Having lost his sight and both of his parents at an early age, he became an incredible showman who always appeared to smile and exuberantly engage with his audience. He brought joy to the stage with every performance.

Ray Charles Robinson Sr. was an American singer, songwriter, and pianist who was born in Albany, Georgia in 1930. He is regarded as one of the most iconic and influential singers in history, and was often referred to by contemporaries as “The Genius”. Charles was blinded during childhood, possibly due to glaucoma 1. He pioneered the soul music genre during the 1950s by combining blues, jazz, rhythm and blues, and gospel styles into the music he recorded for Atlantic Records. Charles contributed to the integration of country music, rhythm and blues, and pop music during the 1960s with his crossover success on ABC Records, notably with his two Modern Sounds albums. While he was with ABC, Charles became one of the first black musicians to be granted artistic control by a mainstream record company. Charles’s 1960 hit “Georgia on My Mind” was the first of his three career No. hits on the Billboard Hot 100 1. For his musical contributions, Charles received the Kennedy Center Honors, the National Medal of Arts, and the Polar Music Prize. He was one of the inaugural inductees at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1986. Charles has won 18 Grammy Awards (five posthumously), the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 1987, and 10 of his recordings have been inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame. His music continues to inspire and influence musicians today.
- (en.wikipedia.org; britannica.com; pbs.org)