KWXY Presents ● An Interview with Ray Charles

Ray Charles in one of his classic poses at the piano. William Morris Agency (management) / Photo by Maurice Seymour, New York / November 10, 1969

Ray Charles was a singer/songwriter, composer, pianist and philanthropist credited as one of the early pioneers of soul music.  He is also credited as being one of the most influential artists in music history, having had one of the most distinguishable voices in American music.

He was born Ray Charles Robinson on September 23, 1930 in Albany, Georgia to Bailey and Aretha Robinson.  As a child, he was fascinated both by mechanical objects and by music.  However, he had glaucoma that set in at age four and rendered him totally blind by the age of seven.  Ray was accepted at the Florida School for the Deaf and Blind where he honed his musical skills, even learning to read braille music. 

President Richard Nixon meeting with Ray Charles in the Oval Office 1972 - U.S. National Archives and Records Administration / Oliver F. Atkins, Photographer

In 1952, after a lackluster postwar career, Charles was signed to Atlantic Records by the label’s founder, Ahmet Ertegun. He recorded pop, R&B and even jazz with his biggest hit to date, “What’d I Say” hitting number one in 1959 despite the reluctance of some radio stations to air the song due to suggestive lyrics. 

Leaving Atlantic for ABC-Paramount in late 1959, his 1960 rendition of “Georgia on My Mind” netted Charles four Grammy Awards and was adopted as the official state song of the State of Georgia in 1979. 

Drug abuse led to numerous arrests beginning in 1958, finally kicking a heroin habit “cold turkey” in 1966.  A new audience discovered Charles in 1980 thanks to his appearance and performance of the hit comedy musical, The Blues Brothers. 

In later years, he was active as a country artist beginning in 1983, both as a solo artist and as a collaborator. One of those artists was Willie Nelson, who shared Charles’s love of chess and whom Charles credited as being “my chess partner.”

Ray Charles had hip replacement surgery in 2003 and while successful, he developed several other health problems, passing away in Beverly Hills, California of liver failure at age 73 on June 10, 2004. 

Over the total course of his career, Charles was credited with at least sixty original albums, two hundred compilation albums and nearly six decades worth of singles. He was inducted into the American Academy of Achievement, the Georgia Music Hall of Fame, and won 17 Grammy Awards from his 37 nominations, receiving a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 1987. Ray was awarded the National Medal of Arts, has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, and was a champion and Contributor to the civil rights movement.

From “What I’d Say” to “Hit the Road Jack”, and "Georgia on My Mind", the unique soulful voice of Ray Charles rings on. For me, the song "America the Beautiful" says everything about Ray Charles, and his unforgettable contribution to American Music History.

KWXY Presents ● A Classic Interview with Ray Charles today at 1pm, on KWXY Music Radio 92.3FM ● 1340AM ● streaming at kwxy.com and ivoxradio.com