As a rock and roll, rhythm & blues, soul, blues, jazz, country and pop musician he helped to shape the sound of rhythm & blues.
He brought a soulful sound to everything from country music ("I Can't Stop Loving You") to rock and roll ("Mess Around"), to pop standards to a now-iconic rendition of "America the Beautiful." Frank Sinatra called him "the only genius in the business."
Ray Charles was born in Albany, Georgia on September 23, 1930. He was the son of Aretha Williams, a share cropper, and Bailey Robinson, a railroad repair man, mechanic and handyman. The two were never married. The family moved to Greenville, Florida, when Ray was an infant. Bailey had three more families, leaving Aretha to raise the family on her own.
Ray Charles was not born blind. He started to lose his sight somewhere at the age of five. He was rendered totally blind by the age of seven. Charles never knew exactly why he lost his sight, though there are sources that suggest his blindness was due to glaucoma, and some other sources suggest that Ray began to lose his sight from an infection caused by soapy water to his eyes which was left untreated. He attended school at the Florida School for the Deaf and the Blind in St. Augustine, Florida from 1937-1945 where he developed his musical gift that he is known and remembered for today. His father died when he was ten, followed by his mother five years later.
In school, he was taught only classical music, but he wanted to play what he heard on the radio, jazz and blues. After his mother died, Charles did not return to school. He lived in Jacksonville with a couple who were friends of his mother. For over a year, he played the piano for bands at the Ritz Theatre in LaVilla, earning $4 a night. Charles moved to Orlando, then Tampa, where he played "with a hillbilly band called The Florida Playboys." This is where Charles began his reputation of always wearing sunglasses that were made by designer Billy Stickles.
Charles had always played for other people, but he wanted a band that was his own. He decided to leave Florida for a large city, but Chicago and New York City were too big. He moved to Seattle in 1947 and soon started recording, first for the label Swing Time Records, achieving his first hit with the 1949 "Confession Blues". The song soared to #2 on the R&B charts. He followed his first recording with his only other hit with Swingtime, "Baby, Let Me Hold Your Hand" in 1951. It hit #5 on the R&B charts. He then signed with Ahmet Ertegün at Atlantic Records a year later. When he entered show business, his name was shortened to Ray Charles to avoid confusion with boxer Sugar Ray Robinson.
Breakthrough period with Atlantic Records
Almost immediately after signing with Atlantic, Charles scored his first hit singles with the label with "It Should Have Been Me" and the Ertegün-composed "Mess Around", both making the charts in 1953. But it was Charles' "I Got A Woman" (composed with band mate Renald Richard) that brought the musician to national prominence.
The song reached the top of Billboard's R&B singles chart in 1955 and from there until 1959, Charles would have a series of R&B chart-toppers including "This Little Girl of Mine", "Lonely Avenue", "Mary Ann", "Drown in My Own Tears" and "The Night Time (Is the Right Time)", which were compiled on his Atlantic releases Hallelujah, I Love Her So, Yes Indeed!, and The Genius Sings the Blues. Charles was often cited for using his voice like a saxophone, most notably by the prominent critic Victor Bollo. During this time of transition, he recruited a young girl group from Philadelphia named The Cookies as his background singing group, recording with them in New York and changing their name to the Raelettes in the process.
Crossover success
In 1959, Charles crossed over to top 40 radio with the release of his impromptu blues number, "What'd I Say", which was initially conceived while Charles was in concert. The song would reach number 1 on the R&B list and would become Charles' first top ten single on the pop charts, peaking at number 6. Charles would also record The Genius of Ray Charles, before leaving Atlantic for a more lucrative deal with ABC Records in 1959.
Hit songs such as "Georgia On My Mind" (US #1), "Hit the Road Jack" (US #1) and "Unchain My Heart" (US #9) helped him transition to pop success and his landmark 1962 album, Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music and its sequel Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music, Vol. 2, helped to bring country into the mainstream of music. He also had major pop hits in 1963 with "Busted" (US #4) and "Take These Chains From My Heart" (US #8), and also scoring a Top 20 hit four years later, in 1967, with "Here We Go Again" (US #15) (which would later be duetted with Norah Jones in 2004).
Later years
In 1965, Charles was arrested for possession of heroin, a drug to which he had been addicted for nearly 20 years. It was his third arrest for the offence, but he avoided jail time after kicking the habit in a clinic in Los Angeles. He spent a year on parole in 1966, when his single "Crying Time" reached #6 on the charts.
During the late 1960s and into the 1970s, Charles' releases were hit-or-miss, with some big hits and critically acclaimed work. His version of "Georgia On My Mind" was proclaimed the state song of Georgia on April 24, 1979, with Charles performing it on the floor of the state legislature. He also had success with his unique version of "America the Beautiful."
In November 1977 Charles appeared as the host of NBC's Saturday Night Live. In the 1980s a number of other events increased Charles' recognition among young audiences. He made a cameo appearance in the popular 1980 film The Blues Brothers. In 1985, "The Right Time" was featured in the episode "Happy Anniversary" of The Cosby Show on NBC. The next year in 1986, he sang America The Beautiful at Wrestlemania 2. In a Pepsi Cola commercial of the early 1990s, Charles popularized the catchphrase "You Got the Right One, Baby!" plus he helped in the song "We Are the World" a touching song for USA for Africa.
Despite his support of Martin Luther King, Jr. in the 1960s and his support for the American Civil Rights Movement, Charles courted controversy when he toured South Africa in 1981, during an international boycott of the country because of its apartheid policy.
Charles recorded a cover version of the Japanese band Southern All Stars' song "Itoshi no Ellie" as "Ellie My Love" for a Suntory TV advertisement, reaching #3 on Japan's Oricon chart. Eventually, it sold more than 400,000 copies, and became that year's best-selling single performed by a Western artist for the Japanese music market.
Besides winning 17 Grammy Awards in his career (include five posthumous ones), Charles was also honored in many other ways. In 1979, he was one of the first honorees of the Georgia State Music Hall of Fame being recognized for being a musician born in the state. Ray's version of "Georgia On My Mind" was made into the official state song for Georgia. In 1981, he was given a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and was one of the first inductees to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame at its inaugural ceremony in 1986. He received the Kennedy Center Honors in 1986. In 1987, he was awarded the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. In 1991, he was inducted to the Rhythm & Blues Foundation. In 1998 he was awarded the Polar Music Prize together with Ravi Shankar in Stockholm, Sweden. In 2004 he was inducted to the Jazz Hall of Fame, and inducted to the National Black Sports & Entertainment Hall of Fame. Also in 2004, Rolling Stone Magazine ranked him #10 on their list of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time.
The Grammy Awards of 2005 were dedicated to Charles.
On December 7, 2007, Ray Charles Plaza was opened in Albany, Georgia, with a revolving, lighted bronze sculpture of Charles seated at a piano.
On December 26, 2007, Ray Charles was inducted into the Hit Parade Hall of Fame.
Ray Charles Post Office Building
In 2005, the U.S. postal facility located at 4960 W. Washington Blvd., in Los Angeles, California, was designated the Ray Charles Post Office Building.
On August 24, 2005, the United States Congress honored Charles by dedicating and renaming the former West Adams Station post office in Los Angeles the "Ray Charles Station".
Charles has also appeared at two Presidential inaugurations in his lifetime. In 1985, he performed for Ronald Reagan's second inauguration, and in 1993 performed for Bill Clinton's first inauguration.
In the late '80s and early '90s, Charles made appearances on The Super Dave Osbourne Show, where he performed and appeared in a few vignettes where he was somehow driving a car, often as Super Dave's chauffeur. At the height of his newfound fame in the early nineties, Charles did guest vocals for quite a few projects. He also appeared (with Chaka Khan) on long time friend Quincy Jones' hit "I'll Be Good to You" in 1990, from Jones' album Back on the Block.
Following Jim Henson's death in 1990, Ray Charles appeared in the one-hour CBS tribute, The Muppets Celebrate Jim Henson. He gave a short speech about the deceased, stating that Henson "took a simple song and a piece of felt and turned it into a moment of great power". Charles was referring to the song "It's Not Easy Being Green", which Charles later performed with the rest of the Muppet cast in a tribute to Henson's legacy.
During the sixth season of Designing Women, Ray Charles vocally performed "Georgia On My Mind", rather than the song being rendered by other musicians without lyrics as in the previous five seasons
During his life he received eight honorary doctorates, the last from Dillard University in New Orleans in 2003. Later that same year, he performed his 10,000th career concert at the Greek Theater in Los Angeles.
Charles finalized "Genius Loves Company" a duets album in 2004, which posthumously became the best selling album of his career. Norah Jones, B.B. King, Willie Nelson, Michael McDonald, Bonnie Raitt, Gladys Knight, Johnny Mathis and James Taylor are just a few of the notable artists involved with the project.
Charles was awarded the prestigious "President's Merit Award" from the Grammy(r) organization and was named a City of Los Angeles "Cultural Treasure" by LA Mayor James Hahn during "African American Heritage Month" in a ceremony that he attended. He also received the NAACP Image Awards' "Hall of Fame Award."
Charles died in July 2004 in California. Three months later, his biopic "Ray" opened in theaters. The performance of Jamie Foxx as Ray gave him an Oscar for best lead performance in a feature film.
Recently, a series of slot machines were designed in Charles' name for the visually handicapped and the legendary performer was also named a "living legend" by the Library of Congress.
Charles once told an interviewer from USA Today, "Music to me is just like breathing. I have to have it. It's part of me."
But On the Other Hand Baby
Ray Charles Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
You know I'm hooked for you mama
That's why you sling your weight around
You Know I'm hooked for you mama
That's why you sling your weight around
Little Girl I'll never put you down
[2nd Verse]
You argue when I leave for work
You argue when I get home
Everything I try to do for you
You always say that I'm wrong
I bring you home all my money
Except the little I keep for expense
And when I get home to you mama you always tell me
''Ray you ain't got nooo sense''
[Chorus]
But on the other hand baby
You I can understand
Ah, But when you put your loving arms around me honey
You make me forget about everything
[3rd Verse]
I think about the lousy way you treat me
Your always-raising sin
I know that you know that I know
That you've got another man
Ah, Half the time that I'm at home
I have to go to a café and eat
And when you argue all night long
I have to go down to the den and sleep
[Chorus]
But on the other hand baby
Your loving eases all my pain
And when you put your loving arms around me honey
You make old Ray forget about everything
written by J. Dean [London UK]
In Ray Charles's song 'But On the Other Hand Baby', the lyrics depict an emotionally complex relationship between the singer and his lover. The singer is undoubtedly attached to his lover, even though she 'sling[s] [her] weight around' and argues with him all the time - both when he leaves for work and returns home. However, the singer loves her, no matter how much she bickers, and he continues to bring home all his money to her, except for some for expenses. Even when he gets home, she tells him that he has no sense. Despite all this, when she embraces him, her love helps him forget all his problems and the way she treats him.
The third verse introduces another layer to this relationship, as the singer reveals that he knows his lover, who always argues with him, is seeing another man. Half the time when he's at home, he has to leave to eat at a café because of her. He also has to go down to the den and sleep when she argues with him all night. The singer seems to be in a love-hate relationship with his lover, as he acknowledges the terrible way she treats him, but still sticks around because her love can ease his pain.
Line by Line Meaning
You know I'm hooked for you mama
You are aware that I am deeply in love with you, my dear.
That's why you sling your weight around
You take advantage of my love for you, which is why you behave recklessly.
But as long as your lovin' beats your hoggin'
As long as your love for me is greater than your selfishness, I will always stay by your side.
Little girl I'll never put you down
I will always support you and never leave you, even when times are tough.
You argue when I leave for work
You start arguments when I leave to go to work.
You argue when I get home
You continue the arguments when I come back home.
Everything I try to do for you
My efforts to do things for you and our relationship are met with resistance.
You always say that I'm wrong
You constantly criticize me and make me feel inadequate.
I bring you home all my money
I give you all the money I earn.
Except the little I keep for expense
I only keep a small amount for my personal expenses.
And when I get home to you mama you always tell me 'Ray you ain't got nooo sense'
When I come back home to you, you insult me and make me feel worthless.
But on the other hand baby
Despite your negative behavior, there is another side to you.
You I can understand
I am able to empathize with you and your struggles.
Ah, But when you put your loving arms around me honey
However, when you show me affection and care, everything else fades away.
You make me forget about everything
Your love has the power to make me forget about all the problems and challenges we face.
I think about the lousy way you treat me
I reflect on the poor treatment I receive from you.
Your always-raising sin
Your constant nagging and arguing causes me great distress.
I know that you know that I know
I am aware that you are aware that I know about your infidelity.
That you've got another man
You have another man in your life.
Ah, Half the time that I'm at home
Most of the time when I am at home.
I have to go to a café and eat
I have to go out to eat since you do not provide for me.
And when you argue all night long
When you spend the whole night arguing with me.
I have to go down to the den and sleep
I have to sleep in the den to escape from the incessant arguments.
But on the other hand baby
Despite all of this, there is still a positive aspect to our relationship.
Your loving eases all my pain
Your love has the power to ease all the emotional pain I experience.
And when you put your loving arms around me honey
Your affectionate embrace has a comforting effect on me.
You make old Ray forget about everything
Your love has the ability to make me forget about all the negative aspects of our relationship.
Lyrics © Peermusic Publishing
Written by: PERCY MAYFIELD, RAY CHARLES
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind