norma Pinella.

Death

Ray Charles battled cancer for the last two years of his life. He had a hard time recovering from surgery. Nevertheless, even having lost the ability to walk, the musician traveled daily to his own RPM recording studio, where he worked on the Genius Loves Company album. He died on June 10, 2004 at home. He was buried at Inglewood Park Cemetery in Inglewood, California.

In the autumn in Los Angeles, a concert in memory of Ray Charles gathered twenty thousand spectators and famous musicians in one hall who performed his songs, which became cult.

The biography of the singer is reflected in the film "Ray", which was released in October of the same year. The plot was the autobiography "Brother Ray", written in 1978. In the process, the film crew consulted with Charles. He starred in the title role, awarded an Oscar for her. Sometimes a photo of an actor in this role is confused with photos of a musician.

The second posthumous album included new work with contemporary pop and soul stars. To record the third posthumous album, advances in computer sound processing were used. The restored vocal recordings of the singer managed to be combined with melodies performed by the Count Basie Orchestra.

Modern technologies allow the singer to communicate with the listener even a decade after his death. Concord Records continues to work with Ray's old recordings, returning his compositions to fans in a new sound.

Discography

• 1956 - The Great Ray Charles
• 1960 - Basin Street Blues
• 1961 - Modern Sounds in Country & Western Music
• 1962 - Hit the Road Jack
• 1963 - Ingredients in a Recipe for Soul
• 1965 - Country & Western Meets Rhythm & Blues
• 1972 - A Message from the People
• 2000 - Sittin' on Top of the World
• 2004 - Genius Loves Company
• 2005 - Genius & Friends
• 2005 - Genius Remixed
• 2006 - Ray Sings, Basie Swings
• 2009 - Genius The Ultimate Ray Charles
• 2010 - Rare Genius: The Undiscovered Masters
• 2012 - Extraordinary Ray Charles

Ray Charles (full real name Raymond Charles Robinson) is an outstanding musician who has become a real legend for all connoisseurs of blues, jazz and soul music. His compositions will captivate and fascinate, his amazing voice is impossible to forget.

That is why our today's hero has been a benchmark for many, many musicians of our planet for many years in a row, as well as the number one star for all connoisseurs of quality music.

Early years, childhood and the family of Ray Charles

Ray Charles was born on September 23, 1930 in the city of Albany, located in the central part of Georgia. His family was very poor, and therefore, from the earliest years, the great musician got used to lack of money and constant deprivation. Ray's father, Bailey Robinson, left the family, leaving his two sons in the care of their mother and grandmother. After that, the unlucky father practically did not take part in the life of his children, appearing in their house at most once a year.

At the age of five, another severe shock happened in the life of little Ray Charles. While bathing in a tub, his younger brother George drowned. The child was dying right in front of the future musician. Five-year-old Ray tried to help his brother, but he could not pull him out of the deep tub.

This event so shocked our today's hero that very soon he began to experience vision problems. Ray Charles was completely blind by the age of seven. Subsequently, the version about the psychological nature of the musician's blindness was the most popular among all his fans.

However, many years later, American doctors who examined the musician put forward a version that the loss of vision was due to glaucoma.

Returning to the topic of the outstanding master's childhood, we note that the upheavals in the musician's life did not end there. Already in 1945, the singer lost his mother, thus remaining in the care of an elderly grandmother.

Perhaps it was a series of life blows that laid the foundations for the famous musical style of Ray Charles. Indeed, in his music there was always a lot of longing and very little joy ...

The musical career of singer Ray Charles

Our today's hero began to show interest in musical studies at an early age. While studying at a specialized school in the city of St. Augustine, a talented guy not only quickly mastered the Braille alphabet, but also learned to play the trombone, saxophone, piano, organ and some other instruments perfectly.

Ray Charles. One of the most popular songs.

It was from that moment that his passion for music began. After all, there was nothing else in his life, in fact.

At the age of seventeen, our today's hero moved to a large and lively Seattle, which in those days was considered the American capital of instrumental music. Here such directions as soul, blues and jazz were especially popular. That is why Ray Charles chose the state of Washington to continue his musical career.

In Seattle, our today's hero founded his first musical ensemble and soon he became quite popular in the north of the United States. The famous performer Lowell Fulson invited him to work together. Subsequently, representatives of well-known record companies also began to contact Ray Charles with proposals for long-term cooperation.

Thus, in 1949, our today's hero recorded his first full-scale hit "Confession Blues", which very soon began to sound even on the federal radio stations of America. From that moment on, Ray Charles began to frequently tour various US cities, giving small concerts and recording performances for central television.

Ray Charles - Confession Blues

In 1953, the talented black singer recorded the singles "It Should Have Been Me" and "Mess around", which formed the basis of his first solo album, "The Great Ray Charles", three years later.

Throughout his career, our today's hero has released more than a hundred (!) Albums, as well as official recordings of live performances. The geography of his tours stretched from the USA to Japan and from Germany to Russia. Many of his compositions - such as "Hit The Road Jack", "You Are My Sunshine", "Unchain My Heart" - became immortal hits. That is why the influence of Ray Charles on world music is very difficult to overestimate. According to recognized figures of the scene, it was the music of Ray Charles that laid the foundations for such trends as modern jazz, blues, and even rock and R&B.

Ray Charles' awards include his own star on the Walk of Fame, as well as 17 Grammy Awards, the Order of Arts and Letters, the National Medal of Arts award, and several other awards. Currently, the name of the great musician is listed simultaneously in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the Jazz Hall of Fame. Several streets in the United States and even an entire post office are named after Ray Charles.

The Last Years of Ray Charles

In the last years of his life, the artist was very ill. In 2002, he began to show symptoms characteristic of liver cancer. At some point, the great musician lost the ability to walk. He was able to speak with great difficulty. However, despite this, until the last days of his life, Ray Charles regularly worked in the studio, recording new melodies and performing keyboard parts for fresh compositions.

On June 10, 2004, the outstanding music master died at his home in Beverly Hills. Two months after his death, his last album, Genius Loves Company, was officially released in the United States. At the farewell concert, the musician's songs were performed by BB King, Elton John, Van Morrison and many other prominent musicians who considered themselves friends and followers of Ray Charles.

Ray Charles personal life

Despite the fact that the musician was married only twice, there were many mistresses in his life. So, it is known for certain that the mothers of his twelve children (!) Are nine (!) Different women. Shortly before his death, our today's hero gave each of them one million dollars as a last gift.

The musician spent the last years of his life with a woman named Norma Pinella.

Ray Charles Robinson (born September 23, 1930) is an American singer, musician, composer, one of the world's most famous performers of soul, country, jazz and rhythm and blues music. Frank Sinatra called him "the only true genius in show business", and singer Billy Joel stated: "It may sound blasphemous, but I believe that Ray Charles was more important than. … Who the hell has ever mixed so many styles together to make it work?!”

His real name was Ray Charles Robinson. One of the producers of Swingtime Records advised to shorten the name, who saw a rising star in the guy. At that time, the surname "Robinson" on the starry Olympus of the United States was firmly occupied by boxing champion Ray Robinson (Ray "Sugar" Robinson), and in order to avoid confusion, it was decided to create the stage name "Ray Charles". However, the voice, talent and passion for music that Ray was obsessed with would have lifted him to the heights of glory under any name.

There were no musicians in the Robinson family, let alone famous ones. Ray's parents (born in Albany, Georgia) were reputed to be the poorest residents of the black community in the tiny town of Greenville, Florida, where the family soon moved. “We were at the bottom of the stairs, looking up at the others…below us was just the ground,” Charles recalled. The boy was 5 years old when his younger brother George began to drown in a tub of water before his eyes (their mother worked as a laundress). No matter how hard Ray tried, he could not save his brother - he was too heavy for him. This scene then haunted the musician all his life. A year later, Ray suddenly began to lose his sight, and by the age of 7 he was completely blind. The boy was saved by his mother, whom he idolized ... and music. Aretha Robinson was a strong woman - she did not lament, but acted: knowing that her son was about to go blind, she taught him the most necessary skills for the blind, while Ray could still see. And sent to a boarding school for deaf and blind children. So he learned to read words and notes at the same time - according to the Braille system. Here the guy mastered a bunch of instruments - trumpet, clarinet, organ, saxophone and piano. True, Ray became addicted to the latter much earlier: as a three-year-old boy, he endlessly ran to a nearby pharmacy, the owner of which played the piano, and tried to imitate boogie-woogie.

Looking ahead, I’ll say that the cause of Ray Charles’s blindness has not been fully established: one of the alleged diagnoses is glaucoma. It was rumored that many years later, in the 1980s, having become a wealthy man, the musician filed an anonymous ad looking for a donor who was ready to donate one eye to him. However, the operation never took place - the doctors considered it a senseless risk. Ray himself was rather ironic about his own blindness: he always shaved in front of a mirror, wore sunglasses, acted in films, drove a car, even piloted an airplane! But he never gave autographs - after all, the singer could not see what exactly was being slipped to him for a signature (!); Yes, and with journalists communicated extremely reluctantly. When one day Ray was asked if he felt unhappy because of his blindness, the musician was surprised: “Why? When you are blind, you probably lose about 1/99 of what life gives you. I know it's very important to see your children or admire the beauty of the moon. Okay, one percent down. But that won't stop my life, will it?" Ray's friends claimed they had never met a more independent person than this blind musician.

From childhood, reading notes with his fingers and playing by ear, Charles trained his memory so much that he easily composed arrangements without even touching the instrument. His teachers in music are Frederic Chopin, Jean Sibelius, Duke Ellington, Count Basie, Art Tatum and Artie Shaw.

While still a student, Ray was known as the first musician of the school, where he performed more than once with solo concerts and as part of the group The Florida Playboys. By the age of 17, having lost both parents, the guy decided to try his luck in a big city: putting the accumulated $ 600 in his pocket, Ray went to the other end of the continent - to Seattle.

Ray Charles 2: Darkness Turned Into LightFirst, together with guitarist Gossady McGee, he founded the MacSon Trio, and after a while began to record. His first hit "Confession Blues" (1949) and the popular song "Baby, Let Me Hold Your Hand" (1951) were both recorded on Swingtime Records. Then Charles signed a contract with the Atlantic record company: here he had much more creative freedom and experienced producers - Ahmed Ertegun and Jerry Wexler. It was under their leadership that Ray Charles began to move from a talented imitator of the styles of famous musicians to finding his own creative individuality. Single "Mess Around" (1953), a million-selling record with the composition "The Things That I Used To Do" (recorded with bluesman Guitar Slim) and, finally, considered the first recording in the style of soul and released on the first line of the hit parade the single “I Got a Woman” (1955) became milestones on the path of the future music legend of the 20th century. Working during these years mainly with gospels, with secular texts and blues ballads, Ray Charles creates a new fusion, electrifying the leisurely melancholic rhythms of religious hymns with energetic bits of rhythm and blues. "Black" rock and roll owes a lot to this musician, who managed to captivate a huge audience of white listeners with traditional African music.

It is said that "What`d I Say" - a landmark song of the soul style, which absorbed rock, r&b, jazz and country, Ray composed during one of the performances: it was necessary to fill the time that he was obliged to play back under the contract. It is difficult to say how many musicians, singers and composers "What'd I Say" then "started", bringing new works to life. Subsequently, it was this incomprehensible flair and Ray's ability to penetrate the essence of any style, the incredible freedom with which he mixed and fused styles and genres, ignoring their boundaries, that determined his creative credo.

Charles was now moving in new directions: he recorded songs with the participation of large symphony orchestras, famous jazz musicians; turned to the country style and, having recorded the album “Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music”, achieved something unbelievable for those times for a black musician - he entered the “turnover” of this typically “white” style of music. The move to ABC Records not only elevated Ray to the category of one of the highest paid musicians in the world at the time, but also greatly expanded creative freedom and opportunities. Surprise! Instead of indulging in innovative experiments, the musician began to record pop songs close to the mainstream. Big bands, string quartets, big backing choirs - Ray Charles' new arrangements were a stark contrast to the chamber works of the Atlantic era. Having moved to the largest mansion in Beverly Hills, the musician now periodically records the so-called "pop and jazz standards": "Cry", "Over the Rainbow", "Cry me a river", "Makin' Whoopy" and others. At the same time his hits "Unchain My Heart", "You Are My Sunshine", "Hit The Road Jack" are also released.

However, another song did become the symbol of the ABC period. "Georgia On My Mind" (a composition by the Broadway classic Hodge Carmichael, originally dedicated to a girl named Georgia) was proclaimed the Georgia state anthem on April 24, 1979, and Ray Charles performed it at the State House. 19 years before this event, the musician canceled his concert in the state - in protest against racial segregation (according to the then laws, blacks and white spectators had to sit separately during his concert). For many years, Charles opposed racism, supported and financed the activities of Martin Luther King.

In contrast to the rapidly rising musical career, Ray's personal life was very turbulent. He tried drugs at the age of 17. From then until his arrest for possession of heroin and marijuana in 1965 in Boston, the musician carried “this monkey on my back” (as he called his addiction to the potion). Ray underwent treatment at a Los Angeles clinic - and this saved him from a real term in prison, which was replaced with a year of probation. He never returned to drugs, replacing them with the Ray Charles Cocktail - strong coffee with sugar and gin. “Sometimes I felt terrible, but as soon as I went on stage and the band started playing, I don’t know why, but it was like aspirin - it hurts you, you take it and you don’t feel pain anymore,” Ray recalled.

Relations with women were also difficult. Two official marriages and 12 children from 9 women - short but capacious statistics. By the way, the musician bequeathed 1 million dollars to each of his children.

“Frank Sinatra, and before him Bing Crosby, were masters of the word. Ray Charles is a master of sound." And rock and roll legend Billy Joel calls Charles "the owner of the most unique voice in pop music ... He took squeals, screams, growls, moans and made music out of them."

Projects, concerts, performances around the world, recording new albums - Ray continued to work until his death from liver cancer in 2004. Thousands of fans said goodbye to the musician in the church, under the arches of which sounded "Over the Rainbow" - a song chosen by Ray Charles himself.

And two months later, his last album, Genius Loves Company, was released, which included songs performed together with many outstanding musicians. In 2005 - another album - "Genius & Friends", in 2006 - "Ray Sings, Basie Swings", etc. Ray Charles is "a pioneer who swept away the barriers between secular and spiritual styles, between white and black pop music"; singer, awarded 17 Grammy awards and the official title of "Los Angeles Treasure"; the musician, whose star is installed on Hollywood Boulevard of Fame, and bronze busts - in all halls of fame (rock and roll, jazz, blues and country), continues the main work of his life - however, from other worlds.

His music touched everyone. American conductor and trumpeter Quincy Jones called it "pain turned into joy, darkness turned into light." Ray Charles himself said simply:

“Music has been in the world for a very long time and will be after me. I was just trying to leave my mark, to do something good in music.”

The Ray Charles archive contains over seventy albums.

Ray Charles Robinson is a blind jazz musician whose prolific output is the envy of many contemporary pop stars. More than seventy albums to his credit speak for themselves.

You might say that perhaps this is one of those cases where quantity is trying to make up for a lack of quality. But have you heard of a musician like Frank Sinatra? Personally, he spoke of Ray Robinson as the only genius in the world of show business. His song What'd I say was ranked fifth in the list of the best songs of all time. Do you know her? Yes, they probably heard, but they didn’t even know who performed it, not to mention what it was called. It is perceived as one of the most killer rock and roll standards!

In the modern world, he is one of the key figures in the development of world show business. And although the symbolic lists of the best musicians of the twentieth century are usually quite superficial, he gets into them with an enviable frequency.

So, haven't you heard? Nothing, we'll fix it now.

I myself first got acquainted with the biography of this outstanding artist when I watched the film "Ray". This is an excellent biopic that describes a significant part of the life of a popular musician quite accurately and dispassionately.

Personally, I have mixed feelings about the film. How honest was he? Don't know. But after watching, there is no impression of Ray Charles as some kind of sanctimonious saint or show business offspring mired in vices.

In short, fun, cool, with a touch of deep longing and rock and roll enthusiasm. I recommend viewing! And for fans of Ray, this film is a must-see.

So let's try to consider what kind of person he was.

So let's start in order:

Born, raised, died… not all at once. Albany, Georgia is the birthplace of Ray Charles. Charles's family was not just poor. She was unusually poor, even by black standards. As the musician himself later said: "Below us was only the earth."

When he was only a few months old, the family moved to South Florida, to the village of Greenville. Leaving Ray and his younger brother George, the father left the family and went wherever his eyes looked.

When Ray was five years old, an incident occurred that is described in some detail in the film. His younger brother accidentally fell into a tub of water and couldn't get out. Ray tried to help him get out of there, but he did not have enough strength. And his younger brother died.

There are suggestions that it was because of the shock that Ray suffered and began to gradually lose his sight until he was completely blind at the age of seven. See Ray said that no one knows why he went blind. Perhaps this was a consequence of the disease. When the musician became famous, he tried to acquire sight. He even advertised that at least someone would donate one eye to him, but the doctors refused to perform the operation, considering it too risky and pointless.

As a child, he began attending a school for the blind, where he learned Braille. In addition, from the age of three he began to learn to play the piano, and his musical talent also began to manifest itself in the Baptist choir. But when he was only fifteen years old, his mother died, and a couple of years later his father also died.

How it all began

When Ray graduated from school, he became involved in many musical projects. Then he mainly played in the style of jazz and country. As befits young musicians, he drew his inspiration from other well-known jazz musicians, such as Artie Shaw. His first group was called The Florida Playboys.

When he was seventeen, he collected six hundred dollars and went to Seattle, where he soon met guitarist Gossady McGee, with whom he began to play and founded a band. They first recorded for Swingtime Records. He also collaborated with Fullson when he released his first hit. It's called Confession Blues. Then he released the famous Baby, Let Me Hold Your Hand and moved under the Atlantic records label. He just needed a greater degree of creative freedom.

Ray's first wife was Eileen Williams, whom he married on July 31, 1951. Their marriage lasted only a year, after which they divorced. He later married Della Beatrice, this happened in 1956, and this marriage lasted longer, until the 77th year. By the way, not a word is said about his first wife in the film, but the leitmotif is the story of his life with his second wife.

In total, Ray had twelve children, but he gave birth to only three (in the biblical sense) in marriage. But let's leave the old dirty linen of the deceased and return to his bright and pure creativity.

On the new Atlantic label, he was encouraged to seek his own unique sound. Which he did with all the passion he was capable of. In the fifty-third year, he recorded his famous single Mess Around. Then, together with guitarist Guitar Slin, he recorded the single The Things That I Used To Do.

When did he write the song I Got a Woman in 1955 , she reached number one on the charts. It is believed that this is the first record in the style of soul. Ray mostly played music that was half gospel and blues ballads the rest. It turns out that Ray Charles was one of those who popularized native black music among the population.

Composition history What'd I Say

In the record Ray Charles in Person you can hear the very characteristic features that were inherent in the early work of Ray Charles. This album was recorded rather unusually for those years. It was not a studio recording, but a live performance. Then he also played What'd I Say, which became one of his most recognizable compositions. They say it was just an improvisation during a rehearsal before the concert. But it was she who at one time had a huge impact on the world of rock and roll.

Charles himself told the story of the creation of this song as follows: he was just playing the last song from his program called The Night Time. It was in a nightclub in Milwaukee. When he finished the game, the club administrator confronted him with the fact that he had to lose another 12 minutes. And then he decided to improvise. And played all twelve minutes. The audience was delighted, although then the recording studio refused to release it, explaining their refusal by the fact that it was too long.

Then the WOAK radio station recorded it and included it in the author's album. The song became an instant hit. When Atlantic Records eventually gave up, the song was split into two parts. Then many more of the now popular performers made cover versions of it. As Paul McCartney said, this composition gave him a huge impetus for creativity.

Style Development

Soon, Ray Charles continued to develop his style, going beyond gospel music combined with the blues, and began to record with major orchestras. Then he wrote his first country song. For the blues composition Let the Good Time Roll, he receives a Grammy. In it, he demonstrated a rare voice in its strength and expression.

When Ray moved to ABC Records, he signed such a fantastic contract that made him one of the highest paid musicians of his time. He moved to Beverly Hills, where he bought the largest mansion in the area. There he lived until his death, before which at that time there were still many, many years.

His work for ABC was distinctive. On the one hand, he got even more freedom, and on the other hand, he stopped participating in experimental projects and began to write music closer to the mainstream. He had a choir to sing along, accompanied by a big band and string orchestras.

This created a strikingly different sound. At the Atlantic, he wrote almost chamber music, and at the ABC he began to produce orchestral jazz standards. At the same time, the musician's repertoire simply staggered the imagination with its diversity and volume. Then he writes his famous Hit The Road Jack. More precisely, it is written by Percy Mailfield, before recording, the singer from the backing vocals told Ray that she was pregnant from him. The musician was far from delighted, and this mixture of rage and anguish, sounding in the song that we now know, was somehow ... very much natural.

And here is an excerpt from the movie:

Georgia on My Mind has been recorded by many musicians. Among them were Ella Fitzgerald, and Louis Armstrong, and Ray Charles. It was his calling card from the ABC era. Its author, Hog Carmichael, dedicated it to a girl named Georgia, but a little later she became the anthem of the state of Georgia. But the girl was still there before, so let the right associations arise for you!

But anyway, Ray performed Georgia on My Mind in the State House. And, in fact, entered the circulation of country music. For a black musician, it was just an unimaginable success. And in general, Ray has always spoken out against racism. Once he even canceled a concert in the same Georgia, since black and white listeners had to sit separately. This deeply angered him.

drugs

This idyll continued until the year 65, until he was arrested for possession of marijuana and heroin. The musician has been addicted to these two “happy drugs” for more than twenty years, that is, almost his entire adult life. Drugs were found on him before, but so far, Ray managed to get out, and he was not arrested. The first time the police did not have a search warrant, and the case was not continued, the second time he agreed to drug treatment, and the third time he had to go to jail.

He himself did not perceive himself as a drug addict. It was only later, during his term, that he had to give up drugs, and until then he perceived them like aspirin. That is, in real life, he understood how terrible his situation was, and when he went on stage, he began to perceive them as aspirin. That is, you feel bad - and you start taking medicine to remove the pain.

This “drug addicted” part of his life is shown very clearly in the film “Ray”

But what happened next, it's just interesting. For example, having tied up with drugs, he did not write anything else outstanding. But he did fantastic covers. But he no longer had his masterpieces. Coincidence? Unlikely. The fact is that these drugs, when used, replace some of the natural hormones secreted by the brain, and when the patient stops taking the “drugs”, he justifiably loses inspiration and simply falls into depression.

In addition, after cleansing his lifestyle, Ray Charles changed his musical style. It has become even closer to the mainstream. So after the seventies, they began to perceive it far from being so unambiguous. Personally, I remember the story of bodybuilders: everyone condemns their passion for steroids and other experiments on their own organisms, and on the other hand, only steroid jocks are printed on posters. Se la vie.

He began to record a lot of passing material, so his work during this period began to seem more monotonous. His most notable song of the time was America the Beautiful. Then this song was included in The Message for People, which became the musician's first politically charged album.

In those years, he played no longer on the classical piano, but on the piano, which made the sound of his albums in the seventies especially stand out against the background of other years.

Around the same time, Ray began to actively experiment with synthesizers. He often and extensively imitated other instruments with them, and his keyboard solo took on a whole new flavor. It became more like an electric guitar solo. This was especially evident in the way he handled the pitch wheel, which in the nineties he began to do just perfectly.

mature years

Usually, in adulthood, the musician's audience begins to shift somewhat ... more precisely, it does not shift, it remains in its generation, only the age of the listeners changes - they age. But Ray Charles managed to get a youth audience. This became especially evident after the Friendship album.

He also spoke at the inauguration of Reagan, which gave rise to evil tongues: they began to assure that Ray cast a shadow on his reputation. The fact is that Ray was a Democrat, but Reagan was a Republican. Therefore, Ray agreed to perform only for a staggering fee of one hundred thousand dollars. Then his agent commented on it this way: "For that kind of money, we would agree to speak at a meeting of the Ku Klux Klan."

In the early nineties, Ray Charles began to perform in many musical projects, including classical gospel with the London Orchestra as part of a charity event.

All of Charles' albums until the last became popular. On April 30, 2004, he gave a concert for the last time. But his records were released even after his death.

“I won't live forever. Mind, to understand this, I have enough. It's not about how long I'll live, it's just about how beautiful my life will be."

Ray Charles is a famous American singer, composer, arranger. Born in 1930 in the USA. He devoted his whole life to music, despite the fact that he was blind from birth.

Ray Charles was born in September 1930 in Albany, Georgia, USA. His parents were not musicians and generally have nothing to do with creativity. Mother worked at a sawmill, and father worked as a mechanic. A little later, the family moved to Florida, in many respects this was facilitated by a difficult period in the life of society, the Great Depression. The family was the simplest, and trials did not leave her.

So, at the age of 5, Ray lost his younger brother, who, by a tragic and absurd accident, drowned in a trough. The very future musical genius also had a joyless childhood, because doctors diagnosed him with blindness, from which he never managed to recover in life, remaining almost completely blind. But, as he later recalled, he was supported by his mother and music, to which he was not indifferent from birth. Already at the age of 3, he pretty well learned to sing along to songs that came from a neighboring yard.

Formation and first musical steps

Since he had a pronounced physical defect and could not study in a regular school with his peers, he began to learn to read and write in a specialized boarding school for deaf and blind children.

Photo: Ray Charles in his youth

It is noteworthy that, along with reading according to a special method, he also mastered musical notation, and he did it at the same time - it was so interesting for him to learn the musical foundations. But everything did not end with musical notation, with the same perseverance and talent he mastered playing the piano, saxophone, organ, clarinet and trumpet, imitating the best musicians, but also introducing his own vision of the process into the performance. As his teachers, he called Chopin, Count Basie and other performers.

Fate still tested him for strength, at the age of 15 he lost his parents. This loss pushed him even more into music, which he plunged into and even created his own country band. In many ways, he acted intuitively and even impulsively. So, in 1948, he had only 600 collected dollars at his disposal, which he spent on moving to the city of Seattle, that is, completely to the other end of a large country. Arriving there, he immediately set to work; they created the Maxim group.

Professional path

With his characteristic energy, he set to work, creating musical compositions of amazing beauty and sound.

Unfortunately, this period of life is associated with drug use. To complete the picture, it is worth noting that drugs at that time were very common in society, although they were considered illegal. Until now, the whole hippie movement, which arose several decades ago, is largely associated with the use of illegal drugs. And if we talk about musicians and other people from show business, it becomes clear that only a few have resisted this addiction.

At the end of the 40s, he settled in Los Angeles, where his first record was released and an official contract was signed with one of the recording studios. Rhythm and blues & rock gospel - these are two directions that are strongly associated with his name, since the musician performed the songs in this genre with virtuosity.

In the mid-50s, his compositions began to hit the charts, in particular, "I Got a Woman" fell in love with many listeners not only in the United States, but also outside the country. The musician became famous for his virtuoso performance and the fact that he boldly redrawn the rhythms. For example, the gospel genre has been associated for many decades with serious and even somewhat mournful singing of religious themes. Ray Charles added life to this rhythm and made it truly alive, but retained the features characteristic of the genre.

This approach caused a real sensation, and millions of people became interested in the musician's work.

Numerous records followed in the 1950s. Then he signed a contract with the record company ABC-Paramoumt, which seemed to him the most promising at that time. Thanks to such a fruitful collaboration, he again fired hits, including "Georgia On My Mind", this music still often hits the charts and is somehow beaten by different performers.

creative flourishing

The dawn of his activity and the peak of popularity fall on the 60s. One of the cult songs was "What`d I Say", which the singer performed with such sensuality that some puritan radio stations considered it too sexy and did not start airing. But this only spurred interest in her.

Drawing attention to his amazingly expressive voice, which can radiate sensuality and metal, the musician of the authorities was asked to play the Georgia state anthem. The performance was so successful that it quickly became a hit, and the very name of the state of Georgia became a popular female name.

Thanks to professional performance, the music was equally loved by white and black residents of the country, despite the fact that it was a fierce time of struggle and confrontation. No less surprising is the amazing performance of the musician, who really did not want to be confined within the framework of any specific genres and constantly experimented, came up with something of his own, and also re-sang famous classical compositions that sounded completely different in his performance. For example, in his characteristic manner of blues, jazz and soul, he covered the cult song "Yesterday", which again delighted the audience.

Seventies

The 70s should be highlighted especially, since the life of a musician has changed dramatically. Unfortunately, he is known not only as a brilliant musician, but also as a person who periodically got into trouble because of drugs. Several times the police found drugs in his hotel room, but he miraculously managed to avoid a real prison term.

When once again the police demanded to give out the drugs that the musician kept in the room, only the fact that the police did not have a search warrant and they could not document the presence of heroin saved him from arrest. The singer admits that after that he decided to end drug use and subsequently emphasized in every possible way in an interview that this was the only right decision.

The public forgave him a lot, not only because he was completely blind, but amazingly cheerful, but also because of his sincerity. So, he honestly admitted his drug addiction and emphasized that the meaning and way of his life had changed dramatically.

The popularity of the performer was so great that he was even invited to perform at the inaugurations of Presidents, in particular, Ronald Reagan, Bill Clinton. It is known that the singer considered himself an ardent Democrat, but spoke at the inauguration of Ronald Reagan, who, as you know, was a Republican.

Such an act was perceived disapprovingly by part of society. Moreover, the singer's manager added fuel to the fire, saying that the performer performed solely because of the fee. The fee was $100,000, a fantastic sum for those times. This created more disapproval. Well, society considers every step of famous people under a magnifying glass and any action that does not fit into the format is discussed with particular enthusiasm.

Personal life

Despite the blindness and passion for music, which occupied the vast majority of the artist's time, his personal life also remained stormy. Formally, he was married twice, but at the same time he has 12 children from 9 women.

Photo: Ray Charles with family

The singer did not dispute this fact and did not try to make excuses, saving his reputation. On the contrary, he recognized all his children, and a year before his death, he gave each of the heirs a million dollars from his impressive fortune.

last years of life

The singer died in 2004, but it is known for certain that until the last moment he was engaged in music. In the end, he could no longer talk, but, having gathered all his strength, he still came to the studio and did work.

Photo: Ray Charles in recent years

In numerous interviews, he emphasized that he considers a good indicator not the number of years lived, but the quality, brightness of life, eventfulness. It is believed that the performer died of liver cancer, which manifested itself 2 years before death. Even in this difficult time, the masculinity of the artist is amazing. Losing strength, he was morally unbroken and was engaged in music in the literal sense until his last breath. After his death, several more albums with songs were released, which also had great success.

The artist was buried in California. There is his star on Hollywood Boulevard, and his busts are installed in several halls of fame: blues, jazz, rock and roll, country music. He was also awarded the National Medal of Arts, which was presented by Bill Clinton himself in 1993.

These are just one of the many awards of an amazing person, however, he did not attach much importance to them, rightly considering the love of the audience as the best reward for his work, regardless of skin color, social status and political preferences.

The relevance and reliability of information is important to us. If you find an error or inaccuracy, please let us know. Highlight the error and press keyboard shortcut Ctrl+Enter .