Ray Charles Robinson [ a ] September 23, β June 10, was an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. He is regarded as one of the most iconic and influential musicians in history, and was often referred to by contemporaries as "The Genius". Among friends and fellow musicians, he preferred being called "Brother Ray". Charles pioneered the soul music genre during the s by combining elements of blues , jazz , rhythm and blues , and gospel into his music during his time with Atlantic Records.
Charles' s hit " Georgia on My Mind " was the first of his three career No. Frank Sinatra called Ray Charles "the only true genius in show business", although Charles downplayed this notion. He was one of the inaugural inductees at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in He has won 18 Grammy Awards five posthumously , [ 10 ] the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in , and 10 of his recordings have been inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame.
Charles was born on September 23, , in Albany, Georgia. During Aretha's childhood, her mother died. Her father could not keep her. Bailey, a man her father worked with, took her in. The Robinson familyβBailey, his wife Mary Jane, and his mother informally adopted her and Aretha took the surname Robinson.
A few years later Aretha became pregnant by Bailey. During the ensuing scandal, she left Greenville late in the summer of to be with family back in Albany. After the birth of the child, Ray Charles, she and the infant Charles returned to Greenville. Aretha and Bailey's wife, who had lost a son, then shared in Charles' upbringing. The father had left Greenville and married another woman elsewhere. By his first birthday, Charles had a brother, George. Charles was deeply devoted to his mother and later recalled, despite her poor health and adversity, her perseverance, self-sufficiency, and pride as guiding lights in his life.
In his early years, Charles showed an interest in mechanical objects and often watched his neighbors working on their cars and farm machinery.
