Ray Charles

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, a…