Ray Charles

Raymond Charles Robinson was born on September the 23th 1930 in Georgia. He was a singer, songwriter, musician and composer, better known as Ray Charles. Nicknamed ‘The Genius’ and ‘The High Priest of Soul’, Ray became one of the pioneers of soul music.

Ray Charles was able to combine numbers of styles such as rythem and blues, gospel, blues and the influences from jazz and country were hearable in his music. He is listed as number two in the “100 Greatest Singers of All Time” the Rolling Stone Magazine released in November 2008.

Other artists have praised Ray Charles too for his influence in the music world. Frank Sinatra called Charles “the only true genius in show business” and Billy Joel said: “This may sound like sacrilege, but I think Ray Charles was more important than Elvis Presley”.

Ray Charles died in 2004 from an acute liver disease at the age of 73.

His most famous songs:

• “I Got A Woman”
• “Hit the Road Jack”
• “Georgia On My Mind”
• “Unchain My Heart”
• “What I’d Say”
• “I Can’t Stop Loving You”