WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:01.980 Welcome back to the Deep Dive. This is the show 00:00:01.980 --> 00:00:03.980 where we, you know, we really try not to just 00:00:03.980 --> 00:00:05.639 scratch the surface. We go all the way to the 00:00:05.639 --> 00:00:09.259 core. Exactly. And today you have handed us a 00:00:09.259 --> 00:00:13.480 stack of sources on a figure who, well, he's 00:00:13.480 --> 00:00:16.260 less an artist and more of a geological force 00:00:16.260 --> 00:00:19.739 in American music. Ray Charles. It's a joy to 00:00:19.739 --> 00:00:22.420 tackle this material. We have documentation here 00:00:22.420 --> 00:00:24.980 covering a career that just seamlessly blended 00:00:24.980 --> 00:00:28.440 and ultimately revolutionized so many genres. 00:00:28.739 --> 00:00:32.960 R &B, soul, blues. Gospel, country, jazz, rock 00:00:32.960 --> 00:00:35.340 and roll. He didn't just borrow from them. He 00:00:35.340 --> 00:00:38.179 was actively synthesizing them, you know, often 00:00:38.179 --> 00:00:40.619 creating entirely new forms of music in the process. 00:00:40.920 --> 00:00:44.500 And that kind of fusion, that ability to master 00:00:44.500 --> 00:00:46.359 and then completely transcend the categories, 00:00:46.579 --> 00:00:48.909 that's precisely why. he was known as the genius. 00:00:49.369 --> 00:00:51.450 And the sources, they remind us this wasn't just 00:00:51.450 --> 00:00:53.850 some title given by fans. This came from Frank 00:00:53.850 --> 00:00:55.950 Sinatra. The chairman of the board himself. Who 00:00:55.950 --> 00:00:59.289 called Ray Charles the only true genius in showbiz. 00:00:59.369 --> 00:01:01.630 That is just the highest possible praise from 00:01:01.630 --> 00:01:04.230 a major contemporary. I mean, someone who really 00:01:04.230 --> 00:01:06.829 understood arranging and performance at that 00:01:06.829 --> 00:01:08.769 level. But it's also interesting that Charles 00:01:08.769 --> 00:01:10.969 himself, you know, despite that huge nickname, 00:01:11.209 --> 00:01:13.590 he preferred something a bit more grounded. Yeah, 00:01:13.629 --> 00:01:15.909 among his peers, he was Brother Ray. Brother 00:01:15.909 --> 00:01:19.150 Ray. Okay, let's unpack this. Our mission for 00:01:19.150 --> 00:01:22.250 this deep dive is to follow the entire arc of 00:01:22.250 --> 00:01:24.409 this incredible life. It's a huge one. We need 00:01:24.409 --> 00:01:26.450 to trace his journey from these profound childhood 00:01:26.450 --> 00:01:30.579 tragedies and his... his deep formal classical 00:01:30.579 --> 00:01:32.620 training, which I think is a detail a lot of 00:01:32.620 --> 00:01:34.959 people overlook. Absolutely. All the way to him 00:01:34.959 --> 00:01:38.019 revolutionizing soul music. But we also need 00:01:38.019 --> 00:01:40.140 to spend real time on the surprising business 00:01:40.140 --> 00:01:42.780 savvy he developed. Which was frankly revolutionary 00:01:42.780 --> 00:01:45.400 for a black musician fighting for control at 00:01:45.400 --> 00:01:47.579 that time. And then, you know, we have to examine 00:01:47.579 --> 00:01:51.280 the complex, often volatile personal struggles, 00:01:51.420 --> 00:01:54.299 the addiction, the complicated family life that 00:01:54.299 --> 00:01:56.739 just ran parallel to all this soaring brilliance. 00:01:56.939 --> 00:02:00.500 It is truly a story where profound personal darkness 00:02:00.500 --> 00:02:03.579 and incredible creative light are just constantly 00:02:03.579 --> 00:02:06.019 informing one another. So to understand the drive, 00:02:06.280 --> 00:02:08.419 we have to start at the beginning. We absolutely 00:02:08.419 --> 00:02:10.879 have to start with the foundational trauma of 00:02:10.879 --> 00:02:13.180 his early years, as it's detailed in the source 00:02:13.180 --> 00:02:16.180 material. Ray Charles Robinson was born September 00:02:16.180 --> 00:02:20.280 23, 1930, in Albany, Georgia. But his formative 00:02:20.280 --> 00:02:22.520 years were really spent in Greenville, Florida, 00:02:22.620 --> 00:02:25.900 in a deeply, deeply impoverished community. And 00:02:25.900 --> 00:02:28.520 his mother, Aretha Robinson. She worked as a 00:02:28.520 --> 00:02:31.280 laundress, just backbreaking labor. And this 00:02:31.280 --> 00:02:33.580 environment, these circumstances, they really 00:02:33.580 --> 00:02:37.520 set the stage for two monumental life altering 00:02:37.520 --> 00:02:40.259 events. The sources refer to them specifically 00:02:40.259 --> 00:02:43.419 as the two great tragedies of his life. Yeah. 00:02:43.500 --> 00:02:45.240 And the first happened when he was just a little 00:02:45.240 --> 00:02:47.400 boy, maybe four or five years old. His young 00:02:47.400 --> 00:02:49.520 brother, George. He drowned in their mother's 00:02:49.520 --> 00:02:52.819 laundry tub. And to witness something that unimaginable, 00:02:52.879 --> 00:02:56.740 that scene, that helplessness. It must have left 00:02:56.740 --> 00:02:59.280 a permanent searing mark on his psyche. It's 00:02:59.280 --> 00:03:01.259 hard to imagine moving past that. You can't. 00:03:01.259 --> 00:03:03.300 And then the second tragedy, a decade later, 00:03:03.400 --> 00:03:05.800 stripped him of his only remaining anchor. The 00:03:05.800 --> 00:03:09.039 death of his mother in the spring of 1945. Charles 00:03:09.039 --> 00:03:12.860 was only 14 years old. And he was alone. He left 00:03:12.860 --> 00:03:15.419 school immediately after her funeral. I mean, 00:03:15.419 --> 00:03:17.319 that was it. The end of his childhood and the 00:03:17.319 --> 00:03:19.500 beginning of this relentless hustle. And running 00:03:19.500 --> 00:03:21.699 right alongside all of that was the loss of his 00:03:21.699 --> 00:03:24.340 sight. He began losing his vision around age 00:03:24.340 --> 00:03:27.099 four or five. And by seven, he was completely 00:03:27.099 --> 00:03:30.000 blind. The sources say it was likely glaucoma. 00:03:30.000 --> 00:03:32.659 Right. And this is what necessitated his famous 00:03:32.659 --> 00:03:35.719 dark glasses, which became a trademark. But it 00:03:35.719 --> 00:03:38.099 also, you know, it forced a fundamental shift 00:03:38.099 --> 00:03:41.159 in how he interacted with the entire world. But 00:03:41.159 --> 00:03:43.680 you have to acknowledge the incredible strength 00:03:43.680 --> 00:03:47.169 of his mother. Aretha in those early years. Oh, 00:03:47.169 --> 00:03:49.789 absolutely. Despite being poor, uneducated, dealing 00:03:49.789 --> 00:03:52.449 with immense grief, she made sure he was never 00:03:52.449 --> 00:03:55.050 helpless because of his blindness. She taught 00:03:55.050 --> 00:03:57.069 him independence. And used community connections 00:03:57.069 --> 00:03:59.370 to get him into a specialized school. And that 00:03:59.370 --> 00:04:02.169 school was the crucible where the genius really 00:04:02.169 --> 00:04:04.229 began to take shape. The Florida School for the 00:04:04.229 --> 00:04:06.310 Deaf and the Blind in St. Augustine. He was there 00:04:06.310 --> 00:04:09.789 from 1937 to 1945. But even before that, you 00:04:09.789 --> 00:04:12.530 can trace the initial spark. Right. The sources 00:04:12.530 --> 00:04:16.089 are clear that his first instinctive attraction 00:04:16.089 --> 00:04:18.889 to music happened when he was about three. At 00:04:18.889 --> 00:04:22.250 Wiley Pittman's Red Wing Cafe, Pittman saw the 00:04:22.250 --> 00:04:24.930 boy's curiosity and taught him the basics of 00:04:24.930 --> 00:04:27.769 boogie woogie on this old beat up upright piano. 00:04:28.069 --> 00:04:30.790 So that raw rhythmic energy of the blues was 00:04:30.790 --> 00:04:33.430 his very first lesson. But the school provided 00:04:33.430 --> 00:04:35.949 the structure. This wasn't just a place for the 00:04:35.949 --> 00:04:38.649 visually impaired. It was, for all intents and 00:04:38.649 --> 00:04:42.129 purposes, an intensive, rigorous musical conservatory. 00:04:42.230 --> 00:04:44.069 And he didn't just learn piano. That was his 00:04:44.069 --> 00:04:46.949 main focus. No, he mastered the alto saxophone, 00:04:47.089 --> 00:04:50.040 the clarinet, the trumpet, and the organ. And 00:04:50.040 --> 00:04:52.160 that mastery of multiple instruments gave him 00:04:52.160 --> 00:04:54.660 this incredible technical depth. Yes. And that 00:04:54.660 --> 00:04:56.579 allowed him later on to conceive and arrange 00:04:56.579 --> 00:04:59.000 music, not just for a small combo, but for a 00:04:59.000 --> 00:05:02.519 full 16 piece big band. Yeah. Even a large string 00:05:02.519 --> 00:05:04.639 orchestra. He wasn't just relying on instinct. 00:05:04.699 --> 00:05:07.160 He knew the theory inside and out. And it wasn't 00:05:07.160 --> 00:05:09.500 just popular music theory. The sources detail 00:05:09.500 --> 00:05:11.759 his classical instruction. Can you elaborate 00:05:11.759 --> 00:05:14.360 on that curriculum? Well, his teacher, a Mrs. 00:05:14.480 --> 00:05:17.250 Lawrence. She drilled him on the European masters. 00:05:17.529 --> 00:05:21.189 Bach, Mozart, Beethoven. Chopin, Sibelius. Exactly. 00:05:21.230 --> 00:05:23.850 So when you hear the sophisticated chord voicings 00:05:23.850 --> 00:05:26.230 in his arrangements later on, you're not just 00:05:26.230 --> 00:05:28.930 hearing the blues. No. You're hearing the harmonic 00:05:28.930 --> 00:05:32.209 structure of a Chopin nocturne, just repurposed 00:05:32.209 --> 00:05:35.689 for soul music. That classical background really 00:05:35.689 --> 00:05:38.529 set him apart from so many of his R &B contemporaries 00:05:38.529 --> 00:05:41.610 who learned only by ear. But the process of learning 00:05:41.610 --> 00:05:43.750 this was just exponentially more difficult for 00:05:43.750 --> 00:05:46.160 him. Because he had to learn it all through Braille 00:05:46.160 --> 00:05:49.139 music. We take sheet music for granted, but learning 00:05:49.139 --> 00:05:51.699 it by touch and memory? Yeah. It's a grueling 00:05:51.699 --> 00:05:54.699 task. It was a painstaking, complex mental feat. 00:05:54.800 --> 00:05:57.259 I mean, a sighted musician can read and play 00:05:57.259 --> 00:05:59.639 at the same time. Sure. For Charles, it was broken 00:05:59.639 --> 00:06:02.540 down into stages. First, you read the Braille 00:06:02.540 --> 00:06:04.139 for the left hand's part with your right hand. 00:06:04.199 --> 00:06:05.959 Okay. Then you read the right hand's part with 00:06:05.959 --> 00:06:08.980 your left hand. And only after you fully memorized 00:06:08.980 --> 00:06:11.759 both separate parts, every dynamic, every chord 00:06:11.759 --> 00:06:14.680 inversion, Only then could you put them together. 00:06:14.860 --> 00:06:17.579 That demands a level of auditory memory and patience 00:06:17.579 --> 00:06:20.420 that few people possess. It trained his mind 00:06:20.420 --> 00:06:22.899 to organize vast amounts of musical information. 00:06:23.220 --> 00:06:26.439 And that became the bedrock of his genius. So 00:06:26.439 --> 00:06:30.480 by 1945, he has this incredible toolkit. But 00:06:30.480 --> 00:06:33.160 the safety net of his mother is gone. He's 14. 00:06:33.720 --> 00:06:36.699 And he's immediately plunged into the hard, unforgiving 00:06:36.699 --> 00:06:39.360 world of a professional musician. He moved to 00:06:39.360 --> 00:06:41.560 Jacksonville, lived with an old family friend. 00:06:41.839 --> 00:06:44.300 And he was immediately hustling. But the pay 00:06:44.300 --> 00:06:48.220 was meager. Just $4 a night playing piano at 00:06:48.220 --> 00:06:50.439 the Ritz Theater in La Villa. This desperation 00:06:50.439 --> 00:06:54.100 led him to a really vital early move, joining 00:06:54.100 --> 00:06:57.170 the Musicians Union. Local 632 of the American 00:06:57.170 --> 00:06:59.649 Federation of Musicians. He needed the card for 00:06:59.649 --> 00:07:01.569 work, sure, but more importantly... He didn't 00:07:01.569 --> 00:07:04.410 own a piano. Exactly. So he used the piano at 00:07:04.410 --> 00:07:07.110 the Union Hall relentlessly to practice, just 00:07:07.110 --> 00:07:09.850 absorbing and copying the licks of other experienced 00:07:09.850 --> 00:07:12.889 players. The sources paint a picture of just 00:07:12.889 --> 00:07:16.029 borderline poverty during this time. By 16, he'd 00:07:16.029 --> 00:07:18.189 moved to Orlando, sometimes going without food 00:07:18.189 --> 00:07:20.910 for days. It really makes the monumental success 00:07:20.910 --> 00:07:23.750 he achieved later feel almost unbelievable when 00:07:23.750 --> 00:07:25.629 you remember where he started. And before he 00:07:25.629 --> 00:07:27.730 found his own sound, he was a skilled chameleon. 00:07:27.750 --> 00:07:30.529 A very skilled one. He spent his early career 00:07:30.529 --> 00:07:33.449 consciously modeling others, especially Nat King 00:07:33.449 --> 00:07:36.589 Cole. Whose smooth, sophisticated style was very 00:07:36.589 --> 00:07:39.790 popular then. Right. But he also pulled from 00:07:39.790 --> 00:07:42.310 the technical brilliance of Art Tatum, the jump 00:07:42.310 --> 00:07:44.689 blues energy of Louis Shorten, and the R &B of 00:07:44.689 --> 00:07:48.129 Charles Brown. He was building his sound brick 00:07:48.129 --> 00:07:51.300 by brick. But this regional circuit wasn't going 00:07:51.300 --> 00:07:53.379 to cut it for his level of ambition. Not at all. 00:07:53.420 --> 00:07:56.620 So in March of 1948, he followed a friend, Gossie 00:07:56.620 --> 00:08:00.019 McKee, north to Seattle, Washington. And the 00:08:00.019 --> 00:08:02.560 sources note his clear strategic thinking even 00:08:02.560 --> 00:08:05.500 then. He understood the major radio hits were 00:08:05.500 --> 00:08:07.980 coming from northern and western cities. He had 00:08:07.980 --> 00:08:09.680 to get out of the regional circuit to break out. 00:08:09.740 --> 00:08:12.600 And the Seattle move was his first professional 00:08:12.600 --> 00:08:16.160 game changer. There, he formed the Mixon Trio. 00:08:16.339 --> 00:08:19.279 A clever name. A very clever combination of McKee 00:08:19.279 --> 00:08:22.300 and Robinson, Charles on piano, McKee on guitar, 00:08:22.480 --> 00:08:25.079 and Milton Gard on bass. And they worked a brutal 00:08:25.079 --> 00:08:27.699 late night shift, 1 -5 a .m. at the rocking chair. 00:08:27.899 --> 00:08:30.300 And it was in Seattle that he forged a lifelong 00:08:30.300 --> 00:08:33.580 industry -defining relationship. A young 15 -year 00:08:33.580 --> 00:08:36.080 -old trumpeter. Quincy Jones. That connection 00:08:36.080 --> 00:08:39.340 would resurface later to profound effect. And 00:08:39.340 --> 00:08:41.399 the risk of moving west paid off pretty quickly. 00:08:41.899 --> 00:08:45.299 In April 1949, his recording of Confession Blues 00:08:45.299 --> 00:08:48.320 becomes his first national hit. Reached number 00:08:48.320 --> 00:08:51.200 two on the Billboard R &B chart. This success 00:08:51.200 --> 00:08:54.559 pulled him south again, to L .A. in 1950, where 00:08:54.559 --> 00:08:57.279 he starts touring with the blues musician Lowell 00:08:57.279 --> 00:08:59.860 Folsom. As Folsom's musical director, which was 00:08:59.860 --> 00:09:02.039 huge experience, he was honing his arranging 00:09:02.039 --> 00:09:04.340 and his leadership skills on the road. And he 00:09:04.340 --> 00:09:06.639 kept building momentum, recording early hits 00:09:06.639 --> 00:09:09.080 for Swing Time Records, as Ray Charles, like, 00:09:09.139 --> 00:09:11.840 Baby, Let Me Hold Your Hand and... Kissing me, 00:09:11.879 --> 00:09:14.919 baby. Both making the R &B top 10. But then swing 00:09:14.919 --> 00:09:17.240 time records folded, and that seemingly unfortunate 00:09:17.240 --> 00:09:19.860 event created the perfect opening for the creative 00:09:19.860 --> 00:09:22.980 leap of a lifetime. It did. That closure facilitated 00:09:22.980 --> 00:09:25.019 his move to a label that would finally allow 00:09:25.019 --> 00:09:27.879 him the freedom to stop being a copycat and start 00:09:27.879 --> 00:09:30.039 being a revolutionary. Which brings us to the 00:09:30.039 --> 00:09:32.360 Atlantic era. This is the point where Ray Charles 00:09:32.360 --> 00:09:34.820 stops being a gifted imitator and becomes an 00:09:34.820 --> 00:09:38.490 originator. Right. In June 1952, Atlantic Records 00:09:38.490 --> 00:09:41.649 acquired his contract for what seems now like 00:09:41.649 --> 00:09:45.669 a highway robbery. $2 ,500. It sounds absurdly 00:09:45.669 --> 00:09:47.509 low, but you have to put it in context. That 00:09:47.509 --> 00:09:50.210 was equivalent to about $30 ,000 in today's money. 00:09:50.429 --> 00:09:52.669 Okay, not nothing, but... Still a steal for the 00:09:52.669 --> 00:09:55.289 talent they acquired. And Amit Erdogan and the 00:09:55.289 --> 00:09:57.490 team at Atlantic, they let Charles shed that 00:09:57.490 --> 00:10:00.590 Nat King Cole style he'd adopted and finally 00:10:00.590 --> 00:10:03.490 tap into the visceral energy of the gospel music 00:10:03.490 --> 00:10:05.389 he'd known his whole life. His first sessions 00:10:05.389 --> 00:10:07.370 for Atlantic were promising. The Midnight Hour, 00:10:07.549 --> 00:10:10.409 Roll With My Baby. His initial hits were modest 00:10:10.409 --> 00:10:13.870 but consistent. mess around in 53, then it should 00:10:13.870 --> 00:10:17.570 have been me. But then the true moment of fusion 00:10:17.570 --> 00:10:19.850 arrived. This is the moment documented in the 00:10:19.850 --> 00:10:22.789 sources where he consciously pioneered the soul 00:10:22.789 --> 00:10:25.629 music genre. He took four distinct elements, 00:10:25.889 --> 00:10:28.769 the harmonic sophistication of jazz, the raw 00:10:28.769 --> 00:10:31.490 emotion of the blues, the rhythmic drive of R 00:10:31.490 --> 00:10:34.950 &B, and crucially, the fervent, ecstatic vocal 00:10:34.950 --> 00:10:37.389 style and chord progressions of Gakupo. And just 00:10:37.389 --> 00:10:40.409 welded them together. Exactly. And the track 00:10:40.409 --> 00:10:42.649 that made this fusion explicit, that basically 00:10:42.649 --> 00:10:45.730 codified the sound of soul, was I've Got a Woman, 00:10:45.909 --> 00:10:49.409 recorded late in 1954. Was shot up to number 00:10:49.409 --> 00:10:52.490 two on the R &B chart. When you listen to that 00:10:52.490 --> 00:10:54.389 track, you hear the gospel call and response 00:10:54.389 --> 00:10:57.090 structure, but the lyrics are entirely secular. 00:10:57.269 --> 00:10:59.929 It's about a romantic relationship, not divine 00:10:59.929 --> 00:11:02.789 worship. And that substitution was the key. It 00:11:02.789 --> 00:11:05.629 created instant controversy. Yeah. Charles later 00:11:05.629 --> 00:11:07.970 admitted that the song drew heavily from a gospel 00:11:07.970 --> 00:11:10.649 tune called It Must Be Jesus by the Southern 00:11:10.649 --> 00:11:13.330 Tones. This was seen as sacrilege by many in 00:11:13.330 --> 00:11:15.769 the church community. They felt he was profaning 00:11:15.769 --> 00:11:18.370 sacred sounds. But for the listener, it created 00:11:18.370 --> 00:11:20.610 this electrifying new sense of emotional honesty 00:11:20.610 --> 00:11:23.529 in popular music. And as his unique, powerful 00:11:23.529 --> 00:11:26.549 sound took hold, his recognition just soared. 00:11:26.649 --> 00:11:29.129 By the mid -50s, he transitioned from local clubs 00:11:29.129 --> 00:11:31.549 to major black entertainment centers like the 00:11:31.549 --> 00:11:34.139 Apollo Theater. And importantly, he started crossing 00:11:34.139 --> 00:11:37.539 over into larger white dominated venues. Carnegie 00:11:37.539 --> 00:11:40.940 Hall and the Newport Jazz Festival in 1958, where 00:11:40.940 --> 00:11:43.700 his first live album was recorded. That Newport 00:11:43.700 --> 00:11:46.820 performance cemented his status as a major force 00:11:46.820 --> 00:11:49.860 who could reach really diverse audiences. This 00:11:49.860 --> 00:11:52.840 elevated stage show also required an elevated 00:11:52.840 --> 00:11:55.220 backing presence. This is when he established 00:11:55.220 --> 00:11:57.850 the iconic female singing group. The Raylets. 00:11:58.149 --> 00:12:00.269 He initially hired a group called The Cookies 00:12:00.269 --> 00:12:02.649 and quickly renamed them, turning them into this 00:12:02.649 --> 00:12:05.409 essential counterpoint to his vocal style. But 00:12:05.409 --> 00:12:07.830 the sources, they offer a complex layer of personal 00:12:07.830 --> 00:12:09.809 drama here. Yeah, one of the original Raylets, 00:12:10.029 --> 00:12:12.169 Margie Hendricks, was involved in a long -term 00:12:12.169 --> 00:12:14.690 affair with Charles. She was the mother of his 00:12:14.690 --> 00:12:17.450 son, Charles Wayne Hendricks. And this entanglement 00:12:17.450 --> 00:12:19.850 of professional and personal life, it just added 00:12:19.850 --> 00:12:22.259 a volatile dimension. It eventually led to a 00:12:22.259 --> 00:12:25.860 dramatic argument and her firing in 1964. Her 00:12:25.860 --> 00:12:29.200 subsequent tragic death in 1973 really highlights 00:12:29.200 --> 00:12:32.240 the immense toll that high -pressure, hard -living 00:12:32.240 --> 00:12:34.559 lifestyle took on the people around him. The 00:12:34.559 --> 00:12:37.399 drama aside, everything culminated creatively 00:12:37.399 --> 00:12:39.500 at Atlantic with the release of a track that 00:12:39.500 --> 00:12:41.879 transcended all of his previous boundaries, what 00:12:41.879 --> 00:12:45.159 I say, in 1959. This single was the ultimate 00:12:45.159 --> 00:12:47.460 statement of the Atlantic era. It reached number 00:12:47.460 --> 00:12:50.519 six on the pop chart, his first true mainstream 00:12:50.519 --> 00:12:53.639 crossover, and hit number one on the R &B chart. 00:12:53.840 --> 00:12:58.259 And if I've got a woman, fused gospel and blues. 00:12:58.700 --> 00:13:02.019 When I say added even more complexity, it had... 00:13:02.240 --> 00:13:05.379 gospel fervor, jazz improv, blues structure, 00:13:05.700 --> 00:13:08.700 and a distinctly Latin rhythm on the piano. The 00:13:08.700 --> 00:13:11.559 story of its creation is fantastic. He claimed 00:13:11.559 --> 00:13:14.679 he wrote it on the spot. Spontaneously. Ran out 00:13:14.679 --> 00:13:16.820 of material during a late night club performance 00:13:16.820 --> 00:13:20.120 in Pittsburgh and just relied on pure improvisation 00:13:20.120 --> 00:13:23.039 with his band. It was a raw energy. So raw that 00:13:23.039 --> 00:13:25.000 it caused major problems. The call and response 00:13:25.000 --> 00:13:27.220 between Charles and the Riolettes. Many listeners 00:13:27.220 --> 00:13:30.019 interpreted it as overt sexual simulation. And 00:13:30.019 --> 00:13:32.809 some radio stations banned the song. But as the 00:13:32.809 --> 00:13:35.350 sources show, the ban only amplified its appeal. 00:13:35.570 --> 00:13:38.529 It was a massive generation defining hit despite 00:13:38.529 --> 00:13:40.830 the attempts to suppress it. It signaled that 00:13:40.830 --> 00:13:43.049 Ray Charles was ready to leave the R &B niche 00:13:43.049 --> 00:13:45.669 behind and just dominate the mainstream. And 00:13:45.669 --> 00:13:47.429 just before he made that monumental business 00:13:47.429 --> 00:13:50.350 leap, he began experimenting even further. Releasing 00:13:50.350 --> 00:13:53.370 his first country song, a cover of Hank Snow's 00:13:53.370 --> 00:13:56.470 I'm Movin' On, and diving deep into instrumental 00:13:56.470 --> 00:13:59.730 jazz with albums like The Genius After Hours. 00:13:59.830 --> 00:14:02.549 The Atlantic era was a masterclass in creative 00:14:02.549 --> 00:14:05.570 experimentation fueled by freedom. A freedom, 00:14:05.629 --> 00:14:08.370 however, that was about to be dwarfed by a whole 00:14:08.370 --> 00:14:10.409 new level of control. And this brings us to what 00:14:10.409 --> 00:14:12.350 I think is the most insightful section of the 00:14:12.350 --> 00:14:16.250 material, the shift from musical genius to business 00:14:16.250 --> 00:14:18.230 genius. When Charles's contract with Atlantic 00:14:18.230 --> 00:14:21.669 expired in 1959, every major label was after 00:14:21.669 --> 00:14:25.570 him. But he made a choice that was almost unheard 00:14:25.570 --> 00:14:28.330 of for a black musician at the time. He signed 00:14:28.330 --> 00:14:31.529 with ABC Paramount. Why ABC? They weren't the 00:14:31.529 --> 00:14:33.870 biggest name like Capitol or Columbia. And this 00:14:33.870 --> 00:14:35.970 is where the business acumen really shines through. 00:14:36.190 --> 00:14:38.169 He wasn't just chasing the biggest check. He 00:14:38.169 --> 00:14:41.230 was chasing control. And he secured a uniquely 00:14:41.230 --> 00:14:43.549 liberal contract. I mean, we're talking about 00:14:43.549 --> 00:14:45.669 a deal that guaranteed his financial future and 00:14:45.669 --> 00:14:47.950 artistic freedom in ways few black artists had 00:14:47.950 --> 00:14:50.710 ever achieved. Compare the standard deal of that 00:14:50.710 --> 00:14:53.049 era to what he negotiated. Let's talk numbers. 00:14:53.250 --> 00:14:56.169 The deal included a $50 ,000 annual advance. 00:14:56.509 --> 00:14:59.289 Which in today's money is over half a million 00:14:59.289 --> 00:15:02.610 dollars. Just guaranteed. Every year. Plus higher 00:15:02.610 --> 00:15:05.629 royalty rates than he had ever had. But you keep 00:15:05.629 --> 00:15:08.509 emphasizing the key nugget. The ownership of 00:15:08.509 --> 00:15:11.070 his masters. This is the single most important 00:15:11.070 --> 00:15:14.330 financial detail of his entire career. The master 00:15:14.330 --> 00:15:16.870 tapes. The master tapes. He secured the eventual 00:15:16.870 --> 00:15:19.190 ownership of them. Which for anyone listening 00:15:19.190 --> 00:15:22.269 who doesn't know, that's everything. That's the 00:15:22.269 --> 00:15:25.210 whole game. Yeah. The master tape is the original 00:15:25.210 --> 00:15:28.500 definitive recording. Owning it means you control 00:15:28.500 --> 00:15:30.500 the sound, you control the licensing, you get 00:15:30.500 --> 00:15:33.139 the lion's share of the income forever. In 1959, 00:15:33.379 --> 00:15:35.600 this was an act of economic rebellion. It was 00:15:35.600 --> 00:15:37.759 a deal that effectively made Charles his own 00:15:37.759 --> 00:15:40.100 record label, just distributing through ABC. 00:15:40.440 --> 00:15:42.879 It gave him unprecedented financial independence. 00:15:43.240 --> 00:15:44.899 It's fascinating that this immense independence 00:15:44.899 --> 00:15:47.559 had an immediate and a somewhat surprising effect 00:15:47.559 --> 00:15:50.039 on his art. The sources point out that after 00:15:50.039 --> 00:15:52.799 gaining this control, Charles largely stopped 00:15:52.799 --> 00:15:55.440 writing original songs. He became the world's 00:15:55.440 --> 00:15:57.759 greatest interpreter. He focused on creating 00:15:57.759 --> 00:16:00.799 these eclectic, brilliant arrangements of existing 00:16:00.799 --> 00:16:03.899 songs. The pressure to write and innovate was 00:16:03.899 --> 00:16:06.100 gone because the financial security was locked 00:16:06.100 --> 00:16:08.559 in. He could afford to indulge his interests. 00:16:08.960 --> 00:16:11.419 And his first album on the new label, Genius 00:16:11.419 --> 00:16:15.320 Plus Soul Jazz, was largely instrumental. Proving 00:16:15.320 --> 00:16:17.519 he could make choices based purely on what interested 00:16:17.519 --> 00:16:20.740 him, not what a label demanded. And that interpretation 00:16:20.740 --> 00:16:23.860 strategy paid off almost immediately. His first 00:16:23.860 --> 00:16:28.080 ABC hit in 1960 was... Georgia On My Mind. That 00:16:28.080 --> 00:16:30.720 single was a national phenomenon. It earned him 00:16:30.720 --> 00:16:33.440 four Grammy Awards, including Best Male Vocal 00:16:33.440 --> 00:16:35.539 Performance in the Pop Category. And the song 00:16:35.539 --> 00:16:38.720 became so definitively his that in 1979, the 00:16:38.720 --> 00:16:40.980 state of Georgia officially adopted his version 00:16:40.980 --> 00:16:43.370 as their state song. And he showed up. He went 00:16:43.370 --> 00:16:45.110 down to the state legislature and performed it 00:16:45.110 --> 00:16:47.389 right there on the floor. He cemented his mainstream 00:16:47.389 --> 00:16:50.090 status by earning another Grammy that same year 00:16:50.090 --> 00:16:52.710 for Hit the Road Jack. And this contract allowed 00:16:52.710 --> 00:16:55.429 him to expand his ambitions dramatically. He 00:16:55.429 --> 00:16:58.470 transformed his small road band into a full 16 00:16:58.470 --> 00:17:01.509 piece big band. All funded by the increased royalties 00:17:01.509 --> 00:17:04.309 from the ABC deal. He was a pioneer, not just 00:17:04.309 --> 00:17:07.359 musically, but socioeconomically. He became one 00:17:07.359 --> 00:17:09.680 of the few black artists to successfully cross 00:17:09.680 --> 00:17:12.279 over while maintaining such an extraordinary 00:17:12.279 --> 00:17:15.660 level of control. But the apex of his crossover 00:17:15.660 --> 00:17:19.099 power, the move that shocked the industry, came 00:17:19.099 --> 00:17:23.779 in 1962. The album Modern Sounds, in country 00:17:23.779 --> 00:17:26.500 and western music and its sequel, that was a 00:17:26.500 --> 00:17:29.299 truly audacious experiment. It was revolutionary, 00:17:29.420 --> 00:17:32.079 not just for Charles, but for country music itself. 00:17:32.589 --> 00:17:35.490 At the time, country was seen as a niche, regional, 00:17:35.650 --> 00:17:38.630 often segregated genre. Charles took these songs 00:17:38.630 --> 00:17:40.670 and rendered them with big band arrangements 00:17:40.670 --> 00:17:43.410 and sophisticated production. And he single -handedly 00:17:43.410 --> 00:17:45.529 helped bring country music into the American 00:17:45.529 --> 00:17:47.910 mainstream. The results were undeniable. His 00:17:47.910 --> 00:17:50.549 version of I Can't Stop Loving You was a phenomenon. 00:17:50.930 --> 00:17:53.069 Topped the pop chart for five weeks, number one 00:17:53.069 --> 00:17:55.589 on R &B for ten weeks. And it was his only number 00:17:55.589 --> 00:17:58.309 one record in the UK. This album proved he could 00:17:58.309 --> 00:18:00.809 transcend any genre line just through the power 00:18:00.809 --> 00:18:03.500 of his voice. rapidly building an empire. In 00:18:03.500 --> 00:18:06.460 1962, he founded his own record label, Tangerine 00:18:06.460 --> 00:18:09.859 Records. Distributed by ABC Paramount, hits like 00:18:09.859 --> 00:18:12.920 Busted and Take These Chains From My Heart continue 00:18:12.920 --> 00:18:16.500 to dominate in 1963. The sources show a man at 00:18:16.500 --> 00:18:18.900 the absolute peak of his financial and creative 00:18:18.900 --> 00:18:21.500 prowess. And yet, parallel to this monumental 00:18:21.500 --> 00:18:24.720 rise, his personal life was being decimated by 00:18:24.720 --> 00:18:27.849 a 17 -year addiction to heroin. The sources indicate 00:18:27.849 --> 00:18:30.509 he started using marijuana at 18, believing it 00:18:30.509 --> 00:18:32.670 was a creative aid, but it escalated quickly. 00:18:32.970 --> 00:18:36.109 And his addiction led to persistent legal trouble, 00:18:36.250 --> 00:18:39.150 a dangerous tightrope walk between superstar 00:18:39.150 --> 00:18:41.970 and potential inmate. He had arrests in 55 and 00:18:41.970 --> 00:18:45.029 58, but the sources highlight the 1961 arrest 00:18:45.029 --> 00:18:47.930 in Indianapolis for heroin. That case was dismissed 00:18:47.930 --> 00:18:50.990 on a faulty warrant, giving him a temporary reprieve. 00:18:51.049 --> 00:18:53.269 But the turning point, the confrontation he couldn't 00:18:53.269 --> 00:18:56.650 avoid, came on Halloween 1964. He was arrested 00:18:56.650 --> 00:18:59.390 for a third time for heroin possession at Boston's 00:18:59.390 --> 00:19:02.190 Logan Airport. This final arrest forced the ultimate 00:19:02.190 --> 00:19:04.950 decision, quit or lose everything. And he chose 00:19:04.950 --> 00:19:07.109 to quit. He pleaded guilty but was allowed to 00:19:07.109 --> 00:19:09.130 seek rehab. And we need to pause here because 00:19:09.130 --> 00:19:11.230 the sources detail the immense struggle required. 00:19:11.589 --> 00:19:15.190 He opted for a cold turkey withdrawal. Four excruciating 00:19:15.190 --> 00:19:17.970 days at St. Francis Hospital in Linwood, California. 00:19:18.289 --> 00:19:20.890 Imagine the sheer physical and psychological 00:19:20.890 --> 00:19:23.750 will required for a 34 -year -old man addicted 00:19:23.750 --> 00:19:27.589 for 17 years to go through that. He followed 00:19:27.589 --> 00:19:29.950 that up with time at McLean Hospital, where his 00:19:29.950 --> 00:19:32.549 psychiatrist, Dr. Friedrich Hacker, convinced 00:19:32.549 --> 00:19:34.609 the judge of Charles' sincere determination. 00:19:35.009 --> 00:19:37.230 He received a five -year suspended sentence, 00:19:37.549 --> 00:19:40.390 four years of probation, and a $10 ,000 fine. 00:19:40.730 --> 00:19:43.750 And he turned that personal trauma into a creative 00:19:43.750 --> 00:19:46.549 triumph. His immediate musical response, after 00:19:46.549 --> 00:19:49.829 emerging clean, was to directly address the struggle 00:19:49.829 --> 00:19:52.869 in his music. Which led to his incredible 1966 00:19:52.869 --> 00:19:55.809 comeback. The dance track I Don't Need No Doctor. 00:19:55.950 --> 00:19:58.190 And the highly suggestive Let's Go Get Stoned. 00:19:58.599 --> 00:20:00.819 The latter, co -written with the then unknown 00:20:00.819 --> 00:20:03.259 Ashford and Simpson and Joe Armstead, became 00:20:03.259 --> 00:20:06.279 his first number one R &B hit in several years. 00:20:06.480 --> 00:20:08.759 And his cover of the Buck Owens song, Crying 00:20:08.759 --> 00:20:11.220 Time, showcased his ability to tackle country 00:20:11.220 --> 00:20:13.339 music again. Reached number six on the pop chart, 00:20:13.480 --> 00:20:16.480 won him a Grammy in 1967. He had conquered addiction 00:20:16.480 --> 00:20:18.720 and returned to the charts seemingly unstoppable. 00:20:19.240 --> 00:20:22.440 But by the late 60s and early 70s, the music 00:20:22.440 --> 00:20:25.240 industry was in constant upheaval. And despite 00:20:25.240 --> 00:20:27.859 his triumphs, Ray Charles began to experience 00:20:27.859 --> 00:20:31.380 a noticeable commercial decline. It was a confluence 00:20:31.380 --> 00:20:33.559 of factors. The radio landscape was shifting 00:20:33.559 --> 00:20:36.920 rapidly towards psychedelic rock, heavier R &B, 00:20:37.119 --> 00:20:39.900 the beginnings of funk. And Charles' musical 00:20:39.900 --> 00:20:42.980 direction recording pop standards, covering contemporary 00:20:42.980 --> 00:20:46.160 hits. That was a direct consequence of the financial 00:20:46.160 --> 00:20:48.940 security he'd gained. Right. Since he owned his 00:20:48.940 --> 00:20:51.220 masters, he didn't have to chase radio trends 00:20:51.220 --> 00:20:53.960 by writing new, innovative material. He could 00:20:53.960 --> 00:20:55.880 record what he wanted, even if it diminished 00:20:55.880 --> 00:20:58.119 his chart appeal. That's the ultimate cost of 00:20:58.119 --> 00:21:00.700 freedom, isn't it? He sacrificed innovation in 00:21:00.700 --> 00:21:02.819 songwriting for the security of ownership. And 00:21:02.819 --> 00:21:04.640 the sources show this led to his music being 00:21:04.640 --> 00:21:06.500 less frequently played on the changing radio 00:21:06.500 --> 00:21:08.900 formats of the 70s. While his commercial dominance 00:21:08.900 --> 00:21:11.509 waned, though. His artistic work sometimes grew 00:21:11.509 --> 00:21:14.970 more socially progressive. His 1972 album, A 00:21:14.970 --> 00:21:16.890 Message from the People, is a prime example. 00:21:17.130 --> 00:21:19.470 It moved toward what was then known as progressive 00:21:19.470 --> 00:21:22.690 soul. Music that was more expansive, often with 00:21:22.690 --> 00:21:24.529 orchestral arrangements and socially conscious 00:21:24.529 --> 00:21:27.250 lyrics. Fitting right alongside artists like 00:21:27.250 --> 00:21:30.250 Curtis Mayfield. That album featured protest 00:21:30.250 --> 00:21:33.509 songs about poverty and civil rights, and most 00:21:33.509 --> 00:21:36.750 famously, his definitive gospel -infused version 00:21:36.750 --> 00:21:39.710 of America the Beautiful. It became an iconic 00:21:39.710 --> 00:21:41.869 patriotic statement, though the sources point 00:21:41.869 --> 00:21:44.150 out that initially his arrangement was highly 00:21:44.150 --> 00:21:47.150 criticized. So he took the traditional ballad 00:21:47.150 --> 00:21:49.450 structure and transformed it into this dramatic, 00:21:49.750 --> 00:21:53.470 emotional, tempo shifting gospel anthem. While 00:21:53.470 --> 00:21:56.089 many embraced it, traditionalists found the drastic 00:21:56.089 --> 00:21:59.190 restructuring of a classic song deeply unsettling. 00:21:59.529 --> 00:22:01.910 This period also forces us to grapple with his 00:22:01.910 --> 00:22:04.269 complex legacy regarding the civil rights movement. 00:22:04.589 --> 00:22:06.890 He was a supporter, but his actions sometimes 00:22:06.890 --> 00:22:09.250 placed him in direct conflict with prevailing 00:22:09.250 --> 00:22:11.569 activist sentiments. Let's look at the Augusta, 00:22:11.569 --> 00:22:14.569 Georgia incident in 1961 first. He was scheduled 00:22:14.569 --> 00:22:17.269 to perform at Bell Auditorium. And when he arrived, 00:22:17.509 --> 00:22:19.410 he learned the venue was strictly segregated. 00:22:19.789 --> 00:22:22.109 White audience members on the dance floor, black 00:22:22.109 --> 00:22:24.569 audience members relegated to the balcony. He 00:22:24.569 --> 00:22:26.869 immediately canceled the show. Which was a massive 00:22:26.869 --> 00:22:29.180 risk, both financially and professionally. He 00:22:29.180 --> 00:22:32.799 was sued for breach of contract, fined $757. 00:22:33.599 --> 00:22:36.400 But the sources highlight the impact of his principled 00:22:36.400 --> 00:22:39.579 stand. Two years later, in 1963, he returned 00:22:39.579 --> 00:22:42.319 to the very same venue. And this time, he performed 00:22:42.319 --> 00:22:45.680 for a completely desegregated concert. He forced 00:22:45.680 --> 00:22:48.180 change through economic and artistic pressure. 00:22:48.619 --> 00:22:50.740 However, the complexity deepens with what the 00:22:50.740 --> 00:22:54.420 sources detail later. In 1981, Charles chose 00:22:54.420 --> 00:22:57.319 to perform at the Sun City Resort in apartheid 00:22:57.319 --> 00:22:59.660 South Africa. Directly defying the international 00:22:59.660 --> 00:23:02.359 boycott imposed by many artists and activists. 00:23:02.819 --> 00:23:05.740 This decision drew heavy, understandable criticism. 00:23:06.119 --> 00:23:08.539 How did he defend it, according to the sources? 00:23:08.819 --> 00:23:11.299 He defended it by insisting his purpose was integration. 00:23:12.089 --> 00:23:14.250 He claimed that when he performed, the audience, 00:23:14.430 --> 00:23:16.549 both black and white fans, would integrate for 00:23:16.549 --> 00:23:19.009 the duration of the show, showing a small, localized 00:23:19.009 --> 00:23:21.730 example of equality. So it's a moment that asks 00:23:21.730 --> 00:23:23.869 the listener to weigh the impact of principled 00:23:23.869 --> 00:23:26.670 local action against the necessity of broad political 00:23:26.670 --> 00:23:29.549 solidarity. Exactly. While it may reflect his 00:23:29.549 --> 00:23:31.369 personal commitment, it was deeply questioned 00:23:31.369 --> 00:23:33.829 by the global activist community who felt performing 00:23:33.829 --> 00:23:36.720 there legitimized the oppressive regime. As we 00:23:36.720 --> 00:23:40.500 move into his later career, post -1983, he spent 00:23:40.500 --> 00:23:43.500 time on Columbia and Warner Bros. And he leaned 00:23:43.500 --> 00:23:46.000 heavily into country music, focusing on albums 00:23:46.000 --> 00:23:48.779 and leveraging his star power for duets. A strategy 00:23:48.779 --> 00:23:50.960 that worked brilliantly. He had major collaborations 00:23:50.960 --> 00:23:53.819 with George Jones and Hank Williams Jr. But the 00:23:53.819 --> 00:23:56.900 commercial peak was his duet Seven Spanish Angels 00:23:56.900 --> 00:24:00.289 with his friend Willie Nelson. Charles understood 00:24:00.289 --> 00:24:03.130 that his voice, paired with other legends, created 00:24:03.130 --> 00:24:05.789 instant magic. And he also proved he wasn't stuck 00:24:05.789 --> 00:24:08.549 in the past. He recorded Baby Grant with Billy 00:24:08.549 --> 00:24:11.009 Joel, a brilliant piano duet. And then he had 00:24:11.009 --> 00:24:13.609 a massive return to contemporary charts in 1990 00:24:13.609 --> 00:24:16.740 with a cover of I'll Be Good to You. That duet 00:24:16.740 --> 00:24:20.119 with Quincy Jones and Chaka Khan hit number one 00:24:20.119 --> 00:24:22.880 on the R &B chart. Won them a Grammy. Even in 00:24:22.880 --> 00:24:25.339 his 60s, Charles' voice was an undeniable force 00:24:25.339 --> 00:24:27.660 that could seamlessly transition from country 00:24:27.660 --> 00:24:30.960 to jazz to contemporary R &B, maintaining his 00:24:30.960 --> 00:24:33.420 relevance. His final years were marked by performance 00:24:33.420 --> 00:24:36.519 and accolades. He headlined the White House Correspondents 00:24:36.519 --> 00:24:39.599 Association Dinner in 2003. And his final public 00:24:39.599 --> 00:24:42.519 appearance in April 2004 was fittingly architectural. 00:24:42.859 --> 00:24:45.720 The dedication of his Los Angeles music studio 00:24:45.720 --> 00:24:49.220 as a historic landmark. We must now circle back 00:24:49.220 --> 00:24:51.420 to the complexity of his personal life, especially 00:24:51.420 --> 00:24:53.660 his relationships and family. He was married 00:24:53.660 --> 00:24:56.099 twice. Briefly to Eileen Williams and then to 00:24:56.099 --> 00:24:59.920 Della Beatrice Howard from 1955 to 1977. Della 00:24:59.920 --> 00:25:03.559 or B raised their three sons. But the sources 00:25:03.559 --> 00:25:06.539 are unflinching in detailing why that second 00:25:06.539 --> 00:25:09.019 marriage ended. The constant pressure of life 00:25:09.019 --> 00:25:11.720 on the road, coupled with his persistent extramarital 00:25:11.720 --> 00:25:14.500 affairs and the volatile behavior fueled by his 00:25:14.500 --> 00:25:17.160 addiction, it just proved too much. And the sources 00:25:17.160 --> 00:25:19.900 confirm the staggering complexity of his relationships. 00:25:20.200 --> 00:25:22.859 He fathered 12 children with 10 different women. 00:25:23.039 --> 00:25:25.019 This wasn't just a handful of affairs. It was 00:25:25.019 --> 00:25:27.140 a deeply fragmented family structure spanning 00:25:27.140 --> 00:25:29.359 decades. We mentioned the six -year affair with 00:25:29.359 --> 00:25:31.859 Raylette Margie Hendricks. He also had a daughter, 00:25:31.980 --> 00:25:33.779 Sheila Ray Charles, who later became a noted 00:25:33.779 --> 00:25:36.220 singer -songwriter herself. Right. And the sources 00:25:36.220 --> 00:25:38.880 provide a final poignant moment of closure and 00:25:38.880 --> 00:25:43.220 financial responsibility. In 2002, Charles, terminally 00:25:43.220 --> 00:25:46.380 ill, hosted a luncheon for his 12 children. Ten 00:25:46.380 --> 00:25:49.160 of whom attended. He announced that he had established 00:25:49.160 --> 00:25:51.420 half a million dollar trusts for each of the 00:25:51.420 --> 00:25:55.220 12, payable over five years. His final act to 00:25:55.220 --> 00:25:57.220 acknowledge and provide for his complicated, 00:25:57.619 --> 00:26:01.349 expansive legacy. Before we move on, let's indulge 00:26:01.349 --> 00:26:03.930 in that wonderful anecdote tied to his rehabilitation. 00:26:04.329 --> 00:26:07.829 It provides such a sharp contrast to the intensity 00:26:07.829 --> 00:26:10.490 of his life. His passion for chess. Exactly. 00:26:11.400 --> 00:26:13.339 This is a perfect detail for understanding the 00:26:13.339 --> 00:26:15.740 intellectual side of his genius. He learned to 00:26:15.740 --> 00:26:18.319 play from his psychiatrist, Dr. Friedrich Hacker, 00:26:18.480 --> 00:26:21.359 as a cognitive exercise during his drug therapy. 00:26:21.559 --> 00:26:23.599 And since he couldn't see the board, he used 00:26:23.599 --> 00:26:26.579 a special set with raised squares and holes designed 00:26:26.579 --> 00:26:29.180 to anchor the pieces. The determination required 00:26:29.180 --> 00:26:31.519 to master braille music transferred perfectly 00:26:31.519 --> 00:26:34.539 to this silent, intense game. And when reporters 00:26:34.539 --> 00:26:36.839 inevitably asked him if people ever tried to 00:26:36.839 --> 00:26:39.339 cheat a blind man in chess, he delivered the 00:26:39.339 --> 00:26:41.519 classic punchline. You can't cheat in chess. 00:26:41.839 --> 00:26:44.119 I'm going to see that. The sheer intellect required 00:26:44.119 --> 00:26:46.920 to keep the entire board configuration in his 00:26:46.920 --> 00:26:50.079 mind is just astonishing. He even played and 00:26:50.079 --> 00:26:52.579 lost against American Grandmaster Larry Evans 00:26:52.579 --> 00:26:56.359 in 2002, proving his dedication. To truly grasp 00:26:56.359 --> 00:26:59.000 his ultimate legacy, we have to return to the 00:26:59.000 --> 00:27:02.359 instrument that started it all. His voice. One 00:27:02.359 --> 00:27:05.000 of the most instantly recognizable and technically 00:27:05.000 --> 00:27:08.420 complex voices in American music history. Musicologist 00:27:08.420 --> 00:27:10.960 Henry Pleasance attempted to capture this complexity, 00:27:11.220 --> 00:27:13.559 describing Charles not just as a singer, but 00:27:13.559 --> 00:27:16.240 as a master of sounds. He elaborates that Charles 00:27:16.240 --> 00:27:18.859 commanded an extraordinary assortment of slurs, 00:27:18.900 --> 00:27:22.480 glides, turns, shrieks, wails, breaks, shouts, 00:27:22.480 --> 00:27:25.279 screams, and hollers. But crucially, Pleasance 00:27:25.279 --> 00:27:27.900 emphasized that all of this raw, visceral expression 00:27:27.900 --> 00:27:30.900 was wonderfully controlled. Disciplined by inspired 00:27:30.900 --> 00:27:33.740 musicianship. That distinction between raw expression 00:27:33.740 --> 00:27:36.319 and disciplined technique is the key to his genius. 00:27:36.640 --> 00:27:38.660 It's a voice that conveys such intense emotion 00:27:38.660 --> 00:27:41.279 that, as Pleasance put it, he can't just sing 00:27:41.279 --> 00:27:43.420 it. He has to cry out to you or shout to you. 00:27:43.619 --> 00:27:47.019 In tones eloquent of despair or exaltation. Technically, 00:27:47.140 --> 00:27:49.480 this is fascinating. He was often classified 00:27:49.480 --> 00:27:52.339 as a baritone, but his voice underwent what the 00:27:52.339 --> 00:27:55.519 sources call a transfiguration under stress when 00:27:55.519 --> 00:27:58.130 performing gospel or blues. This allowed him 00:27:58.130 --> 00:28:01.690 to sustain and sing intensely for long measures 00:28:01.690 --> 00:28:05.190 in the high tenor range, hitting notes like A, 00:28:05.410 --> 00:28:09.549 Bb, B, C, even C sharp and D. Yeah. And for a 00:28:09.549 --> 00:28:11.789 listener who might not be technically versed, 00:28:11.809 --> 00:28:15.349 a baritone hitting C sharp and D is pushing far 00:28:15.349 --> 00:28:17.890 outside their comfortable range. The power and 00:28:17.890 --> 00:28:20.410 control required to deliver those notes, not 00:28:20.410 --> 00:28:22.650 as a thin falsetto but with the full force of 00:28:22.650 --> 00:28:25.170 a tenor, is what gave his voice its unparalleled 00:28:25.170 --> 00:28:27.769 intensity. And its three octave range, including 00:28:27.769 --> 00:28:31.329 his falsetto extension. This style had an incalculable 00:28:31.329 --> 00:28:34.150 influence. John Pirellas notes his direct impact 00:28:34.150 --> 00:28:36.490 on generational talents like Aretha Franklin, 00:28:36.710 --> 00:28:38.730 Stevie Wonder, and Ben Morrison. And the sources 00:28:38.730 --> 00:28:41.029 quote Billy Joel, who went so far as to say, 00:28:41.190 --> 00:28:43.450 this may sound like sacrilege, but I think Ray 00:28:43.450 --> 00:28:45.390 Charles was more important than Elvis Presley. 00:28:45.509 --> 00:28:48.650 Wow. And a Rolling Stone editor, Joe Levy, cemented 00:28:48.650 --> 00:28:50.670 his historical importance by stating that Charles' 00:28:50.829 --> 00:28:53.410 mid -50s Atlantic hits didn't just influence 00:28:53.410 --> 00:28:55.910 soul. They mapped out everything that would happen 00:28:55.910 --> 00:28:58.609 to rock and roll and soul music in the years 00:28:58.609 --> 00:29:01.160 that followed. He provided the roadmap. That 00:29:01.160 --> 00:29:04.019 massive influence is reflected in the sheer volume 00:29:04.019 --> 00:29:06.920 of his honors. His Grammy tally is monumental. 00:29:07.299 --> 00:29:11.440 17 total wins, including five posthumously, plus 00:29:11.440 --> 00:29:13.619 the prestigious Lifetime Achievement Award in 00:29:13.619 --> 00:29:16.980 1987. He was recognized right at the outset of 00:29:16.980 --> 00:29:19.279 modern music history, inducted into the inaugural 00:29:19.279 --> 00:29:21.839 class of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1986. 00:29:22.519 --> 00:29:24.859 Alongside pioneers like Chuck Berry and James 00:29:24.859 --> 00:29:27.700 Brown. And demonstrating his absolute mastery 00:29:27.700 --> 00:29:31.559 of genre fusion, in 2022, he was posthumously 00:29:31.559 --> 00:29:33.460 inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame. 00:29:33.599 --> 00:29:35.579 Which made him only the third African -American 00:29:35.579 --> 00:29:38.420 inducted and the 13th person overall to hold 00:29:38.420 --> 00:29:40.460 membership in both the country and rock halls 00:29:40.460 --> 00:29:42.750 of fame. That achievement underscores that he 00:29:42.750 --> 00:29:44.910 wasn't a crossover artist. He was the center 00:29:44.910 --> 00:29:46.910 of the American musical landscape. Government 00:29:46.910 --> 00:29:49.369 honors were equally impressive. The Kennedy Center 00:29:49.369 --> 00:29:52.410 Honors in 86, the National Medal of Arts in 93. 00:29:52.750 --> 00:29:55.369 And the patriotism of his music was given ultimate 00:29:55.369 --> 00:29:58.670 validation when President Barack Obama in 2016 00:29:58.670 --> 00:30:01.990 called his unique emotional version of America 00:30:01.990 --> 00:30:05.349 the beautiful. The most patriotic piece of music 00:30:05.349 --> 00:30:08.380 ever performed. Beyond his performances, his 00:30:08.380 --> 00:30:10.660 charitable legacy lives on through the Ray Charles 00:30:10.660 --> 00:30:14.279 Foundation. Founded in 1986, initially focused 00:30:14.279 --> 00:30:17.259 on hearing disorders. Its mission remains centered 00:30:17.259 --> 00:30:19.440 on supporting research into hearing disorders 00:30:19.440 --> 00:30:22.480 and music education. And the foundation has been 00:30:22.480 --> 00:30:25.660 immensely philanthropic. Charles donated $2 million 00:30:25.660 --> 00:30:28.539 to Morehouse College, which later opened the 00:30:28.539 --> 00:30:31.579 massive $20 million Ray Charles Performing Arts 00:30:31.579 --> 00:30:33.839 Center. And in a wonderfully specific piece of 00:30:33.839 --> 00:30:36.599 philanthropy, he endowed the nation's first professorship 00:30:36.599 --> 00:30:39.140 of African -American culinary history at Dillard 00:30:39.140 --> 00:30:42.420 University. Charles died on June 10, 2004, at 00:30:42.420 --> 00:30:45.660 age 73, from complications related to liver failure 00:30:45.660 --> 00:30:48.079 at his home in Beverly Hills. His funeral was 00:30:48.079 --> 00:30:50.529 attended by musical royalty. Tributes played 00:30:50.529 --> 00:30:53.170 by B .B. King, Stevie Wonder, Wynton Marsalis. 00:30:53.390 --> 00:30:55.170 And the final chapter of his career is one of 00:30:55.170 --> 00:30:57.390 the most successful posthumous stories in music 00:30:57.390 --> 00:31:00.170 history. His final album, Genius Loves Company, 00:31:00.430 --> 00:31:03.369 released just two months after his death, became 00:31:03.369 --> 00:31:06.950 a worldwide triumph. This album, all duets with 00:31:06.950 --> 00:31:09.730 major admirers like Nora Jones, Van Morrison, 00:31:09.829 --> 00:31:12.470 and Willie Nelson, was a massive commercial and 00:31:12.470 --> 00:31:15.089 critical success. It won an astounding eight 00:31:15.089 --> 00:31:18.170 Grammy Awards at the 2005 ceremony. Including 00:31:18.170 --> 00:31:20.730 the top prizes. Album of the year and record 00:31:20.730 --> 00:31:22.950 of the year for Here We Go Again, his duet with 00:31:22.950 --> 00:31:25.809 Nora Jones, a magnificent final validation of 00:31:25.809 --> 00:31:28.230 Brother Ray's genius. So what does this all mean 00:31:28.230 --> 00:31:30.990 when we synthesize the sources? When we look 00:31:30.990 --> 00:31:33.769 back at the life of Ray Charles, four monumental 00:31:33.769 --> 00:31:36.890 pillars of his genius stand out for you, the 00:31:36.890 --> 00:31:39.069 learner. First, the radical genre synthesis, 00:31:39.289 --> 00:31:42.009 the forging of soul music by blending blues, 00:31:42.289 --> 00:31:44.990 jazz, R &B and gospel, creating a sound that 00:31:44.990 --> 00:31:47.829 just didn't exist before him. Second, his incredible 00:31:47.829 --> 00:31:50.410 business independence. He secured the ownership 00:31:50.410 --> 00:31:53.029 of his master tapes, a lucrative victory and 00:31:53.029 --> 00:31:55.150 an act of economic empowerment that was unique 00:31:55.150 --> 00:31:57.390 for black musicians at the time. It fundamentally 00:31:57.390 --> 00:31:59.289 changed how artists approached the industry. 00:31:59.799 --> 00:32:02.539 Third, the resilience required to overcome 17 00:32:02.539 --> 00:32:05.519 years of devastating heroin addiction, transforming 00:32:05.519 --> 00:32:08.400 that struggle into chart -topping, deeply resonant 00:32:08.400 --> 00:32:11.460 hits. And finally, his unmatched vocal mastery. 00:32:12.140 --> 00:32:14.319 The three octave range and highly controlled 00:32:14.319 --> 00:32:16.920 emotional expression that influenced every major 00:32:16.920 --> 00:32:19.799 singer who followed him from rock to R &B. But 00:32:19.799 --> 00:32:22.859 our deep dive reveals a central paradox, and 00:32:22.859 --> 00:32:24.900 it's tied directly to that business success. 00:32:25.180 --> 00:32:27.920 Charles intentionally sacrificed original songwriting 00:32:27.920 --> 00:32:30.059 in his post -Atlantic career for the freedom 00:32:30.059 --> 00:32:32.380 and immense financial power of owning his arrangements. 00:32:32.799 --> 00:32:35.519 That choice meant security, but it also meant 00:32:35.519 --> 00:32:37.819 spending decades interpreting others' songs. 00:32:38.160 --> 00:32:40.319 This raises an important question for you to 00:32:40.319 --> 00:32:43.079 explore. What did the music world truly gain 00:32:43.079 --> 00:32:46.039 through Charles' shrewd business savvy, achieving 00:32:46.039 --> 00:32:49.019 that rare independence, versus what it might 00:32:49.019 --> 00:32:52.200 have lost in terms of new, genre -defining original 00:32:52.200 --> 00:32:55.119 compositions in his later career? Music essayist 00:32:55.119 --> 00:32:58.039 Robert Crisco once called Charles' vast discography 00:32:58.039 --> 00:33:00.819 a monumental mess, precisely because of the sheer 00:33:00.819 --> 00:33:03.380 volume of covers and compilations. So exploring 00:33:03.380 --> 00:33:05.779 that messy discography and deciding whether the 00:33:05.779 --> 00:33:07.920 brilliance of his arrangements outweighed the 00:33:07.920 --> 00:33:10.680 missing originals, well... That's the ultimate 00:33:10.680 --> 00:33:12.119 deep dive left for you to take.