Ray Charles
Known For
Acting
Born
1930-09-23 in Albany, Georgia, USA
Died
2004-06-10
Biography
Ray Charles Robinson (September 23, 1930 – June 10, 2004), better known by his shortened stage name Ray Charles, was an American musician. He was a pioneer in the genre of soul music during the 1950s by fusing rhythm and blues, gospel, and blues styles into his early recordings with Atlantic Records. He also helped racially integrate country and pop music during the 1960s with his crossover success on ABC Records, most notably with his Modern Sounds albums. While with ABC, Charles became one of the first African-American musicians to be given artistic control by a mainstream record company. Frank Sinatra called Charles “the only true genius in show business.” Rolling Stone ranked Charles number 10 on their list of "100 Greatest Artists of All Time" in 2004, and number two on their November 2008 list of "100 Greatest Singers of All Time". In honoring Charles, Billy Joel noted: "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?"
Most Known For
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
as Self
The Nanny
as Sammy
Saturday Night Live
as Self - Host & Musical Guest
The Mike Douglas Show
as Self - Co-Host
St. Elsewhere
as Arthur Tibbits
Who's the Boss?
as Ray Charles
The Dick Cavett Show
as Self - Guest
Moonlighting
as Ray Charles
Wings
as Ray Charles
The Carol Burnett Show
as Self - Guest
Champs-Elysées
as Self
Sacrée Soirée
as Self
The Ed Sullivan Show
as Self
The Dinah Shore Chevy Show
as Self
Victoires de la musique
as Self
The Kennedy Center Honors
as Self
Kraft Music Hall
as Self
CMT Crossroads
as Self
The John Larroquette Show
as Ray Charles
Le monde est à vous
as Self (archive footage)