Ray Charles was a famous “...American singer, songwriter, bandleader and pianist. His style was influenced by gospel music, rhythm and blues, jazz and country music. Ray Charles released many memorable hits throughout his career, such as "Hit the Road, Jack", "Georgia on My Mind" and "What'd I Say". Charles was credited with creating a new genre of music known as "soul music." Soul music is a combination of gospel and blues style mixed with enthusiastic passion. Thanks to this creation, he obtained the musical comedy title “Genius” and “Father of Soul”. Charles won seventeen Grammy Awards, was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and won numerous other awards during his life. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”?Get the original essayRay Charles Robinson, “was born into a poor family on September 23, 1930 in Albany, Georgia.” His father Bailey Robinson was a mechanic and his mother Aretha Robinson was a sharecropper and raised Charles and his brother George Robinson during the Great Depression. While Charles was still a baby, his family moved to Greenville, Florida, where he grew up. Charles became blind due to an untreated case of glaucoma, a disease that damages the optic nerve in the eye. “Although young Ray Charles – born Ray Charles Robinson – began losing his sight at age 5, shortly after witnessing his brother's drowning, his eventual blindness was medical, not traumatic. At the age of 7, he became completely blind when his right eye was removed due to severe pain.” Because he was blind, the Florida School for the Deaf and Blind in St. Augustine accepted him. In this school, he learned “braille, typing, basketry and mathematics”. Charles also became friends with a neighbor in Greenville who played the piano. Before going blind, he spent a lot of time with this neighbor and learned piano in the blues genre. When he became blind, he was no longer able to practice with his neighbor. Once he joined his school in Florida, “he was allowed to develop his musical skills by learning the piano, clarinet, and alto saxophone; he also developed the ability to compose and arrange music from memory.” At his school, he was taught strictly classical music, which further piqued Charles' interest in jazz and blues. When he was fifteen, his mother died, prompting him to begin his career as a traveling professional musician. Shortly after, his father also died, leaving him and his brother orphaned. However, this did not stop Charles from pursuing a career in music, as he had always dreamed of. He toured Florida and Washington with several groups specializing in jazz, country, and blues music, and occasionally performed solos imitating famous blues singers. As he began to experience success on the West Coast, "Charles, along with bassist Milt Jarret and guitarist Gossady McGee, formed the McSon Trio, the first all-black group to have a sponsored television show in the Seattle area ". This group released a song called “Confession Blues”, which became a fantastic hit in the R&B category. The group continued to release numerous hits and many record labels quickly became interested in signing Ray Charles. After moving to Los Angeles, California in 1950, Charles signed his first solo contract with Atlantic Records in 1951. At this time in his life, Ray Charles Robinson changed his name to Ray Charles in order to avoid any; 73 ”.