OPPapers.com Essay Index >> History Other >> Ray Charles
We have many free term papers and essays on Ray Charles. We also have a wide variety of research papers and book reports available to you for free. You can browse our collection of term papers or use our search engine.
Ray Charles Ray Charles The Life and Legacy of a Genius Ray Charles was a revolutionary pianist and a soul singer who helped shape the sound of rhythm and blues.
Ray Charles RAY CHARLES ROBINSON Ray Charles was a revolutionary pianist and a soul singer who helped shape the sound of rhythm and blues. He brought a soulful sound
Ray charles Ray Charles Chris Valadez PSY 200 Pamela Poynter April 14, 2005 Ray Ray Charles was the first child of Aretha and Bailey Robinson. He was born in Albany,
ray charles Ray Charles: musical genius Ray Charles is considered a musical genius in many different fields. He has a large success in pop, jazz, blues, country,
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
Submitted by sara1 on March 5, 2006
Category: History Other
Words: 1087 | Pages: 5
Views: 496
Popularity Rank: 23,347
Average Member Grade: N/A (Add a Comment / Grade this Paper)
RAY CHARLES ROBINSON
Ray Charles was a revolutionary pianist and a soul singer who helped shape the sound of rhythm and blues. He brought a soulful sound to everything from country music to pop standards to "God Bless America." Ray Charles Robinson was born on September 23, 1930 in Albany, Georgia. His father was Bailey Robinson, a railroad repair man, and his mother was Aretha. His father and mother never married. His family moved to Florida when he was still an infant.
After their move, his parents had a baby. His father soon after abandoned his family. Ray and his younger brother were close. One day, Ray and his brother were playing in the yard near a tub filled with water. His brother accidentally fell in and Ray tried to pull him out, but unfortunately his brother was too heavy for Ray to pull out. By the time Ray reached his mom, his brother had drowned.
After Ray witnessed his brother's death, he began to go blind at age five and was fully blind by the age of seven due to untreated glaucoma. His mother prepared him for his blindness by still requiring Ray to continue with his daily chores in order to find his way around. Once Ray became fully blind, his mother enrolled him as a charity student at the school for the blind in St. Augustine, Florida, where he learned to play the trumpet, the saxophone, the clarinet, and organ.
Unfortunately, at the age of fifteen, his mother died from food poisoning. That's when Ray Charles decided to become a musician and set out on his own. Ray Charles, during that time, played with various local bands till the age of seventeen. When Ray turned seventeen, he chose to leave Florida and jumped aboard a bus and headed to Seattle. Once in Seattle he entered a contest at a local club and was offered a job full-time playing piano and singing. One day when Ray was playing, a producer by the name of Quincy Jones noticed him and offered him a record deal. At this time, his name was...
You must Login to view the entire paper.
If you are not a member yet, Sign Up for free!