Ray Charles Was Always the Genius
By Nikhil Krishnan
There have been many musical giants who have been labeled as geniuses. However, only one individual was directly nicknamed as ‘the genius’: Ray Charles. Ray Charles’ unique rhythm and blues (R&B) music, an eclectic fixture of gospel, jazz, soul, blues, country and rock n’ roll broke into the mainstream music for the first time in the late 1950s. By the 1960s, Ray Charles was reputed as a national treasure. Charles’ story is not only about outlawed music breaking into mainstream popularity, but also a story about how a blind, African-American man overcomes his obstacles and works up to his dream.
Ray Charles Robinson was born on September 23, 1930 and raised in a poor black community in Albany, Georgia. By the time he was five years old, he began to lose his eye sight which eventually left him completely blind by the age of seven. He lost his whole family that consisted of his parents and a brother by the age of 15. Ray Charles attended Florida School for the Deaf and the Blind in St. Augustine, Florida where he showed an early interest in music. He was extensively taught classical music at the school, which he would later incorporate in his piano playing.
Charles did not return to school and instead played the piano with several jazz groups and on his own at gigs in clubs and theatres. Just like many African Americans in the U.S. during 1940s and 1950s, he too was facing severe prejudice and discrimination. He struggled to make it on his own as a solo artist and also got addicted to heroin, which exacerbated his state and will. He was soon discovered by Atlantic Records manager Ahmet Ertegun and was signed to the record label as a solo artist.
Ray Charles released a few moderately successful singles with Atlantic Records. It was not until he released his song I Got a Woman that he came to receive some notice. I Got a Woman and other following releases were considered controversial and sacrilegious because they were mixing Christian gospel music and blues, a less-respected art form due to its lyrics. Nevertheless, Ray Charles had an original Rhythm and Blues sound that people grew to love. In 1959, Ray Charles released his greatest single of all time, What I’d Say, which went on to become a rock n’ roll standard and paved way for many other rock n’ roll artists such as Little Richard and Elvis Presley to perform.
In the 1960s, Ray Charles produced some fine and well-received studio albums such as Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music, The Genius Hits the Road, Genius + Soul = Jazz where he increasingly experimented with jazz and country sounds. He had several No.1 hits including Georgia on My Mind and Hit the Road Jack. He was well known for being outstandingly original. He was much respected as a singer who genuinely demonstrated the whole feeling and mood of the music he played with his voice.
Ray Charles garnered number of honors including Grammys, Kennedy Center Honors etc. He passed away in 2004 just a week before the academy award winning film based on him, Ray was released. Ray Charles continues to influence a generation of musicians and average people to achieve what they want.
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