Ray Charles

b. Ray Charles Robinson, 23 September 1930, Albany, Georgia, USA. Few epithets sit less comfortably than that of genius; Ray Charles has borne this title for over thirty years. As a singer, composer, arranger and pianist, his prolific work deserves no other praise. Born in extreme poverty, Ray was slowly blinded by glaucoma until, by the age of seven, he had lost his sight completely. Earlier he had to cope with the tragic death of his brother, who he had seen drown in a water tub. He learned to read and write music in braille and was accomplished on several instruments by the time he left school. His mother Aretha died when Charles was 15, he continued to have a shared upbringing with Mary Jane (who was the first wife of Charles’ absent father). Charles drifted around the Florida circuit, picking up work where he could, before moving across the country to Seattle. Here he continued his itinerant career, playing piano at several nightclubs in a style reminiscent of Nat King Cole.
Ray began recording in 1949 and this early, imitative approach was captured on several sessions. Three years later Atlantic Records acquired his contract, but initially the singer continued his ‘cool’ direction, baring only an occasional hint of the passions later unleashed. It Should've Been Me, Mess Around and Losing Hand best represent this early R&B era, but Ray's individual style emerged as a result of his work with Guitar Slim. This impassioned, almost crude blues performer sang with a gospel-based fervour that greatly influenced Charles’ thinking. He arranged Slim's million-selling single, Things That I Used To Do, of which the riffing horns and unrestrained voice set the tone for Ray's own subsequent direction. This effect was fully realized in I Got A Woman (1954), a song soaked in the fervour of the Baptist Church, but rendered salacious by the singer's abandoned, unrefined delivery. Its extraordinary success, commercially and artistically, inspired similarly compulsive recordings including This Little Girl Of Mine (1955), Talkin' 'Bout You (1957) and the lush and evocative Don't Let The Sun Catch You Crying (1959), a style culminating in the thrilling call and response of What'd I Say (1959). This acknowledged classic is one of the all-time great encore numbers to be found being performed by countless singers and bands in stadiums, clubs and bars all over the world. However, Charles was equally adept at slow ballads, as his heartbreaking interpretations of Drown In My Own Tears and I Believe To My Soul (both 1959) clearly show. Proficient in numerous styles, Ray's recordings embraced blues, jazz, standards and even country, as his muscular reading of I'm Movin' On attested.
In November 1959, Charles left the Atlantic label for ABC Records, where he secured both musical and financial freedom. Commentators often note this as the point at which the singer lost his fire, but early releases for this new outlet simply continued his groundbreaking style. Georgia On My Mind (1960) and Hit The Road Jack (1961) were, respectively, poignant and ebullient, and established the artist as an international name. This stature was enhanced further in 1962 with the release of the massive selling album, MODERN SOUNDS IN COUNTRY AND WESTERN, a landmark collection which produced the million-selling single I Can't Stop Loving You. Its success defined the pattern for Ray's later career; the edges were blunted, the vibrancy was stilled as Ray’s repertoire grew increasingly inoffensive. There were still moments of inspiration, Let's Go Get Stoned and I Don't Need No Doctor brought a glimpse of a passion now too often muted, while CRYING TIME, Ray's first album since kicking his heroin habit, compared favourably with any Atlantic release. This respite was, however, temporary and as the '60s progressed so the singer's work became less compulsive and increasingly MOR. Like most artists, he attempted cover versions of Beatles’ songs and had substantial hits with versions of Yesterday and Eleanor Rigby. Two '70s’ releases, A MESSAGE FROM THE PEOPLE and RENAISSANCE, did include contemporary material in Stevie Wonder's Living In The City and Randy Newman's Sail Away, but subsequent releases reneged on this promise. Charles’ '80s’ work included more country-flavoured collections and a cameo appearance in the film The Blues Brothers, but the period is better marked by the singer's powerful appearance on the USA For Africa release, We Are The World (1985). It brought to mind a talent too often dormant, a performer whose marriage of gospel and R&B prepared the basis for soul music. His influence is inestimable, his talent widely acknowledged and imitated by formidable white artists such as Steve Winwood, Joe Cocker, Van Morrison and Eric Burdon. Charles has been honoured with countless awards during his career including the Lifetime Achievement Award. He has performed rock, jazz, blues and country with spectacular ease but it is as ‘father of soul music’ that remains his greatest title, so it was fitting that, in 1992, an acclaimed documentary, Ray Charles : The Genius Of Soul, was broadcast by PBS television. MY WORLD was a sparkling return to form, and is one of his finest albums in many years, particularly notable is his version of Leon Russell's A Song For You, a song that sounds like it has always been a Ray Charles song, such is the power of this man's outstanding voice.
Further reading: Brother Ray, Ray Charles and David Ritz.