Nickname: Genius
Genre: Soul / Blues
Most Memorable Recording: Georgia On My Mind
Followers: Taylor Hicks, Prakash John, Cowboy Troy, Speer, Laura Burgo, Lisa Meri, The Big DooWopper, Mary Thornton, Meja, Antonella Bucci, Rick Iantosca, Chuck Strong, Ruben Rada, Stevie Wonder, Tommy Tucker, David "Fathead" Newman, Van Morrison, Ron Levy, Don "Sugarcane" Harris, Eric Gale, Doyle Bramhall, Johnny Adams, Jamie Foxx, Airto Moreira, Geno Washington, Domenic Troiano, Stone the Crows, Mickey Baker, Dick Wellstood, Joe Williams, Marlena Shaw, Tom Scott, Esther Phillips, Arthur Blythe, Ran Blake, Steve Winwood, Steely Dan, Otis Redding, Zoot Money, Frankie Miller, Billy Joel, Michael Jackson, James Ingram, The Honeydrippers, Georgie Fame, The Everly Brothers, Sugar Pie DeSanto, Tyrone Davis, The Spencer Davis Group, Marc Cohn, Joe Cocker, Alex Chilton, James Brown, The Box Tops, Chuck Berry, The Animals, Arthur Alexander, Charlie Rich, Ronnie Milsap, Snooks Eaglin
Heaven and earth battle it out in the music of Ray Charles, who combined gospel with the best of secular music and helped give birth to soul, rock, and hard bop. His early work showed the silky influences of the Nat "King" Cole trio and the piano blues great Charles Brown. Charles combined their sophisticated styles with R&B and gritty gospel to create his signature sound: hard, snappy piano combined with exquisite vocals that fall somewhere between a preacher gone bad and a yearning romantic balladeer. Charles absorbed styles like a sponge: big band jazz, country and pop were all added to his musical arsenal, and he built up a musical empire that kept him in the public eye for decades up until his untimely death, at the age of 73, in June 2004. Just prior to his passing, Charles cut his first duets record with such fans as Norah Jones, Willie Nelson, and Elton John, which illustrates a multi-generational sampling of the artists who list him as a prime influence. An American institution, Ray Charles' rendition of "Georgia on My Mind" has even become that state's anthem. If only the other 49 states could be as fortunate.
