Imagine that you are black and poor, growing up in the segregated south of Georgia and Florida; by the age of 7 you lose your sight, and both your parents by the time you are 14. Your saving grace was learning braille and piano at the school for the deaf and blind your mom had fought for you to attend. With her passing you take to the road as an itinerant musician, hungry and barely scraping by, dropping your last name, Robinson, just calling yourself Ray Charles.

          Through sheer tenacity coupled with genuine talent, you are soon networking with other musicians, including a teenage Quincy Jones, writing, arranging, singing an eclectic mix of blues, jazz, gospel, and pop. As you begin to find success in the 1950s with such hits as “I Got a Woman” and “What’d I Say”; the music is termed rhythm and blues (R&B) or soul.  

         One of the biggest surprises of Ray’s career was his turn in the early ’60s toward country music. While his signature tune, “Georgia on My Mind” straddles several genres, “I Can’t Stop Loving You” and “You Don’t Know Me” are unabashedly country and went a long way in breaking down more of the barriers that separated so called black and white music.

         Sinatra reputedly called him a “genius” and the nickname stuck; Charles himself said, “I never wanted to be famous. I only wanted to be great.” And he was. One of the great vocalists with his ancient sounding mix of crying, wailing, hollering, and soulful emoting, Ray has been extolled by the likes of Greg Allman, Aretha Franklin, and Billy Joel.

         -Steve Williams (6/22/23) – Greatest Recording Artists Blog Post #21