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Ray charles greatest hits1/27/2024 Frank Sinatra called Ray Charles "the only true genius in show business," although Charles downplayed this notion. He had a lifelong friendship and occasional partnership with Quincy Jones. Ĭharles cited Nat King Cole as a primary influence, but his music was also influenced by Louis Jordan and Charles Brown. Charles had multiple singles reach the Top 40 on various Billboard charts: 44 on the US R&B singles chart, 11 on the Hot 100 singles chart, two on the Hot Country singles charts. His 1962 album Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music became his first album to top the Billboard 200. Ĭharles's 1960 hit " Georgia on My Mind" was the first of his three career No. While he was with ABC, Charles became one of the first black musicians to be granted artistic control by a mainstream record company. He contributed to the integration of country music, rhythm and blues, and pop music during the 1960s with his crossover success on ABC Records, notably with his two Modern Sounds albums. Ĭharles pioneered the soul music genre during the 1950s by combining blues, jazz, rhythm and blues, and gospel styles into the music he recorded for Atlantic Records. Charles was blinded during childhood, possibly due to glaucoma. Among friends and fellow musicians he preferred being called "Brother Ray". He is regarded as one of the most iconic and influential singers in history, and was often referred to by contemporaries as "The Genius". (Septem– June 10, 2004) was an American singer, songwriter and pianist. No wonder they called him a genius.Ĭhicago, Illinois PLUG IT IN! TURN IT UP! Electric Blues 1939-2005.Ray Charles Robinson Sr. Of course, Ray's ceaseless musical experiments rendered him a superstar right up to his Jdeath. And so, as would be the case with many other sessions, when there had to be some direction from us because we weren't going anywhere, or some changes to be made, that wasn't the case with Ray." I mean, there was never anything negative or worrying, because Ray Charles had the whole thing figured out from beginning to end. "They were exciting, edifying, thrilling," said Wexler. His sessions were like no other at Atlantic. There Ray would transform R&B with his daring gospel/blues synthesis on the smashes I've Got A Woman, Hallelujah I Love Her So, and What'd I Say (speaking of advancements in electric instrumentation, he played a Wurlitzer piano on the latter). Swing Time was experiencing financial difficulties in 1952, so Lauderdale peddled Charles' contract to Atlantic. His first release was a hit and two more after that too, though his predilection for imitating Nat King Cole and Charles Brown hadn't been tamed yet. Jack Lauderdale of Swing Time/Down Beat Records brought Charles and his McSon Trio aboard in 1949. He left the state school for the blind at 15, his piano skills already formidable, and somehow made his way cross-country from Jacksonville, Florida to Seattle. "We got the backing musicians, we got the arranger Jesse Stone, we rehearsed, and so on."īorn in Albany, Georgia on Septembut raised in Greenville, Florida, Ray Charles Robinson lost his sight as a child but gained a love for music-blues, boogie-woogie, jazz, country-that was unshakable. "He still was being recorded in the conventional way, like you'd record almost any single singing artist," said Ray's late co-producer, Jerry Wexler. Ray had yet to explode with his groundbreaking gospel/blues synthesis, although his impassioned vocal and two-fisted piano offered clues as to his immediate future. Brother Ray didn't use a guitarist on his subsequent Atlantic sides, making Baker's presence quite unusual (arranger Jesse Stone wrote the song under his alias of Charles Calhoun). ![]() Ray Charles had only recently joined the roster of Atlantic Records when he waxed the mournful blues Losing Hand on with a New York session crew consisting of saxists Dave McRae, Freddie Mitchell, and Pinky Williams, bassist Lloyd Trotman, drummer Connie Kay, and guitarist Mickey Baker, whose slippery chords cascade downward like thick, murky molasses.
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