# Ray Charles

> He fused gospel ecstasy with blues grit and called it soul, then crossed every line the industry had drawn - recording country standards with strings, holding out for artistic control when black musicians were still sidemen, and proving that a blind pianist from the South could rewrite American music on his own terms.

*American singer, pianist and songwriter (1930-2004)*

**Canonical URL:** https://fame.am/person/ray-charles

## Identity
- **Profile type:** Singer / Musician ([Wikidata](https://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q177220))
- **Category:** Musicians
- **Country:** United States
- **Born:** 1930-09-23
- **Died:** 2004-06-10
- **Status:** deceased
- **Gender:** male

## Bio

Ray Charles Robinson lost his vision as a child, possibly to glaucoma, and grew up wearing dark glasses that became a signature. In the 1950s at Atlantic Records he pioneered soul by braiding blues, jazz, rhythm and blues, and gospel into something new. The 1960s brought crossover: he signed with ABC Records, became one of the first black musicians granted artistic control by a mainstream label, and released Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music in 1962 - a country-and-strings gamble that topped the Billboard 200. "Georgia on My Mind" hit No. 1 in 1960, the first of three chart-toppers, and over his career he landed 61 singles on the US R&B chart, 33 on the Hot 100, and eight on Hot Country. Frank Sinatra called him "the only true genius in show business"; Billy Joel said he mattered more than Elvis. He died June 10, 2004, with 17 Grammys, a Kennedy Center Honor, and a permanent seat in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

## Fame
- **Popularity score:** 80.6 / 100
- **Momentum:** 0.9 / 100  (trend: FALLING)
- **Historical depth:** 34.8 / 100
- **Attention shift:** 0.0 / 100
- **Source confidence:** 90.0 / 100
- **Profile completeness:** 90.0 / 100
- **Total followers across platforms:** 739,000

## Platforms
- **INSTAGRAM**: https://www.instagram.com/official.raycharles/ (@official.raycharles)
- **FACEBOOK**: https://www.facebook.com/RayCharles (@RayCharles)
- **IMDB**: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0153124/ (@nm0153124)
- **SPOTIFY**: https://open.spotify.com/artist/1eYhYunlNJlDoQhtYBvPsi (@1eYhYunlNJlDoQhtYBvPsi)
- **WEBSITE**: https://raycharles.com/
- **YOUTUBE**: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCuDb3PN8JzDZLY-TUosFkgw (@@raycharlestv, 739,000 followers)

## Topics
#Musicians, #Singer / Musician, #Classical, #Singer-Songwriter, #Esports, #Music, #United States, #Americas

## Timeline
- **2019** - Blues Hall of Fame
- **2004** - Died
- **1998** - Polar Music Prize
- **1993** - lifetime achievement award
- **1992** - Florida Artists Hall of Fame
- **1989** - Porgy & Bess
- **1988** - Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award
- **1986** - Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
- **1986** - Commandeur des Arts et des Lettres‎
- **1981** - star on Hollywood Walk of Fame
- **1930** - Born

## Sources
- [Ray Charles](https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ray_Charles)
- [Ray Charles](https://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ray_Charles)
- [Ray Charles](https://pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ray_Charles)
- [Рэй Чарльз](https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%A0%D1%8D%D0%B9_%D0%A7%D0%B0%D1%80%D0%BB%D1%8C%D0%B7)
- [レイ・チャールズ](https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E3%83%AC%E3%82%A4%E3%83%BB%E3%83%81%E3%83%A3%E3%83%BC%E3%83%AB%E3%82%BA)
- [雷·查尔斯](https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E9%9B%B7%C2%B7%E6%9F%A5%E5%B0%94%E6%96%AF)
- [Ray Charles](https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ray_Charles)
- [Ray Charles](https://pt.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ray_Charles)
- [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ray_Charles)
- [Wikidata](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q544387)
- [Pantheon 2.0](https://pantheon.world/profile/person/Ray%20Charles)
- [Рэй Чарлз](https://be.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%A0%D1%8D%D0%B9_%D0%A7%D0%B0%D1%80%D0%BB%D0%B7)
- [Рей Чарлс](https://bg.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%A0%D0%B5%D0%B9_%D0%A7%D0%B0%D1%80%D0%BB%D1%81)
- [Ray Charles](https://br.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ray_Charles)
- [Ray Charles](https://ca.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ray_Charles)
- [ڕای چارلز](https://ckb.wikipedia.org/wiki/%DA%95%D8%A7%DB%8C_%DA%86%D8%A7%D8%B1%D9%84%D8%B2)
- [Ray Charles](https://cs.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ray_Charles)
- [Рэй Чарльз](https://cv.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%A0%D1%8D%D0%B9_%D0%A7%D0%B0%D1%80%D0%BB%D1%8C%D0%B7)
- [Ray Charles](https://cy.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ray_Charles)
- [Ray Charles](https://da.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ray_Charles)
- [Ray Charles](https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ray_Charles)
- [Ρέι Τσαρλς](https://el.wikipedia.org/wiki/%CE%A1%CE%AD%CE%B9_%CE%A4%CF%83%CE%B1%CF%81%CE%BB%CF%82)
- [Ray Charles](https://eo.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ray_Charles)
- [Ray Charles](https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ray_Charles)
- [Ray Charles](https://et.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ray_Charles)
- [Ray Charles](https://eu.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ray_Charles)
- [Wikiquote](https://bg.wikiquote.org/wiki/%D0%A0%D0%B5%D0%B9_%D0%A7%D0%B0%D1%80%D0%BB%D1%81)
- [Wikiquote](https://ca.wikiquote.org/wiki/Ray_Charles)
- [Wikiquote](https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Ray_Charles)
- [Wikiquote](https://es.wikiquote.org/wiki/Ray_Charles)

---
Generated by Fame.am · https://fame.am/person/ray-charles