It was at Atlantic Records that Ray Charles truly found his voice, consolidating the gains of recent years and then some with "I Got a Woman," a number-two R&B hit in 1955. In the early '50s, Charles' sound started to toughen as he toured with Lowell Fulson, went to New Orleans to work with Guitar Slim (playing piano on and arranging Slim's huge R&B hit, "The Things That I Used to Do"), and got a band together for R&B star Ruth Brown. Charles' first recordings came in for their fair share of criticism, as they were much milder and less original than the classics that would follow, although they're actually fairly enjoyable, showing strong hints of the skills that were to flower in a few years. He got his first Top Ten R&B hit with "Baby, Let Me Hold Your Hand" in 1951. By the late '40s, he was recording in a smooth pop/R&B style derivative of Nat "King" Cole and Charles Brown. His parents had died by his early teens, and he worked as a musician in Florida for a while before using his savings to move to Seattle in 1947. Augustine School for the Deaf and the Blind. The brilliance of his 1950s and '60s work, however, can't obscure the fact that he made few classic tracks after the mid-'60s, though he recorded often and performed until the year before his death.īlind since the age of six (from glaucoma), Charles studied composition and learned many instruments at the St. He was also a superb keyboard player, arranger, and bandleader. Then there was his singing his style was among the most emotional and easily identifiable of any 20th century performer, up there with the likes of Elvis and Billie Holiday. Singers like Sam Cooke and Jackie Wilson also did a great deal to pioneer the form, but Charles did even more to devise a new form of black pop by merging '50s R&B with gospel-powered vocals, adding plenty of flavor from contemporary jazz, blues, and (in the '60s) country. His quote, “There is no challenge too great one cannot overcome” is sitting comfortably front-and-center on the official website.įrom pioneering the soul-sound to giving back and warming the soul, Ray Charles was unlike anyone else.Ray Charles was the musician most responsible for developing soul music. The Ray Charles Foundation was founded shortly after his death. Ray Charles founded The Robinson Foundation for Hearing Disorders Inc. Zella Palmer, the program’s director and chair said the program is committed “to continue to build on Ray Charles’ vision and mission to celebrate, preserve and document African-American material culture.” The grant supports the Ray Charles Program in African-American Material Culture, which also launched a food studies minor. It will also support the broader program focused on African-American culture. The money will go toward a scholarship in food studies. According to NOLA, Dillard University just received $1 million from the Ray Charles Foundation. His incredible legacy continues to live on as well. Video can’t be loaded because JavaScript is disabled: The Blues Brothers (1980) – Shake a Tail Feather Scene (4/9) | Movieclips () Ray Charles Giving Back