Ray Charles

Ray Charles Robinson, widely recognized as Ray Charles (September 23, 1930 – June 10, 2004), was a groundbreaking American musician. He played a crucial role in the emergence of soul music during the 1950s by skillfully blending rhythm and blues, gospel, and blues in his early works with Atlantic Records. His influence extended to the 1960s when he contributed to the racial integration of country and pop music, achieving significant crossover success with his albums at ABC Records, especially the acclaimed Modern Sounds series. During his tenure at ABC, Charles was among the first African-American artists to gain artistic autonomy from a major record label. Frank Sinatra famously referred to him as "the only true genius in show business."

In 2004, Rolling Stone magazine placed Charles at number 10 on its list of the "100 Greatest Artists of All Time," and in November 2008, he was ranked number two among the "100 Greatest Singers of All Time." Billy Joel paid tribute to Charles by stating, "This may sound like sacrilege, but I think Ray Charles was more important than Elvis Presley. I don't know if Ray was the architect of rock & roll, but he was certainly the first guy to do a lot of things . . . Who the hell ever put so many styles together and made it work?"