Lyrics | Artists | Ray Charles

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Ray Charles

Blues

Early R&B

Soul music

Blind from the age of seven due to glaucoma, Ray Charles threw himself into music to become one of the 20th Century's best-loved and most influential entertainers; highly respected in jazz, blues, gospel and soul circles, while also scoring many pop-soul hits like Hit The Road Jack and I Can't Stop Loving You. Orphaned in his teens, Charles studied classical music but abandoned it to play the blues and jazz he heard on the radio, going on to play piano with various bands in Florida, where he first wore his trademark wraparound sunglasses. In 1947 Charles moved to Seattle, where h...