At what is now considered to be an "historic" recording session, he merged gospel with blues in a secular version of the old gospel tune "My Jesus Is All the World to Me." His recording of "I Got a Woman" subsequently caught on, and his first really big hit record, "Georgia on My Mind" in 1959, won a Grammy Award. In 1954, he formed his own band and put his sound on record. Moving to the west coast "around 1950," Charles worked as a singer-pianist-arranger and began to absorb the influences that eventually formed the basis of his own uninhibited style. He also taught himself to arrange and compose music, both in Braille and by singing the parts to a musician who would write them down. Augustine's he went on to working with "traveling hillbilly bands" and rhythm and blues combinations throughout the South as pianist, clarinetist, and saxophonist. He discovered mathematics and its correlation to music and learned to compose and arrange music in his head. Augustine (FL) School foR&Blind, a state institution where he learned to read in Braille, to play the piano and clarinet and to m orize music. He lost his sight completely within two years and was placed in the St. When Charles was a small child, his family moved to Greenville, FL, where at the age of five, he started to go blind as a result of glaucoma. He has been successful with ballads, blues, gospel music, rock 'n' roll, and Broadway show tunes and still remains true to a tradition rooted in the blues, spirituals, and Baptist gospel music of the Deep South. He commands a huge and widely diversified audience ranging from adolescents to foreign jazz connoisseurs and critics, primarily because he started in rhythm and blues, moved on into jazz, and then entered popular music. He performs with a gospel fervor that brings to his concerts the atmosphere of a revival meeting. He not only defined modern soul music but also helped escape country music and influenced dozens of rock singers. Ray Charles, singer, pianist, saxophonist, composer, and band leader, is a towering figure in popular music. These are some of the components of the phenomenon known as Ray Charles. The hoarse voice, the wide smile, the dark glasses, and the music that can pierce a soul or rock a full house - a sound that evolved from the foot-stomping, storefront flavor that revolutionized American popular music between 19 and continues to be a major influence. (Born September 23, 1930, Albany, Georgia Died June 10, 2004)
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