Ray Charles Robinson[a] (September 23, 1930 – June 10, 2004) was an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. He is regarded as one of the most iconic and influential musicians of the 20th century and was often referred to by contemporaries as "The Genius". Among friends and fellow musicians, he preferred being called "Brother Ray".[2][3] Charles was blinded during childhood, possibly due toglaucoma, and consequently wore dark glasses.[4]
Charles pioneered thesoul music genre during the 1950s by combining elements ofblues,jazz,rhythm and blues, andgospel into his music during his time withAtlantic Records.[4][5][6] He contributed to the integration ofcountry music, rhythm and blues, andpop music during the 1960s with his crossover success onABC Records, notably with his twoModern Sounds albums.[7][8] With ABC, Charles became one of the first black musicians to be granted artistic control by a mainstream record company.[5]
Charles citedNat King Cole as a primary influence, but was also influenced byArt Tatum,Louis Jordan andCharles Brown.[12] He had a lifelong friendship and occasional partnership withQuincy Jones.Frank Sinatra called Ray Charles "the only true genius in show business", although Charles downplayed this notion.[13]Billy Joel said, "This may sound like sacrilege, but I think Ray Charles was more important thanElvis Presley."[14]
Charles was born on September 23, 1930, inAlbany, Georgia.[a][18] He was the son of Bailey Robinson, a laborer, and Aretha (or Reatha) Robinson (née Williams), a laundress, ofGreenville, Florida.[12]
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 family—Bailey, his wife Mary Jane, and his mother—informally adopted her, and Aretha took the surname Robinson. A few years later, Bailey raped her, and Aretha became pregnant. During the ensuing scandal, she left Greenville late in the summer of 1930 to be with family back in Albany. After Charles' birth, she and the infant 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.[12]
In his early years, Charles showed an interest in mechanical objects and often watched his neighbors working on their cars and farm machinery. His musical curiosity was sparked at Wylie Pitman's Red Wing Cafe, at the age of three, when Pitman playedboogie woogie on an oldupright piano; Pitman subsequently taught Charles how to play the piano.[19] Charles and his mother were always welcome at the Red Wing Cafe and even lived there when they were in financial distress.[12] Pitman also cared for Ray's younger brother George, to take some of the burden off their mother. George accidentally drowned in his mother's laundry tub when he was four years old.[12][20]
Charles started to lose his sight at the age of four[3] or five,[21] and was blind by the age of seven, likely as a result ofglaucoma.[22] Because of his blindness, Charles donned his famous sunglasses. Destitute, uneducated, and mourning the loss of her younger son, Aretha Robinson used her connections in the local community to find a school that would accept a blind African-American pupil. Despite his initial protest, Charles attended school at theFlorida School for the Deaf and the Blind inSt. Augustine from 1937 to 1945 and learned to play a variety of instruments, including thepiano,alto saxophone,clarinet,trumpet, andorgan. He focused primarily on the piano.[22][12]
Charles further developed his musical talent at school, takingclassical piano lessons and learning the music of composers such asBach,Mozart,Beethoven,Chopin, andSibelius.[22] His music teacher, Mrs. Lawrence, taught him toread and write musicusing Braille, a difficult process that requires learning the left hand movements by reading braille with the right hand and learning the right hand movements by reading braille with the left hand, then combining the two parts.
Charles' mother died in the spring of 1945, when he was 14. Her death came as a shock to him; he later said the deaths of his brother and mother were "the two great tragedies" of his life. Charles decided not to return to school after the funeral.[12]
After leaving school, Charles moved toJacksonville to live with Charles Wayne Powell, who had been friends with his late mother. He played the piano for bands at theRitz Theatre inLaVilla for over a year,[23] earning $4 a night (US$47, in 2024 value[24]). He joinedLocal 632 of theAmerican Federation of Musicians, in the hope that it would help him get work,[25] and was able to use the union hall's piano to practice, since he did not have one at home; he learned piano licks from copying the other players there.[26] He started to build a reputation as a talented musician in Jacksonville, but the jobs did not come fast enough for him to construct a strong identity, so, at age 16, he moved toOrlando, where he lived in borderline poverty and went without food for days.[27] Charles eventually started to write arrangements for a pop music band, and in the summer of 1947, he unsuccessfully auditioned to play piano forLucky Millinder and his sixteen-piece band.[28]
In 1947, Charles moved toTampa, where he held two jobs, including one as a pianist for Charles Brantley's Honey Dippers.[29]
In his early career, Charles modeled himself onNat King Cole. His first four recordings—"Wondering and Wondering", "Walking and Talking", "Why Did You Go?" and "I Found My Baby There"—were allegedly done in Tampa, although some discographies claim he recorded them in Miami in 1951 or else Los Angeles in 1952.[28]
Charles had always played piano for other people, but he was keen to have his own band. He decided to leave Florida for a large city, and, considering Chicago and New York City too big, followed his friend Gossie McKee toSeattle, Washington, in March 1948, knowing that the biggest radio hits came from northern cities.[28][30] There he met and befriended, under the tutelage ofRobert Blackwell, the 15-year-oldQuincy Jones.[31]
With Charles on piano, McKee on guitar, and Milton Garred on bass,The McSon Trio (named forMcKee and Robinson) started playing the 1–5 A.M. shift at the Rocking Chair.[32] Publicity photos of this trio are some of the earliest known photographs of Charles. In April 1949, he and his band recorded "Confession Blues", which became his first national hit, soaring to the second spot on the Billboard R&B chart.[28] While still working at the Rocking Chair, Charles also arranged songs for other artists, includingCole Porter's "Ghost of a Chance" andDizzy Gillespie's "Emanon".[27] After the success of his first two singles, Charles moved to Los Angeles in 1950 and spent the next few years touring with the blues musicianLowell Fulson as Fulson's musical director.[3]
In 1950, Charles' performance in a Miami hotel impressedHenry Stone, who went on to record a Ray Charles Rockin' record, which did not achieve popularity. During his stay in Miami, Charles was required to stay in thesegregated but thriving black community ofOvertown. Stone later helpedJerry Wexler find Charles inSt. Petersburg.[33]
After signing withSwing Time Records, Charles recorded two more R&B hits under the name Ray Charles: "Baby, Let Me Hold Your Hand" (1951), which reached No. 5, and "Kissa Me Baby" (1952), which reached No. 8. Swing Time folded the following year, andAhmet Ertegun signed Charles toAtlantic.[22]
In June 1952, Atlantic bought Charles' contract for $2,500 (US$29,602 in 2024 dollars[24]).[34][35] His first recording session for Atlantic ("The Midnight Hour"/"Roll with My Baby") took place in September 1952, although his last Swing Time release ("Misery in My Heart"/"The Snow Is Falling") would not appear until February 1953.
In 1953, "Mess Around" became his first small hit for Atlantic; during the next year, he had hits with "It Should've Been Me" and "Don't You Know".[35] He also recorded the songs "Midnight Hour" and "Sinner's Prayer" around this time.
Late in 1954, Charles recorded "I've Got a Woman". The lyrics were written by bandleader Renald Richard. Charles claimed the composition. They later admitted that the song went back to the Southern Tones' "It Must Be Jesus" (1954). It became one of his most notable hits, reaching No. 2 on the R&B chart.[35] "I've Got a Woman" combinedgospel,jazz, andblues elements. In 1955, he had hits with "This Little Girl of Mine" and "A Fool for You". In upcoming years, hits included "Drown in My Own Tears" and "Hallelujah I Love Her So".
Charles reached the pinnacle of his success at Atlantic with the release of "What'd I Say", which combined gospel, jazz, blues and Latin music. Charles said he wrote it spontaneously while he was performing in clubs with his band. Despite some radio stations banning the song because of its sexually suggestive lyrics, the song became Charles' first top-ten pop record. It reached No. 6 on theBillboard Pop chart and No. 1 on theBillboard R&B chart in 1959.[11][35] Later that year, he released his first country song (a cover ofHank Snow's "I'm Movin' On") and recorded three more albums for the label: a jazz record (The Genius After Hours, 1961); a blues record (The Genius Sings the Blues, 1961); and a big band record (The Genius of Ray Charles, 1959) which was his first Top 40 album, peaking at No. 17.
Charles' contract with Atlantic expired in 1959, and several big labels offered him record deals. Choosing not to renegotiate his contract with Atlantic, he signed withABC-Paramount in November 1959.[38] He obtained a more liberal contract than other artists had at the time, with ABC offering him a $50,000 (US$539,326 in 2024 dollars[24]) annual advance, higher royalties than before, and eventual ownership of hismaster tapes—a very valuable and lucrative deal at the time.[39] During his Atlantic years, Charles had been hailed for his inventive compositions, but by the time of the release of the largely instrumental jazz albumGenius + Soul = Jazz (1960) for ABC's subsidiary labelImpulse!, he had given up on writing in favor of becoming acover artist, giving his own eclectic arrangements of existing songs.[40]
In 1961, Charles had expanded his small road ensemble to abig band, partly as a response to increasing royalties and touring fees, becoming one of the few black artists to cross over into mainstream pop with such a level of creative control.[40][44] Concerts in Antibes and later Zurich, Lyon and Paris led to Charles becoming the No. 1 bestselling jazz artist in France for many years.[45] This success, however, came to a momentary halt during a concert tour in November 1961, when a police search of Charles' hotel room in Indianapolis, Indiana, led to the discovery of heroin in the medicine cabinet. The case was eventually dropped, as the search lacked a properwarrant by the police, and Charles soon returned to music.[44]
In the early 1960s, on the way from Louisiana toOklahoma City, Charles faced a near-death experience when the pilot of his plane lost visibility, as snow and his failure to use the defroster caused the windshield of the plane to become completely covered in ice. The pilot made a few circles in the air before he was finally able to see through a small part of the windshield and land the plane. Charles placed a spiritual interpretation on the experience, claiming that "something or someone which instruments cannot detect" was responsible for creating the small opening in the ice on the windshield which enabled the pilot to eventually land the plane safely.[12]
In 1964, Charles' career was halted once more after he was arrested for a third time for possession of heroin.[48] He agreed to go to a rehabilitative facility to avoid jail time and eventually kicked his habit at a clinic in Los Angeles. After spending a year on parole, Charles reappeared in the charts in 1966 with a series of hits composed withAshford & Simpson andJo Armstead,[49] including the dance number "I Don't Need No Doctor" and "Let's Go Get Stoned", which became his first No. 1 R&B hit in several years. His cover version of "Crying Time", originally recorded by country singerBuck Owens, reached No. 6 on the pop chart and helped Charles win a Grammy Award the following March. In 1967, he had a top-twenty hit with another ballad, "Here We Go Again".[50]
Charles meeting with President Richard Nixon, 1972 (photo byOliver F. Atkins)
Charles' renewed chart success, however, proved to be short lived, and by the 1970s his music was rarely played on radio stations. The rise ofpsychedelic rock and harder forms of rock and R&B music had reduced Charles' radio appeal, as did his choosing to record pop standards and covers of contemporary rock and soul hits, since his earnings from owning his master tapes had taken away the motivation to write new material. Charles nonetheless continued to have an active recording career. Most of his recordings between 1968 and 1973 evoked strong reactions: either adored or panned by fans and critics alike.[22] His recordings during this period, especially 1972'sA Message from the People, moved toward theprogressive soul sound popular at the time.[51]A Message from the People included his unique gospel-influenced version of "America the Beautiful" and a number of protest songs about poverty and civil rights. Charles was often criticized for his version of "America the Beautiful" because it was very drastically changed from the song's original version. On July 14, 1973,Margie Hendrix, the mother of Ray's son Charles Wayne Hendrix, died at 38 years old, which led to Ray having to care for the child. The official cause of her death is unknown.
In 1974, Charles left ABC Records and recorded several albums on his own label, Crossover Records. A 1975 recording of Stevie Wonder's hit "Living for the City" later helped Charles win another Grammy. In 1977, he reunited with Ahmet Ertegun and re-signed to Atlantic Records, for which he recorded the albumTrue to Life, remaining with his old label until 1980. However, the label had now begun to focus on rock acts, and some of their prominent soul artists, such asAretha Franklin, were starting to be neglected. In November 1977 he appeared as the host of the NBC television showSaturday Night Live.[52]
In April 1979, his version of "Georgia on My Mind" was proclaimed thestate song of Georgia, and an emotional Charles performed the song on the floor of the state legislature. In 1980 Charles performed in the musical filmThe Blues Brothers.[22] Although he had notably supported theAmerican Civil Rights Movement andMartin Luther King Jr. in the 1960s, Charles was criticized for performing at theSun City resort in South Africa in 1981 during an international boycott protesting that country'sapartheid policy. He later defended his choice of performing there, insisting that the audience of black and white fans would integrate while he was there.[22]
In 1985, Charles participated in the musical recording and video "We Are the World", a charity single recorded by the supergroup United Support of Artists (USA) for Africa.
Before the release of his first album for Warner,Would You Believe, Charles made a return to the R&B charts with a cover of theBrothers Johnson's "I'll Be Good to You", a duet with his lifelong friend Quincy Jones and the singerChaka Khan, which hit No. 1 on the R&B chart in 1990 and won Charles and Khan a Grammy for their duet. Prior to this, Charles returned to the pop charts with "Baby Grand", a duet with singer-songwriterBilly Joel. In 1989, he recorded a cover of theSouthern All Stars' "Itoshi no Ellie" for a Japanese TV advertisement for theSuntory brand, releasing it in Japan as "Ellie My Love", where it reached No.3 on itsOricon chart.[54] In the same year he was a special guest at theVerona Arena during the tour promotingOro Incenso & Birra of the Italian singerZucchero Fornaciari.
In 2001–02, Charles appeared in commercials for theNew Jersey Lottery to promote its campaign "For every dream, there's a jackpot."
Also in 2003, Charles presentedVan Morrison with Morrison's award upon being inducted in theSongwriters Hall of Fame, and the two sang Morrison's song "Crazy Love" (the performance appears on Morrison's 2007 albumThe Best of Van Morrison Volume 3). In 2003, Charles performed "Georgia on My Mind" and "America the Beautiful" at a televised annual banquet of electronic media journalists held in Washington, D.C. His final public appearance was on April 30, 2004, at the dedication of his music studio as a historic landmark in Los Angeles.[22]
Charles possessed one of the most recognizable voices in American music. In the words of musicologistHenry Pleasants:
Sinatra, and Bing Crosby before him, had been masters of words. Ray Charles is a master of sounds. His records disclose an extraordinary assortment of slurs, glides, turns, shrieks, wails, breaks, shouts, screams and hollers, all wonderfully controlled, disciplined by inspired musicianship, and harnessed to ingenious subtleties of harmony, dynamics and rhythm... It is either the singing of a man whose vocabulary is inadequate to express what is in his heart and mind or of one whose feelings are too intense for satisfactory verbal or conventionally melodic articulation. He can't tell it to you. He can't even sing it to you. He has to cry out to you, or shout to you, in tones eloquent of despair—or exaltation. The voice alone, with little assistance from the text or the notated music, conveys the message.[56]
Pleasants continues, "Ray Charles is usually described as a baritone, and his speaking voice would suggest as much, as would the difficulty he experiences in reaching and sustaining the baritone's high E and F in a popular ballad. But the voice undergoes some sort of transfiguration under stress, and in music of gospel or blues character he can and does sing for measures on end in the high tenor range of A, B flat, B, C and even C sharp and D, sometimes in full voice, sometimes in an ecstatic head voice, sometimes in falsetto. In falsetto he continues up to E and F above high C. On one extraordinary record, 'I'm Going Down to the River'...he hits an incredible B flat...giving him an overall range, including the falsetto extension, of at least three octaves."
His style and success in the genres of rhythm and blues and jazz had an influence on a number of highly successful artists, including, as Jon Pareles has noted,Elvis Presley,Aretha Franklin,Stevie Wonder,Van Morrison, andBilly Joel.[57] Other singers who have acknowledged Charles' influence on their own styles includeJames Booker,[58]Steve Winwood,[59]Richard Manuel,[60] andGregg Allman.[61] According to Joe Levy, a music editor forRolling Stone, "The hit records he made for Atlantic in the mid-1950s mapped out everything that would happen to rock 'n' roll and soul music in the years that followed."[40] Charles was also an inspiration toPink Floyd memberRoger Waters, who told the Turkish newspaperHürriyet: "I was about 15. In the middle of the night with friends, we were listening to jazz. It was "Georgia on My Mind", Ray Charles' version. Then I thought 'One day, if I make some people feel only one-twentieth of what I am feeling now, it will be quite enough for me.'"[62]
Ray, a biopic portraying his life and career between the mid-1930s and 1979, was released in October 2004, starringJamie Foxx as Charles. Foxx won the2005Academy Award for Best Actor for the role.
Third African-American inducted, honored for country influence
Star honoring Charles on theHollywood Walk of Fame, at 6777 Hollywood BoulevardStar honoring Charles on the Nayoya Walk of Fame in Japan
In 1975, Ray Charles was inducted into theAmerican Academy of Achievement and presented with the Golden Plate Award and the Academy of Achievement gold medal.[64][65]
In 1979, Charles was one of the first musicians born in the state to be inducted into theGeorgia Music Hall of Fame.[66] His version of "Georgia on My Mind" was also made the official state song of the state ofGeorgia.[67]
In 2001,Morehouse College honored Charles with the Candle Award for Lifetime Achievement in Arts and Entertainment,[75] and later that same year granted him an honorary doctor of humane letters.[76] Charles donated $2 million to Morehouse "to fund, educate and inspire the next generation of musical pioneers".[76]
In 2003, Charles was awarded an honorary degree byDillard University, and upon his death he endowed a professorship of African-American culinary history at the school, the first such chair in the nation.[77]
On September 22, 2004, Ray Charles was honored with aGoogle Doodle on what would have been his 74th birthday.[78] It was one of the first Doodles for one's birthday.
In 2010, a $20 million, 76,000 sq ft (7,100 m2) facility named the Ray Charles Performing Arts Center and Music Academic Building, opened at Morehouse.[79]
TheUnited States Postal Service issued a forever stamp honoring Charles, as part of its Musical Icons series, on September 23, 2013.[80]
In 2016, U.S. PresidentBarack Obama wrote via his press secretary, "Ray Charles's version of 'America the Beautiful' will always be in my view the most patriotic piece of music ever performed."[82]
On March 15, 1961, shortly after the release of the hit song "Georgia on My Mind" (1960), theAlbany, Georgia-born musician was scheduled to perform at a dance at Bell Auditorium inAugusta, but cancelled the show after learning from students ofPaine College that the larger auditorium dance floor was restricted to whites, while blacks would be obliged to sit in the Music Hall balcony. Charles left town immediately after letting the public know why he would not be performing, but the promoter went on to sue Charles for breach of contract, and Charles was fined $757 in Fulton County Superior Court in Atlanta on June 14, 1962. The following year, Charles did perform at a desegregated Bell Auditorium concert together with his backup singers,the Raelettes, on October 23, 1963, as depicted in the 2004 film,Ray.[86][87][88][89] On December 7, 2007, Ray Charles Plaza was opened in Albany, Georgia, with a revolving, lighted bronze sculpture of Charles seated at apiano.[71]
Statue by Andy Davis in Ray Charles Plaza in Albany, Georgia
Founded in 1986, the Ray Charles Foundation maintains the mission statement of financially supporting institutions and organizations in the research of hearing disorders.[90] Originally known as The Robinson Foundation for Hearing Disorders, it was renamed in 2006 and has provided financial donations to numerous institutions involved in hearing loss research and education.[91] The purpose of the foundation has been "to administer funds for scientific, educational and charitable purposes; to encourage, promote and educate, through grants to institutions and organizations, as to the causes and cures for diseases and disabilities of the hearing impaired and to assist organizations and institutions in their social educational and academic advancement of programs for the youth, and carry on other charitable and educational activities associated with these goals as allowed by law."[92]
Recipients of donations includeBenedict College,Morehouse College, and other universities.[93] The foundation has taken action against donation recipients who do not use funds in accordance with its mission statement, such as theAlbany State University, which was made to return a $3 million donation after not using the funds for over a decade.[94] The foundation houses its executive offices at the historic RPM International Building, originally the home of Ray Charles Enterprises and now also home to the Ray Charles Memorial Library on the first floor, which was founded on September 23, 2010 (what would have been his 80th birthday). The library was founded to "provide an avenue for young children to experience music and art in a way that will inspire their creativity and imagination", and is not open to the public without reservation, as the main goal is to educate mass groups of underprivileged youth and provide art and history to those without access to such documents.[95]
Charles stated in his 1978 autobiography,Brother Ray: Ray Charles' Own Story, that he became hooked on women after losing his virginity at 12 years old to a woman about 20. "Cigarettes and smack [heroin] are the two truly addictive habits I've known. You might add women," he said. "My obsession centers on women—did then [when young] and does now. I can't leave them alone," he added.[96]
Charles was married twice. His first marriage lasted less than a year, his second 22 years. Throughout his life, Charles had many relationships with women, and he fathered a dozen children.
Charles was married to his first wife, Eileen Williams, from July 31, 1951 until sometime in 1952.
He met his second wife, Della Beatrice Howard Robinson (called "Bea" by Charles), in Texas in 1954. They married the following year, on April 5, 1955. Their first child, Ray Charles Robinson Jr., was born in 1955. Charles was not in town for the birth because he was playing a show in Texas. The couple had two more sons, David and Robert. They raised their children inView Park, California.[97] Charles felt that his heroin addiction took a toll on Della during their marriage.[12] Due to his drug addiction, extramarital affairs on tours and volatile behavior, the marriage deteriorated and she filed for divorce in 1977.[98]
Charles had a six-year-long affair withMargie Hendrix, one of the original Raelettes, and in 1959 they had a son, Charles Wayne. His affair with Mae Mosley Lyles resulted in a daughter, Renee, born in 1961. In 1963, Charles had another daughter, Sheila Raye Charles, by Sandra Jean Betts. Sheila Raye, like her father, was a singer-songwriter; she died of breast cancer on June 15, 2017.[99] In 1977, Charles had a child with his Parisian lover, Arlette Kotchounian, whom he had met ten years earlier.[100] Charles' longtime girlfriend and partner at the time of his death was Norma Pinella.[101]
Charles fathered a total of 12 children with 10 different women:[102]
Evelyn Robinson, born in 1949 (daughter with Louise Flowers)
Ray Charles Robinson Jr., born May 25, 1955 (son with wife Della Bea Robinson)
David Robinson, born in 1958 (son with wife Della Bea Robinson)
Charles Wayne Hendricks, born on October 1, 1959 (son with Margie Hendricks, one of the Raelettes)[100]
Robert Robinson, born in 1960 (son with wife Della Bea Robinson)
Renee Robinson, born in 1961 (daughter with Mae Mosely Lyles)
Sheila Robinson, born in 1963 (daughter with Sandra Jean Betts)
Reatha Butler, born in 1966
Alexandra Bertrand, born in 1968 (daughter with Mary-Chantal Bertrand)
Vincent Kotchounian, born in 1977 (son with Arlette Kotchounian)
Robyn Moffett, born in 1978 (daughter with Gloria Moffett)
Ryan Corey Robinson den Bok, born in 1987 (son with Mary Anne den Bok)[98]
Charles held a family luncheon for his 12 children in 2002, 10 of whom attended. He told them he was terminally ill and that $500,000 had been placed in trusts for each of them, to be paid out over the next five years.[102][103]
At 18, Charles first triedmarijuana when he played in McSon Trio and was eager to try it as he thought it helped musicians create music and tap into theircreativity. He later became addicted toheroin for seventeen years.[96] Charles was first arrested in 1955, when he and his bandmates were caught backstage with loose marijuana and drug paraphernalia, including a burnt spoon, syringe, and needle. The arrest did not deter his drug use, which only escalated as he became more successful and made more money.[28]
In 1958, Charles was arrested on aHarlem street corner for possession of narcotics and equipment for administering heroin.[104]
Charles was arrested on anarcotics charge on November 14, 1961, while waiting in an Indiana hotel room before a performance. The detectives seized heroin, marijuana, and other items.[105] Charles, then 31, said he had been a drug addict since the age of 16. The case was dismissed because of the manner in which the evidence was obtained,[106] but Charles' situation did not improve until a few years later.
OnHalloween 1964, Charles was arrested for possession of heroin atBoston'sLogan Airport.[48] He decided to quit heroin and entered St. Francis Hospital inLynwood, California, where he endured four days ofcold turkey withdrawal. Following his self-imposed stay, he pleaded guilty to four narcotic charges. Prosecutors called for two years in prison and a hefty fine, but the judge listened to Charles' psychiatrist, Dr. Hacker's account of Charles' determination to get off drugs and he was sent toMcLean Hospital inBelmont, Massachusetts.[107] The judge offered to postpone the verdict for a year if Charles agreed to undergo regular examinations by government-appointed physicians. When Charles returned to court, he received a five-yearsuspended sentence, four years of probation, and a fine of $10,000.[108]
Charles enjoyed playing chess. As part of his therapy when he quit heroin, he met with psychiatristFriedrich Hacker [de], who taught him how to play chess.[108] He used a special board with raised squares and holes for the pieces. When questioned if people try to cheat against a blind man, he joked in reply, "You can't cheat in Chess... I'm gonna see that!"[111] In a 1991 concert, he referred toWillie Nelson as "my chess partner".[112] In 2002, he played and lost to the Americangrandmaster and former U.S. championLarry Evans. When Evans complimented him for spotting a tactical trap he had set, Charles replied "Come on man, I play bad, but notthat bad!"[113]
Charles' discography is highly complex and extensive.AllMusic has listed approximately 60 original albums and more than 200 compilation albums, while music essayistRobert Christgau noted the existence of more. At least 20 record labels have released near-identical compilations of Charles' pre-Atlantic Records tracks, while many of themasters that Charles began to own after 1960 were not digitally reissued, leading the Atlantic sister labelRhino Entertainment to focus on rereleasing his mid-to-late 1950s music. Christgau has called Charles' discography a "monumental mess" and that "any map of his oeuvre must be personal and provisional".[117]
^abcAccording toBlues: A Regional Experience, based on the authors' interpretation of 1935 Florida census information, he was born Horace Charles Robinson in Greenville, Florida. However, most other reliable sources give his birth name as Ray Charles Robinson, and his birthplace as Dougherty County, Georgia. It has been suggested that there has been a misinterpretation and that Horace Charles Robinson was in fact a half-brother.[1]
^D'Angelo, Joe; Alyssa Rashbaum (June 10, 2004)."Ray Charles Dead at 73".mtv.com. Archived fromthe original on October 12, 2013. RetrievedJanuary 1, 2012.
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