Ray Charles
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Ray Charles
Ray Charles
In the 1930s many black musicians where coming out of the south. One especially who would soon top the charts and hit fame and fortune starting in his young years, Ray Charles. After conquering poverty, blindness and many other things, success was possible. In his young age he had a few losses in his family and near after came down with a disease which was causing him to go blind. He later came over the blindness and was able to learn and compose music with the help of his skills in mathematics. After enduring a harsh childhood and blindness, Ray Charles was able to over come his handicap and follow his dream in music.
Ray Charles was born on September 23, 1903 to a very poor family. Although no birth record exists, his mother, Retha Robinson, dubbed him Ray Robinson, which he later changed so as to not be confused with Sugar Ray Robinson, a famous boxer (World Book 383). Ray Charles, or as everyone called him RC, was born to a mother only sixteen years old and she had another coming. By RC's first birthday, his little brother George was born. "None was sure who George's father was, but all remembered that Mr. Pit and Mis Georgia, who had no children of their own, adopted George to take the added burden off Retha"(Michael 7). While Retha was not able to watch over RC, he was cared for bye her friend Mary Jane, who was split up with her husband and had lost her son.
At the age of five, RC and George where both active in chores and would go to church every Sunday (Michael 6). Not too soon after Ray turned five years old, there was a very tragic accident at their house. While RC's little brother was in the bath tub he drowned. At first Ray was unsure that he was drowning and thought that he was just playing going to the bottom of the washtub to get a shiny penny, but then Ray realized his splashes and kicks weren't from him playing around. When Ray realized, he attempted to pull him out since he was only one year older than his brother,...
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- Submitted by: jpd3266
- Date Submitted: 06/13/2005 02:45 PM
- Category: Biographies
- Words: 1046
- Pages: 5
- Views: 972
- Rank: 37337