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Charles, Ray |
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Info: Biography, Pictures, Discography of all CDs & DVDs |
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| "In music you just can't escape when something is beautiful," Ray Charles recently said."Like a good song, you can't get away from a good song.You have a good song, and it will still be beautiful, even when somebody with a bad voice sings it.But I have just as much love for blues and jazz too.And you can tell when something is good."Ray Charles Robinson was born in Albany, Georgia on September 23, 1930 (he shares a birthday with another musical icon, John Coltrane).Soon he found himself in Seattle, Washington, where he met a young Quincy Jones, and established a name for himself in clubs.It was then that he dropped the "Robinson" from his name to avoid confusion with the legendary boxer.He began establishing a name for himself in clubs around the northwest, evolving his own music and singing style, which later included the famous back up singers, "The Raelettes."His ascent took off in 1955, when he released "I Got a Woman."So I would get both sides of music.He was an artist instrumental in the creation of rock and roll yet just as home with the music of Gershwin.Everyone remembers Charles singing "Georgia" "Born To Lose", "Hit the Road Jack, "I Can't Stop Loving You."Or, the Beatles' "Eleanor Rugby" and "Yesterday."Blessed with one of the 20th century's most advanced musical minds, Charles became an American cultural icon decades ago.In 1987, Charles established the Ray Charles Robinson Foundation for the hearing impaired.Foundation pays to have done.In May, 2002, he performed at the Coliseum in Rome, the first musical performance there in 2,000 years.Additionally, Charles celebrated the 40th anniversary of his first country hit, "I Can't Stop Loving You," which became a number one chart topper and expanded the scope of the entertainer's career to the industry's astonishment.Later that year Charles and Adams endowed both Morehouse College and Albany State Univ.In addition to the 12 Grammy(r) Awards, not including the Lifetime Achievement and the President's Merit Award, Charles is also one of the original inductees into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and a recipient of the Presidential Medal for the Arts, France's Legion of Honor and the Kennedy Center Honors.DC, at which President and Mrs.Bush, Colin Powell and Condoleeza Rice, were in attendance.He has received eight honorary doctorates, the most recent in 2003 from Dillard University in New Orleans.Later that summer, he performed his 10,000th career concert at the Greek Theater in Los Angeles.Charles finalized "Genius Loves Company" a duets album in 2004, which has become the best selling album of his career."The duets project has been a tremendous experience," he said, at the conclusion of recording.Charles was awarded the prestigious "President's Merit Award" from the Grammy(r) organization and was named a City of Los Angeles "Cultural Treasure" by LA Mayor James Hahn during "African American Heritage Month" in a ceremony that he attended.Recently, a series of slot machines were designed in Charles' name for the visually handicapped and the legendary performer was also named a "living legend" by the Library of Congress.And its also part of us.The artist lives and works in Los Angeles.Upcoming sales from 2,900 auction houses.Art prints and posters, photography, vintage and limited editions.Duchamp, Picasso, the Dadaists, and Surrealists; Pop's fetish for kitsch and the comic strip; Bruce Nauman's sinister clowns and twisted puns; Richard Prince's joke paintings; art ambushed by feminist wit, from the Dadaism of Hannah Hoch in the 1920s to the politicized conceptualism of Jenny Holzer and Barbara Kruger in the 1980s; the serenely uncanny in Mike Kelley's installations and the risibly grotesque in Paul McCarthy's; and the strangely comic scenarios of artists as various as Maurizio Cattelan, Andrea Fraser, Raymond Pettibon, and David Shrigley.DESIGN AND ART : This reader in Whitechapel's Documents of Contemporary Art series investigates the interchange between art and design.Lorca diCorcia, Stan Douglas, Nan Goldin, Douglas Gordon, Cindy Sherman, and Jeff Wall, among others.Video art has taken a photographic turn into pensive slowness; photography now has at its disposal the budgets and scale of cinema.Label(s)
Atlantic, ABC, Warner Bros.June 10, 2004) known by his stage name Ray Charles, was a pioneering American pianist and musician who shaped the sound of rhythm and blues.Frank Sinatra called him "the only true genius in the business."The Immortals: 100 Greatest Artists of All Time.Aretha Williams, who stacked boards in a sawmill, and Bailey Robinson, a railroad repair man, mechanic and handyman.The two were never married.When Charles was five, he witnessed his younger brother, George, drown in his silverlarge portable laundry tub.He attended school at the St.He also learned how to write music and play various musical instruments.Atlantic Records a year later.When he entered show business, his name was shortened to Ray Charles to avoid confusion with boxer Sugar Ray Robinson."This Little Girl of Mine", "Lonely Avenue", "Mary Ann", "Drown in My Own Tears" and "The Night Time (Is the Right Time)".During this time of transition, he recruited a young girl group from Philadelphia named the Cookies as his background singing group, recording with them in New York and changing their name to the Raelettes in the process.Hit songs such as "Georgia On My Mind", "Hit the Road Jack" and "Unchain My Heart" helped him transition to pop success and his landmark 1962 album, Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music, helped to bring country into the mainstream.In the late 1980s a number of events increased Charles' recognition among young audiences.In a Pepsi Cola commercial of the early 1990s, Charles popularized the catchphrase "You Got the Right One, Baby!"Western artist for the Japanese music market.In the late '80s and early '90s, Charles made appearances on The Super Dave Osbourne Show, where he performed and appeared in a few vignettes where he was somehow driving a car, often as Super Dave's chauffeur.At the height of his newfound fame in the early nineties, Charles did guest vocals for quite a few projects.CBS tribute, The Muppet Celebrate Jim Henson.He gave a short speech about the deceased, stating that Henson "took a simple song and a piece of felt and turned it into a moment of great power".Charles recorded "There It Is" during and after filming with Steve Burns and Traci Paige Johnson.The event was organized in partnership with the Glocal Forum and the Quincy Jones Listen Up Foundation.In June, 2003, Ray Charles presented one of his greatest admirers, Van Morrison, with his award upon being inducted in the Songwriters Hall of Fame and the two sang Morrison's song from the Moondance album, "Crazy Love".This performance is captured on Morrison's 2007 album, The Best of Van Morrison Volume 3.In 2003 Charles performed "Georgia On My Mind" and "America the Beautiful" at a televised annual electronic media journalist banquet held in Washington, D.Ray Charles' final public appearance came on April 30, 2004, at the dedication of his music studio as a historic landmark in the city of Los Angeles.Cover of Genius Loves Company, an album released posthumously.The album won eight Grammy Awards, including five for Ray Charles for Best Pop Vocal Album, Album of the Year, Record of the Year and Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals for "Here We Go Again" with Norah Jones, and Best Gospel Performance for "Heaven Help Us All" with Gladys Knight; he also received nods for his duets with Elton John and B.Friends (2005) and Ray Sings, Basie Swings (2006), were released.Ray Sings, Basie Swings consists of archived vocals of Ray Charles from a live 1973 performance added to Count Basie's music.Charles' vocals recorded from the concert mixing board were added to a new accompaniment by the Count Basie Orchestra (among others).Gregg Field, who had performed as a drummer with both Charles and Basie, produced this album.This marriage produced no children and ended in divorce in 1952.His long term girlfriend and partner at the time of his death was Norma Pinella.Della Robinson)
Reverend Robert Robinson (son of Della Robinson.Before shooting could begin, however, director Taylor Hackford brought Foxx to meet Charles, who insisted that they sit down at two pianos and play together.Charles was expected to attend a showing of the completed film, but he passed away before it opened in theaters.The film's credits note that he is survived by 12 children, 21 grandchildren, and 5 great grandchildren.Halls of Fame and other honors
Besides winning dozens of Grammy Awards in his career, Charles was also honored in many other ways.He received the Kennedy Center Honors in 1986.Entertainment Hall of Fame.Greatest Artists of All Time.On December 7, 2007, Ray Charles Plaza was opened in Albany, Georgia, with a revolving, lighted bronze sculpture of Charles seated at a piano.On December 26, 2007, Ray Charles was inducted into the Hit Parade Hall of Fame."List of Kennedy Center Honorees", Kennedy Center, 1986.Rolling Stone Issue 946.Review of Ray Sings Basie Swings at JazzChicago.This page was last modified 04:46, 9 January 2008.All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License.See Copyrights for details.The real turns into the surreal, the ordinary into the strange.Through minimal, abstract, and figurative works, Ray explores the authenticity and meaning of representation.This work affects the viewer psychologically through its unsettling relationship to what is thought of as real.Ray hoped that on the streets of New York the sculpture would both stick out and fit in seamlessly within the urban environment.However, surrounded by a protective barrier and police protection, Firetruck stood out like a sore thumb.It was as if the theme of childlike ambition had turned on itself to become a cruel, psychological punishment for its creator.By pushing and pulling boundaries, exploring the authenticity and meaning of representation, the artist as well as the viewer is often caught off guard.The sordid history of our weekly jazz music radio show, live since 1985.Proves that FCC radio deregulation survival may be linked to narcissistically twisted disorders.This piece details the Count Basie vs.D, solid terrain model, full of color.Charles was born during the Great Depression in the Deep South and was raised on blues, country, gospel, jazz and big band music.Ray Charles Robinson was born Sept.His family moved to Greenville, Fla.During the Great Depression there was almost no such thing as financial gain for anyone and especially for a black family living in the totally segregated South.Charles recalled how poor his family was in his 1978 autobiography, "Brother Ray": "Even compared to other blacks...Although it was a poor existence, and his father was "hardly ever around", he described himself as a "happy kid".The tragedy and painful memories of the next several years however would change him forever.At just five years old Charles had to endure the trauma of witnessing the drowning death of his younger brother in his mother's large portable laundry tub.Ray had shown an interest in music since the age of 3, encouraged by a cafe owner who played the piano.His influences were the popular stars of the day like big band clarinetist Artie Shaw, big band leaders and pianists Duke Ellington and Count Basie, jazz piano giant Art Tatum, alto sax man and witty vocalist and bandleader Louis Jordan, and the great classical composers like Chopin and Sibelius.But Ray Charles loved it all.At night he listened on the radio to the raw melodies and hillbilly twang of the Grand Ole Opry, to the sanctified soulfulness of gospel, and to the secular emotional venting of the blues.In the South in 1945 the opportunities and outlook for any young black musician, just getting started and hoping for a career in music, would have been bleak.It was in Seattle's red light district at just 16 were he met a young Quincy Jones only 14 himself.He taught the future producer and composer how to write music and arrange.Ray Charles Robinson dropped his last name to avoid confusion with boxer Sugar Ray Robinson and patterned himself in his early career after Nat "King" Cole.With a recording contract in 1949 on the former Downbeat label, but at the time under the Swingtime banner, Charles and his trio (called the McSon Trio) moved to Los Angeles and cut numerous sides on which the influence of King Cole is clearly evident including the somewhat autobiographical All To Myself Alone and a medium tempo jiver called Let's Have A Ball.During the early 1950s, the trio released several singles including Baby Let Me Hold Your Hand, which hit the U.Charles got his first taste of commercial success in 1953, when he arranged and played piano on bluesman Guitar Slim's recording of The Things That I Used to Do, which sold more than a million copies.The real Ray Charles emerged in 1954 on a record called I Got A Woman.On this record Charles began singing with inner emotional intensity like never before by way of hoots, hollers and other genuinely enthusiastic voicings.He had finally put to use the advice his mother had given him years before to "just be yourself."Much the same as his early idol Nat King Cole achieved fame with his vocals, so Ray Charles finally broke through to white America.But in the years preceding 1959's smash What'd I Say, like Nat Cole, Ray Charles first cut some superb jazz sides.The Ray, Hornful Soul, and Sweet Sixteen Bars.In April of 1958 he got together with Jackson again.This time the vibraphonist was flanked by guitarist Kenny Burrell, bass man Percy Heath and drummer Arthur Taylor for the release Soul Brothers.Ray Blues Charles recalled his roots at St.While this success would be enough to make some settle down into a particular style or genre and rest on their laurels; such was not the case for the ramblin' Ray Charles.Raelets, and blatantly suggestive and playful lyrics and attitude.Still Charles turned back to jazz and big band again for two sessions in May and June of 1959.Count Basie alumni for the release.This combination of talents provided Charles with a hip and swinging backdrop on a number of standards and cover tunes.Perhaps it was irony that this would be his last session for Atlantic, as move on he did.This coupled with the crossover success of What'd I Say allowed him to move from Atlantic to the larger ABC Paramount label late in the year.One of the chief attractions of the ABC deal for Charles was a much greater degree of artistic control of his recordings.The album that resulted was a geographical theme album called The Genius Hits The Road.One of the twelve songs on the original pressing of the LP (ABC 335) was a Hoagy Carmichael tune.Georgia On My Mind garnered Charles two more Grammy Awards at the 1960 ceremony in the Best Vocal Performance Single Record or Track, Male, and Best Performance by a Pop Single Artist categories.The idea of theme albums, with tunes tied together by a particular common subject matter, was not new.But in December of 1960, little more than two weeks after Ruby had peaked on the chart, he was in the ABC Paramount studios again.What resulted was arguably his best jazz album ever.Jazz and yet again the public responded.His next chart hit in 1961 was even bigger.Amazingly, it was yet to be released on an LP when it garnered such high accolades, evidence of the power of the 45 RPM record medium in 1961.And not only did he tackle it, he conquered it and forever changed its face when on June 1st, 1962 the landmark album Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music was released.In doing so, he inspired other artists to reconsider their thoughts and assessments of country tunes.It also beckoned to a wide range of music fans to come in and sit a spell and hear what country music and country songwriters had to offer.Although he had a hit in 1959 with the aforementioned single cover of Hank Snow's I'm Movin' On, his decision to record a full album of country songs was initially discouraged by his record label and by others around him.Oh, man you're going to ruin your career 'cause everybody know you're from rhythm and blues, and you're going to go out, oh, you've got to be nuts."Half As Much, You Win Again and Hey, Good Lookin', Don Gibson's hit of I Can't Stop Loving You, and Eddy Arnold's Just a Little Lovin' and You Don't Know Me.Billboard Pop Album chart for three and a half months and stayed on that chart for two years.Sid Feller, said about the album's initial splash, "I didn't know that a Pop artist could do country songs and become a national monument.You know how unimportant it seemed?Four singles from the album were released.Carter created a bluesy big band backdrop for Charles' soulful reading of the piece, as was the case with a number of scores for the LP.Pop chart and was voted best Rhythm And Blues Recording by the Grammy committee.Of the sixteen, several other recordings featuring Benny Carter arrangements were laid down as well as some Gerald Wilson and Johnny Parker scores.Although some of the songs were somewhat trite in lyrical content, nine were used on a 1964 release called Have A Smile With Me.Charles sounds in high spirits on the whole album, with an excellent swinging big band behind him, but on Move It On Over the energy and mood both come together in a roaring climax.In the 1980s George Thoroughgood and the Destroyers rather dryly covered the song, scoring a hit on AOR stations.Even with all of its amplification, the Thoroughgood version didn't come close to the big bang of energy emitted on this swinging Ray Charles gem.Charles, who had been arrested for drug possession earlier in Indianapolis and Philadelphia, was shaken and scared.Pop cover of Buck Owens' country hit.Yet there was a sense of humor about even that as he released both I Don't Need No Doctor, and Let's Go Get Stoned, in 1966.He later became reluctant to talk about the drug use, fearing it would taint how people thought of his work.The 1970s began with a release on his Tangerine label called My Kind Of Jazz with longtime friend Quincy Jones.His output during this period also included work with singers Randy Newman and Stevie Wonder.His association with Columbia Records yielded hit duets with George Jones, Hank Williams Jr.However, just prior to his death, he had completed work on an album for Concord Records of duets with such talents as Willie Nelson, Norah Jones, Elton John, Bonnie Raitt and James Taylor.The disc was released as scheduled on Aug.He had also been on Saturday Night Live and on an episode of Who's the Boss?Although many saw the commercial as selling out, it is said to have boosted his popularity among a younger audience.Charles won 12 competitive Grammys, earned three Emmy nominations, scored the Kennedy Center Honors, the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award, the National Medal of Arts and inductions into the Rock, Jazz and Rhythm and Blues halls of fame.Charles' take on jazz is as follows; "I cannot understand how we as Americans, possessing such a rich heritage of music and the artists who play it, don't recognize all those talented people.It's a shame that so many of today's young people don't know the work of Art Tatum or Dizzy Gillespie or Charlie Parker or Clifford Brown, to name a few.They are the creators; they are the artists who helped form the backbone of our country's popular music....And it's sad that we all don't have more extensive knowledge of that fact....In Europe, though, you find people who know all about our music.I'm talking about the average person.And I find that incredible."PM Pacfic Time through the link on our Jazz Radio page.His recordings with several incarnations of the Oscar Peterson Trio are superb to fans of straight ahead mainstream jazz that swings.She later released a number of fine swinging albums for Norman Granz on his Clef, Norgran and Verve record labels.Benny Carter Biography
Benny Carter was one of the greatest arrangers and jazz musicians the genre has ever known.This extensive biography spans the entire lengthy career of the jazz legend.Billy May Biography
The trumpeter, bandleader, composer and arranger died Jan.May wrote many Swing era classics for Glenn Miller and Charlie Barnet and later for Sinatra and Nat Cole.Count Basie Biography
Our biography of Count Basie
traces the career of "the kid from Red Bank" through Kansas City and into the later stages of his life as a bandleader.Also included are books, DVDs and apparel.April's jazz radio
playlists include artists, song and release titles, labels and dates.March jazz radio
playlists that include artists, song and release titles, and labels.An early autumn radio show with
jazz music by Count Basie, Duke
Ellington, Laverne Butler and more.Peggy Lee May birthday set.Commemorates the occasion of
Artie Shaw's 93rd Birthday.Includes recording months, years, titles and record labels.Ray Charles CDs is culled from the extensive library of this prolific musician.Gene Krupa and Stan Kenton during the Swing era.She later released a number of fine swinging albums for Norman Granz on his Clef, Norgran and Verve record labels.The use of pauses and breaks in her playing and singing ala Basie and Ahmad Jamal conveyed a relaxed, confident feeling of swing.She passed away in October of 2005.Dakota Staton Biography
In her early career Dakota Staton showed the influences of Dinah Washington and Sarah Vaughan.Ray Charles CDs is culled from the extensive library of this prolific musician.Benny Carter Biography
Benny Carter was one of the greatest arrangers and jazz musicians the genre has ever known.This extensive biography spans the entire lengthy career of the jazz legend.May wrote many Swing era classics for Glenn Miller and Charlie Barnet and later for Sinatra and Nat Cole.Illinois Jacquet Biography
Our biography of Illinois Jacquet
tracks his days with Lionel Hampton and Count Basie, through the Jazz At The Philharmonic years right up to the end of his prolific career.Encyclopedia Of JazzBrother Ray, Ray Charles and David Ritz, Dial Press, 1978.Hello, you either have JavaScript turned off or an old version of Adobe's Flash Player.This video has been added to your favorites.Thank you for sharing your concerns.Content of this nature is not necessarily prohibited on YouTube, however we will review this video and take action as appropriate.Per our Community Guidelines, hate speech is specifically defined in reference to "protected groups."Thank you for sharing your concerns.There may be significant legal penalties for false notices.In order to process a privacy complaint we need more information from you.Change this to see only comments above a certain value.Change the value of a comment by clicking on a thumb.And I don't even LIKE the south!There aint nothing like riding through georgia roads in my red 1972 cutlass with white stripes on a sunday afternoon playing this song baby thats life!After making your selection, copy and paste the embed code above.The code changes based on your selection.Sign in to get personalized recommendations.Celebrates a Gospel Christmas with the Voices of Jubilation!Charles displayed his genius by combining elements of gospel and blues into a fervid, exuberant style that would come to be known as soul music.At age six, he contracted glaucoma, which eventually left him blind.Augustine School for the Deaf and the Blind.After cutting singles for labels such as Downbeat and Swingtime, Charles wound up on Atlantic Records in 1952.Swingtime, where Charles had been recording in the mellower, bluesy style of Nat King Cole and Charles Brown.September 8, 1952: Ray Charles does his first session for Atlantic, cutting four songs.ABC label after leaving Atlantic Records.December 1, 1971: A 25th Anniversary in Show Business Salute to Ray Charles, a cooperative venture between Atlantic and ABC comprising material from both labels, is released.June 20, 1980: The film The Blues Brothers, which features Ray Charles in the role of a streetwise storeowner, opens across America.January 23, 1986: Ray Charles is inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame at the first induction dinner, held in New York City.Quincy Jones is his presenter.March 2, 1988: Ray Charles receives a Lifetime Achievement Award at the 30th annual Grammy Awards.June 2, 1993: A Lifetime Achievement Award is awarded to Ray Charles by the Songwriters Hall of Fame, with Billy Joel as his presenter. |
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