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Ray Charles was born in Albany, Georgia on September 23, 1930. Part of a very poor family, he grew up in Florida. He contracted glaucoma when he was five. Because his family could not afford medical treatment for him, he went blind within a year. At the same time, Ray started playing piano. When he was seven, he attended the St. Augustine School for the Deaf and Blind where he studied composition and learned to write music in Braille. He left school at 15 and formed a group that toured Florida (1945). After moving to Seattle, he played in many jazz trios where he developed a style that was heavily influenced by Nat "King" Cole and Louis Jordan. In 1954, he formed his own band and recorded several rhythm-and-blues hits, including I've got a Woman (1955).
After recording his Newport Jazz Festival album in 1958, he established himself as a rock-and-roll preacher, popular singer, and big-band leader. Among the soloists who have recorded with him are: Hank Crawford (1958-63), Phil Guilbeau (1960-65) and Blue Mitchell (1969-71). He has also performed with many other well-known musicians, including Oscar Peterson, Count Basie's orchestra, and Guitar Slim.
Ray Charles is "a musician of fundamental importance and far-reaching influence; he was among the principal architects of the transformation of black popular music from the rhythm-and-blues style to soul." 1
Selected Recordings:
Soul Brothers, with Milt Jackson (1957, Atl. 1279)
Ray Charles at Newport (1958, Atl. 1289)
Wish You Were Here Tonight (1983, Columbia 38293)
Footnotes
1 Kernfeld, Barry. The New Grove Dictionary of Jazz. London: Macmillan Press Ltd, 1988.
O.P. & Friends
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