Ray Charles
| September 23, 1930 |
Ray Charles (Robinson) born, Albany
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Ray Charles |
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Albany, Georgia |
| April 9, 1949 |
Ray Charles reaches the chart for the first time with Confessin' Blues
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Ray Charles |
| November 18, 1954 |
Ray Charles records "I Got a Woman," blending rhythm and blues and gospel for the first time, forming the roots of soul music.
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Ray Charles |
| November 19, 1960 |
Georgia on My Mind by Ray Charles reaches Number 1
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Ray Charles |
| October 14, 1961 |
Hit the Road Jack by Ray Charles reaches Number 1
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Ray Charles |
| June 2, 1962 |
I Can't Stop Loving You by Ray Charles reaches Number 1
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Ray Charles |
| March 7, 1979 |
Ray Charles performs his song Georgia before the General Assembly of Georgia. |
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Ray Charles |
| April 24, 1979 |
Georgia on my Mind as performed by Ray Charles is made the state song
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Ray Charles |
| June 2, 1993 |
Billy Joel, who named his daughter after Ray Charles, presents this music icon with a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Songwriters Hall of Fame
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Ray Charles |
| June 11, 2004 |
Ray Charles dies in Los Angeles, California |
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Ray Charles |
| February 13, 2005 |
Georgia artists scored a major win at the Grammys, led by Ray Charles who received 8 posthumous awards including Record and Album of the Year for his Genius Loves Company. Atlanta-based Usher, who had won many awards in other shows, picked up three and Kayne West, born in Atlanta but raised in Chicago, who won for Best Rap Album, The College Dropout |
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Ray Charles |
| February 27, 2005 |
Jamie Foxx wins an Academy Award for his leading actor performance in Ray!, the self-titled biography of musician Ray Charles Robinson. Nominated for 5 Oscars, the movie scored two wins, for Foxx as Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role and for Best Achievement in Sound. It had been nominated for Best Motion Picture of the Year |
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Ray Charles |
The unique style of this music icon won him fans for more almost half a century, since his first charted hit, Swanee River Rock. Two years later What'd I Say became his first top ten hit. In October, 1960, his cover of the Hoagy Carmichael tune, Georgia on My Mind would become his first number one hit and the only state song to hit number one. He followed this with two more records that went to number one, Hit the Road, Jack and I Can't Stop Loving You, which is today considered his signature song. Over the years Ray became involved in other art forms, most notably acting. His performance of Georgia on Sesame Street is considered a classic moment for this television show.
According to the hit movie Ray, Charles was banned from performing in Georgia in 1961, following his refusal to play to a white-only audience. Mr. Charles was never banned from performing in his home state of Georgia. In 1979 the General Assembly did welcome him. He sang the classic Hoagy Carmichel song "Georgia."
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