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."
Game Number Nine
Ray Charles Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
My line was gettin' rusty
So I thought I'd try Game Number Nine
'Cause it had always been my trusty...You see...
Game Number Nine was the one where I'd smile
And said some real clever things
Like..."Where you been girl all of my life,
Now Game Number Nine had never failed me
It was tried, tested and true
And Game Number Nine was in action
As I worked my game on you...Like this...
Now girl I don't mean no harm...But you know...
You seemed kind of dumb at first
And I thought a Nine just might be too strong
You giggled and smiled and you didn't talk too much
But I knew that wasn't gon' last too long
You started asking me about my employment
And did I have any traveling plans
And where did I spend most of my nights
'Cause you were lookin' for a full time man
And there was so many things in life that you'd always wanted to do
And of course a man with my intelligence it seemed to fit right nice with you
Ah, you like that?
Now girl, remember...
Before to long you started askin' me about a pretty little ring you saw
And I found myself downtown one day walking towards the jewelry store
I said to the man "Hey!...I just want to look, 'cause I ain't ready to buy"
And uh, just then you walked up behind me and you said
"Can I please try it on for size?"
Now it seemed like only yesterday
That I worked Number Nine so sweet
But it didn't turn out the way I planned it
As I went down in defeat
Oh I was scared...Oh, Oh
Looka here...
Now Nine had always been my best shot
All my partners said it was tough
They all knew about my Magic Nine
But it was hard to copy my stuff
Now maybe you can tell me honey
Uh, just where Number Nine was weak
Come on baby tell me, uh, before we go to sleep
Now darling, I ain't lost a Game of Nine
Since the year can remember when
As I turned out the light you whispered to me...
"I used a Number Ten"
Yea you did, you know you did
Ah hah, oh yea...
In Ray Charles's "Game Number Nine," the singer is relaying a story of trying to win over a girl through his charm and wit using a strategy he calls Game Number Nine. This strategy involves saying clever things and asking strategic questions to get the girl interested in him. However, as the story unfolds, the girl begins to ask more pointed questions about the singer's life and desires, and he becomes flustered and nervous. Eventually, the girl reveals that she used a different strategy, a more effective one, to win him over, and the singer is left in disbelief.
Line by Line Meaning
I said to my self late one night
I contemplated in the wee hours of the night
My line was gettin' rusty
My pick-up line was becoming obsolete
So I thought I'd try Game Number Nine
I decided to employ my go-to technique, Game Number Nine
'Cause it had always been my trusty...You see...
Because it had never let me down...if you catch my drift
Game Number Nine was the one where I'd smile
Game Number Nine was my most effective method
And said some real clever things
I had some smooth lines ready to charm the ladies
Like...'Where you been girl all of my life,
I would ask questions like 'Where have you been all my life?'
Hey!...You ought to hear me sing'
I would even show off my musical talent to impress them
Now Game Number Nine had never failed me
My trust in Game Number Nine was unwavering
It was tried, tested and true
It had been proven to be effective time and time again
And Game Number Nine was in action
I was executing Game Number Nine flawlessly
As I worked my game on you...Like this...
As I used my strategy on you...let me show you
Now girl I don't mean no harm...But you know...
I mean no offense, but you were acting a little clueless
You seemed kind of dumb at first
You appeared to not catch on right away
And I thought a Nine just might be too strong
I had doubts that my usual tactic would work on you
You giggled and smiled and you didn't talk too much
You seemed giddy and didn't say much
But I knew that wasn't gon' last too long
I figured it wouldn't take long for you to open up
You started asking me about my employment
You inquired about my job
And did I have any traveling plans
You wanted to know if I had any travel plans
And where did I spend most of my nights
You were curious about where I typically spend my evenings
'Cause you were lookin' for a full time man
You were searching for a serious, committed relationship
And there was so many things in life that you'd always wanted to do
You had a lot of aspirations and things you hoped to experience
And of course a man with my intelligence it seemed to fit right nice with you
You thought someone as clever as myself would complement your personal goals
Ah, you like that?
Do you appreciate my flattery?
Now girl, remember...
Let me remind you...
Before too long you started askin' me about a pretty little ring you saw
Soon, you brought up a ring you had your eye on
And I found myself downtown one day walking towards the jewelry store
I found myself being led to the jewelry store by you
I said to the man 'Hey!...I just want to look, 'cause I ain't ready to buy'
I told the salesman I was just browsing and not quite prepared to purchase anything
And uh, just then you walked up behind me and you said
And then you approached me from behind and said
'Can I please try it on for size?'
May I please see how it fits on my finger?
Now it seemed like only yesterday
It felt like just yesterday
That I worked Number Nine so sweet
When I used Game Number Nine flawlessly
But it didn't turn out the way I planned it
But it didn't go according to plan
As I went down in defeat
As I was defeated by your cunning tactics
Oh I was scared...Oh, Oh
I was frightened and intimidated
Looka here...
Listen up...
Now Nine had always been my best shot
Game Number Nine had always been my most successful approach
All my partners said it was tough
My friends agreed that it was difficult
They all knew about my Magic Nine
They were aware of my secret weapon, Game Number Nine
But it was hard to copy my stuff
It was challenging for others to replicate my technique
Now maybe you can tell me honey
Perhaps you can inform me, my dear
Uh, just where Number Nine was weak
Where Game Number Nine was lacking some effectiveness
Come on baby tell me, uh, before we go to sleep
Please do share before we call it a night
Now darling, I ain't lost a Game of Nine
I have never been defeated by Game Number Nine
Since the year can remember when
For as long as I can recall
As I turned out the light you whispered to me...
As I turned off the light, you whispered to me...
'I used a Number Ten'
'I outsmarted you by using a superior Game Number Ten'
Yea you did, you know you did
Indeed you did, you clever thing
Ah hah, oh yea...
Aha, I see what you did there...
Contributed by Peyton O. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
doitee52
Thanks for posting this. One of the all time favs of brother Ray. He was just supreme!
ztoob8898
Yeah, what doitee52 said!
David E Thompson
Love it.
Remember my Mom playing this album over and over again.
Loved it then, love it now.
wjazz1
Cool mom:)
Michael Foley
I grew up listening to Ray Charles' music. When I saw Jamie Foxx portray him in Ray it brought laughter and tears to my eyes. When Ray died it was like a family member had departed.
M D
This is so great, there are no words for this !!!
vinyltapelover
When it was first released and played on the local jazz airways, I went out and bought the album just for that cut only. I later found out the whole album was great to listen to. Win-win.
Think and Grow Bigger
Love this. My mom had this on LP as a kid I played a lot.
Asa Casawubu
One of his best songs..
makgaba semenya
ray,,undescribable, just great