Ray Charles was born Ray Charles Robinson on September 23, 1930 in Albany, Georgia. He was the son of poor parents. His life was a tragic history. His mother had to raise to him and his brother by as a single parent. When Ray was five years old, he was witness to seeing his younger brother pass away after being suffocated in a bathtub of laundry.
Ray Charles first become blind when he was five years old. Two years later, at the age of seven he was completely blind. Although there is no confirmed reason as to why he lost his sight, many believe it was from either glaucoma (a disease of the optical nerve) or an infection in his eyes from soap water.
He studied in the St Augustine School for Blind and the Deaf and during his years in school, both of his parents passed away. Before he got out of school he was able to write and play music. He even performed live with bands before he finished school.
In 1947 at the age of 17, he traveled to Seattle. He signed with Swingtime Records and had his first hit Confession Blues in 1949. That song, along with Baby, Let Me Hold Your Hand were his only 2 hits with this record label.
Then in 1952, he signed with Atlantic Records. He had 2 big hits early on with Mess Around in 1953, and It Should Have Been Me. I Got A Woman hit the top of the charts in 1955, and then had a string of hits up until 1059 that included such classics as Drown in My Own Tears, This Little Girl of Mine, The Night Time (Is the Right Time), Mary Ann, and Lonely Avenue.
After 4 years with the Atlantic Label, Ray soon got a better record deal with ABC. Songs he released under the ABC label included Hit the Road Jack, Unchain My Heart, and Georgia on My Mind.
Ray Charles developed a Heroin habit during his successful days on tour, and in 1965 he was arrested for possession of heroin.. He was able to avoid a full jail sentence by agreeing to got to a rehab. He continued being successful while he was rehabilitating. Crying Time N ยบ 6 in the charts. Georgia On My Mind became the song of the state of Georgia.
Ray Charles continued active and successful until its death on June 10, 2004. In 2002, he played in the first event in the Colosseum in Rome since AD 404. He was inducted to the Songwriters Hall of Fame by its blues fan singer Van Morrison, with whom Ray sang one of Van Morrison’s most famous songs, Moondance. He gave his last performance on April 30, 2004 to sing the two songs that he most known by — America The Beautiful and Georgia On My Mind.
He had one album that was released 2 months after his death called Genius & Friends. The album was done in collaboration with many hand picked performers and was a best-seller.
