# Fame.am profile — machine-readable export
# Canonical URL: https://fame.am/person/ray-charles
# Generated: 2026-09-01T11:12:23.160Z

schema: https://schema.org/Person
url: "https://fame.am/person/ray-charles"
name: "Ray Charles"
slug: "ray-charles"
description: "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."
tagline: "American singer, pianist and songwriter (1930–2004)"
image: "https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:FilePath/Ray_Charles_classic_piano_pose.jpg"
gender: "male"
country:
  name: "United States"
  isoCode: "US"
category:
  name: "Musicians"
  slug: "musicians"
profileType:
  name: "Singer / Musician"
  slug: "singer"
  entityType: "https://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q177220"
birthDate: "1930-09-23"
deathDate: "2004-06-10"
livingStatus: "DECEASED"
scores:
  popularity:           79.2
  momentum:             0
  historical:           29.243724
  currentAttention:     0
  sourceConfidence:     90
  profileCompleteness:  90
  trendDirection:       "STABLE"
ranks:
  global:   null
  country:  null
  category: null
totalFollowers: 718000
tags:
  - name: "Musicians"
    slug: "musicians"
  - name: "Singer / Musician"
    slug: "singer-musician"
  - name: "Classical"
    slug: "classical"
  - name: "Singer-Songwriter"
    slug: "singer-songwriter"
  - name: "Esports"
    slug: "esports"
  - name: "Music"
    slug: "music"
  - name: "United States"
    slug: "united-states"
  - name: "Americas"
    slug: "americas"
platforms:
  - platform:  "INSTAGRAM"
    url:       "https://www.instagram.com/official.raycharles/"
    handle:    "official.raycharles"
  - platform:  "FACEBOOK"
    url:       "https://www.facebook.com/RayCharles"
    handle:    "RayCharles"
  - platform:  "IMDB"
    url:       "https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0153124/"
    handle:    "nm0153124"
  - platform:  "SPOTIFY"
    url:       "https://open.spotify.com/artist/1eYhYunlNJlDoQhtYBvPsi"
    handle:    "1eYhYunlNJlDoQhtYBvPsi"
  - platform:  "WEBSITE"
    url:       "https://raycharles.com/"
  - platform:  "YOUTUBE"
    url:       "https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCuDb3PN8JzDZLY-TUosFkgw"
    handle:    "@raycharlestv"
    followers: 718000
sources:
  - url: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ray_Charles"
    title: "Wikipedia"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q544387"
    title: "Wikidata"
    type:  "WIKIDATA"
  - url: "https://pantheon.world/profile/person/Ray%20Charles"
    title: "Pantheon 2.0"
    type:  "DATABASE"
  - url: "https://ami.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ray_Carles"
    title: "Ray Carles"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://an.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ray_Charles"
    title: "Ray Charles"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://ar.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D8%B1%D9%8A_%D8%AA%D8%B4%D8%A7%D8%B1%D9%84%D8%B2"
    title: "ري تشارلز"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://arz.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D8%B1%D9%89_%D8%AA%D8%B4%D8%A7%D8%B1%D9%84%D8%B2"
    title: "رى تشارلز"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://ast.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ray_Charles"
    title: "Ray Charles"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://azb.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D8%B1%DB%8C_%DA%86%D8%A7%D8%B1%D9%84%D8%B2"
    title: "ری چارلز"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://az.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rey_%C3%87arlz"
    title: "Rey Çarlz"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://be_x_old.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%A0%D1%8D%D0%B9_%D0%A7%D0%B0%D1%80%D0%BB%D0%B7"
    title: "Рэй Чарлз"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://be.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%A0%D1%8D%D0%B9_%D0%A7%D0%B0%D1%80%D0%BB%D0%B7"
    title: "Рэй Чарлз"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://bg.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%A0%D0%B5%D0%B9_%D0%A7%D0%B0%D1%80%D0%BB%D1%81"
    title: "Рей Чарлс"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://br.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ray_Charles"
    title: "Ray Charles"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://ca.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ray_Charles"
    title: "Ray Charles"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://cs.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ray_Charles"
    title: "Ray Charles"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://cv.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%A0%D1%8D%D0%B9_%D0%A7%D0%B0%D1%80%D0%BB%D1%8C%D0%B7"
    title: "Рэй Чарльз"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://cy.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ray_Charles"
    title: "Ray Charles"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://da.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ray_Charles"
    title: "Ray Charles"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ray_Charles"
    title: "Ray Charles"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://el.wikipedia.org/wiki/%CE%A1%CE%AD%CE%B9_%CE%A4%CF%83%CE%B1%CF%81%CE%BB%CF%82"
    title: "Ρέι Τσαρλς"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://eo.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ray_Charles"
    title: "Ray Charles"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ray_Charles"
    title: "Ray Charles"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://et.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ray_Charles"
    title: "Ray Charles"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://eu.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ray_Charles"
    title: "Ray Charles"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://bg.wikiquote.org/wiki/%D0%A0%D0%B5%D0%B9_%D0%A7%D0%B0%D1%80%D0%BB%D1%81"
    title: "Wikiquote"
    type:  "WEBSITE"
  - url: "https://ca.wikiquote.org/wiki/Ray_Charles"
    title: "Wikiquote"
    type:  "WEBSITE"
  - url: "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Ray_Charles"
    title: "Wikiquote"
    type:  "WEBSITE"
  - url: "https://es.wikiquote.org/wiki/Ray_Charles"
    title: "Wikiquote"
    type:  "WEBSITE"
  - url: "https://musicbrainz.org/artist/2ce02909-598b-44ef-a456-151ba0a3bd70"
    title: "MusicBrainz"
    type:  "DATABASE"

# bio (long form, separated for readability)
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.