Ray Charles
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Who Was Ray Charles?
Ray Charles was a legendary musician who pioneered the genre of soul music during the s. Often called the "Father of Soul," Charles combined blues, gospel and jazz to create groundbreaking hits such as "Unchain My Heart," "Hit the Road Jack" and "Georgia on My Mind." He died in , leaving a lasting impression on contemporary music.
Early Life
Ray Charles Robinson was born on September 23, , in Albany, Georgia. His father, a mechanic, and his mother, a sharecropper, moved the family to Greenville, Florida when he was an infant. One of the most traumatic events of his childhood was witnessing the drowning death of his younger brother.
Soon after his brother's death, Charles gradually began to lose his sight. He was blind by the age of 7, and his mother sent him to a state-sponsored school, the Florida School for the Deaf and the Blind in St. Augustine, Florida — where he learned to read, write and arrange music in Braille. He also learned to play piano, organ, sax, clarinet and trumpet. The breadth of his musical interests ranged widely, from gospel to country, to blues.
Musical Evolution
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Entertainment Magazine: Film: Ray Charles
Ray Charles movie production notes and movie shots
Ray Charles: Introduction To The Man’s Life
For many people, the birth of American Soul can be traced directly back to and the incendiary Atlantic Records single “I’ve Got a Woman,” performed by a rising young artist named Ray Charles.
Mixing the Blues and Gospel in ways that had previously been taboo and mysteriously managing to merge sexual and spiritual, raw and tender, longing and lightness into one unforgettable, heart-pounding sound, the song literally shook the world.
It was the catalyst that lit a fire in countless young musicians who’d never heard anything like it, and the spark that helped set off an explosively creative period in American culture that led to the rock ‘n’ roll revolution and beyondnot to mention igniting Ray Charles’ own year career.
But just as amazing as the sound was the man from whom it emerged. The late musical legend Ray Charles has been dubbed “The Genius of Soul”—but what about the soul of the genius?
While almost everyone knows and loves Ray Charles’ music—which would grow to encompass and re-create nearly every uniquely American style
Though biopics are generally considered catnip for Oscar’s acting categories, few of the films featured on this website have been so honoured in the award’s first 76 years. James Cagney won Best Actor for Yankee Doodle Dandy, Barbra Streisand won Best Actress for Funny Girl and Martin Landau was awarded the Best Supporting Actor Oscar for his portrayal of Bela Lugosi in Ed Wood. Things picked up at the 77th Academy Awards, when Cate Blanchett won Best Supporting Actress for her role as Katherine Hepburn in The Aviator and Jamie Foxx won Best Actor for Ray. It was also the first acting Oscar awarded for the portrayal of an African-American in a biopic. The film itself stands as one of the best biopics of either category.
Moulded by the tough love of his mother, Ray Charles is determined to keep his promise to her that he will never let his blindness turn him into a cripple. Though many try to take advantage of him, short-changing his pay or using him as a meal-ticket, Ray’s undeniable talent keeps him afloat till his contract fortuitously falls into the hands of Atlantic Records. There, Ahmet Ertegun and Jerry Wexler coax him away from mimicking Nat King Col
Ray Charles distrusted people, naturally. But it was, well, eye-opening to realize how his blindness lead to his distrust.
We recently had a chance to re-review the movie-biography of Ray Charles, simply called “Ray.” It holds up well. It shows that his generally unknown level of distrust manifested itself mostly in financial matters. Early on Ray Charles demanded that he be paid for his musical performances in $1 bills so he could count them himself and be sure of the total. But even then, his self-selected “manager” — an older black woman with a sexual and financial interest in the talented young pianist — was taking advantage of his blindness. Soon the savvy Charles had extended his distrust to all of his managers. Then he decided to become his own manager.
The movie captures Charles’ distrust very well, adding several other vivid elements to the capsule biography. The sets and casting are well done, particularly during the early days in the 40s and 50s — based, at least, on my own experience as a beer-dive and audition/studio backup pianist for several years in the late 60s in southern cities like Pascagoula, Mobile, Dauphin Island, Biloxi, Gulfport and the French Quarter
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