Blind since the age of six (from glaucoma), Charles studied composition and learned many instruments at the St. Augustine School for the Deaf and the Blind. His parents had died by his early teens, and he worked as a musician in Florida for a while before using his savings to move to Seattle in 1947. By the late '40s, he was recording in a smooth pop/R&B style derivative of Nat "King" Cole and Charles Brown. He got his first Top Ten R&B hit with "Baby, Let Me Hold Your Hand" in 1951. Charles' first recordings came in for their fair share of criticism, as they were much milder and less original than the classics that would follow, although they're actually fairly enjoyable, showing strong hints of the skills that were to flower in a few years. In the early '50s, Charles' sound started to toughen as he toured with Lowell Fulson, went to New Orleans to work with Guitar Slim (playing piano on and arranging Slim's huge R&B hit, "The Things That I Used to Do"), and got a band together for R&B star Ruth Brown. It was at Atlantic Records that Ray Charles truly found his voice, consolidating the gains of recent years and then some with "I Got a Woman," a number-two R&B hit in 1955. This is the song most frequently singled out as his pivotal performance, on which Charles first truly let go with his unmistakable gospel-ish moan, backed by a tight, bouncy horn-driven arrangement. Ray Charles has the distinction of being both a national treasure and an international phenomenon. He started out from no where; years later finds him a global entity. Hundreds of thousands of fingers have hit typewriter and word processor keyboards telling and retelling his story because it is uniquely American, an example of what we like to think is the best in us and of our way of life. "I was born with music inside me. That's the only explanation I know of..." he remarks in his autobiography. Charles remained extremely popular through the mid-'60s, scoring big hits like "Busted," "You Are My Sunshine," "Take These Chains From My Heart" and "Crying Time," although his momentum was slowed by a 1965 bust for heroin. This led to a year-long absence from performing, but he picked up where he left off with "Let's Go Get Stoned" in 1966. Yet by this time Charles was focusing increasingly less on rock and soul, in favor of pop tunes, often with string arrangements, that seemed aimed more at the easy listening audience than anyone else. Charles' influence on the rock mainstream was as apparent as ever; Joe Cockerand Steve Winwood in particular owe a great deal of their style to him, and echoes of his phrasing can be heard more subtly in the work of greats like Van Morrison. His first R&B hit was "Confession Blues" in Los Angeles in 1949. In 1951 he had his first solo chartbuster with "Baby Let Me Hold Your Hand." His amazing versatility and raw, soulful delivery caught on with audiences quickly and helped put Atlanta Records on the map. Hits like "Things I Used to Do," "A Fool for You," "I've Got a Woman," "Drown in My Own Tears" and especially "What'd I Say" in 1959 helped to take gospel and R&B to a wide crossover audience. He made an unheard of move into the country music arena in the 1960s doing soulful spins on Hank Williamsand Eddy Arnold tunes. Hits poured out during this peak time with "I Can't Stop Loving You," "Hit the Road Jack," "Busted" and his beloved signature song "Georgia On My Mind." His landmark 1962 album "Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music" brought a new swinging style to country music. From there he went mainstream going from interpreting 'Beatles' songs ("Eleanor Rigby") to appearing on "Diet Pepsi" ads ("You Got the Right One, Baby, Uh-huh!"). He also showed up sporadically in films, playing himself in the movie Ballad in Blue (1966) (aka "Blues for Lovers") and guest starring in The Blues Brothers (1980) with Dan Aykroydand John Belushi. A TV musical variety favorite with his trademark dark glasses and dry humor, he worked alongside other illuminaries such as Ella Fitzgeraldand Barbra Streisandon their very special evenings. He dented the charts (sometimes the country ones) occasionally, and commanded devoted international concert audiences whenever he felt like it. For good or ill, he ensured his imprint upon the American mass consciousness in the 1990s by singing several ads for Diet Pepsi. He also recorded three albums during the '90s for Warner Bros., but remained most popular as a concert draw. In 2002, he released Thanks for Bringing Love Around Again on his own Crossover imprint, and the following year began recording an album of duets featuring B.B. King, Willie Nelson Michael McDonald, and James Taylor. After hip replacement surgery in 2003, he scheduled a tour for the following summer, but was forced to cancel an appearance in March 2004. Three months later, on June 10, 2004, Ray Charles succumbed to liver disease at his home in Beverly Hills, CA. All Music Guide.