Ray Charles Accomplishments

Ray Charles, was one of the greatest composers. His music was different, but it was a unique kind of different. It made a person want to get up and dance because it had so much life in it. It was the dedication Ray had that he put it all into all his music. He had so much heart and in the music industry that’s all that is needed. How would, Ray Charles, music be describe? It’s said that it was soulful something that will never be forgotten. Ray took pride in making others feel good while listening to his music. A composer, son, friend, father, and a husband is what he was and his music still lives on. Ray Charles Robinson dropped the ending so people would not get confused with boxer Sugar Ray Robinson. Ray was born September 23, 1930 in
At school he received formal musical education. Learning how to read, write and arrange braille. He learned how to play piano, organ, sax, clarinet, and trumpet. His inspiration was great classical composers such as Chopin, Sibelius, Duke Ellington, and Count Basle. Ray loved it all to the sanctified soulfulness of gospel, to the secular emotional venting of blues. At age fifteen Ray lost his mother. Never using a cane or guide dog, Ray, left school and began touring the south on the chitin’ circuit with a number of dance bands. With the loss of sight and a new found love for heroin. He would not be denied and refused to give up. At just sixteen he met, Quincy Jones, who was only fourteen his self. He taught jones how to write music and arrange it.
“Quincy would wake me up at 9:00 am and say,” Ray said.
“Hey man, show me how to write,” said Quincy.
Ray said, “Do you know what time it is?”
Jones said, “I don’t care
Which were, Guitar Blues, Walkin’ and Talkin’ and Wonderin’ and Wonderin’. He had a recording contract in 1949 on Downbeat label. Ray and his trio (The Mason Trio) moved to Los Angeles. During 1950s the trio released several singles including (Baby let me hold your hand). This hit the U.S R&B charts. In 1952, Atlantic Records signed him to a contract. When he arranged and played piano on bluesman guitar. Slims recording of “The things that I used to do” which sold over more than a million copies. In 1994 he told San Jose mercury news, “When I start to sing like myself as opposed to imitating ,Nat Cole, which I had done for a while. When I started singing like, Ray Charles, it had this spiritual and churchy, this religious or gospel sound.” The real Ray Charles emerged in 1954 on a record called “I got a woman.” The record reached number one on the R&B charts in 1955. Ray Charles the man who combined the sacred and the secular, he combined gospel music and the blues. Ray had finally used the advice his mom had given him “just be