MISGUIDED MAGAZINE SPRING 2020

SPRING 2020
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RAY CHARLES
Ray Charles Robinson was an American singer, songwriter, pianist, and composer. He was often referred to as
“The Genius.” He was a pioneer of soul music, integrating R&B, gospel, pop and country. he is considered one
of the greatest artists of all time.
Charles started losing his vision at the age of 6 due to glaucoma. He was blind by the age of 7, and his mother
sent him to a state-sponsored school, where he learned to read, write and arrange music in Braille. He also
learned to play piano, organ, sax, clarinet and trumpet.
The year 1960 brought Charles his first Grammy Award for “Georgia on My Mind,” followed by another Grammy
for the single “Hit the Road, Jack.”
Charles avoided jail after his arrest for possession by finally kicking the habit at a clinic in Los Angeles.
During his lifetime, Charles recorded more than 60 albums and performed more than 10,000 concerts.
Charles won 17 Grammy Awards, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1986 and received the
Songwriters’ Hall of Fame 1993 Lifetime Achievement Award.
Charles learned he was suffering from liver disease, and he died on June 10, 2004, at his home in Beverly Hills,
California.
Source: biography.com/musician/ray-charles
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