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Ray Charles was born on 9/23/1930
in Albany, Georgia to Bailey and Aretha Robinson, but moved to
Greenville, Florida as an infant.
At age 7, Ray went completely blind and was sent to Perkins school for the blind in St. Augustine,Florida. There he learned to arrange music in braille, and mastered five instruments. He played everything from gospel to blues, to country.
At the age of 16, Ray Charles moved to Seattle. There, he met Quincy Jones. Charles performed with the McSon Trio in the 1940's. Ray's music was majorly impacted by the work of Charles Brown and Nat King Cole. 3 years later Ray released his first single, "Confession Blues."
On June 10, 2004 Charles died from liver disease at his home in Beverly Hills, California. During his lifetime he recorded more than 60 albums and performed more than 10,000 concerts. Charles' final album "Genius Loves Company" released 2 months after his death. Ray was one of the most recognized artists ever, and his music still lives on today.
Ray Charles gained fame throughout America, and in 1960 won his first Grammy Award for his hit single "Georgia on My Mind." But sadly got into drugs 5 years later in1965, but luckily avoided jail since he quit the habit at a clinic in L.A.
Charles continued to release songs
through the 60's and 70's, but they were hit-or-miss. Charles later appeared on T.V. shows, infomercials, and several commercials for coke-a-cola and other companies. In 1980 Ray was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.