In Ray Charles biography, he played the piano while nearly blind.Beginning with Ray Charles biography, he was born in Albany, New York on September 23, 1930. While they were playing, his four year old brother slipped and hit his head on the side of a wash tub and fell into the tub and was drowned. Ray Charles began to go blind at the age of five years old, and before he was seven he could not see at all. Ray Charles listened to the Grand Ole Opry on the radio every Saturday night. His mother helped him cope with going blind, by reading music to him and helping him play the piano. Ray Charles biography continues, he went to the School for the deaf and the blind in St. Augustine, Florida where he learned to read braille. His mother died when he was fourteen years old and he had a hard time dealing with this tragedy as he loved his mother more than anybody in the world. He really liked Nat King Cole's music and in the beginning years, he sang a lot like him but later developed his own style. He moved to Seattle, Washington and did a lot of singing at the Elks Club and at the Rocking Chair where he met Jack Lauderdale from Swingtime Records. Jack Lauderdale, convinced him to sign a contract with Swingtime Records and he accepted and later he moved to Los Angeles. In 1950, he recorded the record titled, "Baby Let Me hold Your Hand". Ray Charles Biography continues, with Swingtime Records, he recorded many songs such as, "I Love You", "Confession Blues", "Drown Myself Going To The River", "I Got A Woman" and "Kiss Me Baby". In the fifties, there was a lot of segregation, so he could not stay at any hotels or go to eat at any restaurants, which were marked with signs, "Whites Only". Continuing with Ray Charles biography, he began to work for Atlantic Records, and while working for them he released the song,"I Got A Woman". Most of his songs at the time were gospel music, but later he went on to do mostly country music. In 1959, he moved to A.B.C. Records and released the album titled, "The Genius of Ray Charles" with single hits such as "Hit The Road Jack" and "Unchain My Heart". In 1962, he put out an album, "Ray Charles Modern Sounds In Country Music" with singles like, "Bye Bye Love", "You Don't Know Me", "I Can't Stop Loving You", "You Are My Sunshine", and "Crying Time Again" as well as many other songs. In 1965, he was arrested for taking drugs, was given a suspended sentence and he stopped recording for nearly a year. In 1966, he released the single, "Let's Go Get Stoned" and "I Don't Need No Doctor". In 1986, he worked with Billy Joel on Baby Grand for Billy's album, "The Bridge". In 1990, he went to work with Warner Brother Records and released the song titled, "I'll Be Good To You" Continuing with Ray Charles Biography, in 1991, he released the album, "The Birth Of Soul". In 2002, he released the album, "Thanks For Bringing Love Around Again". In 2003, he did his last big public show in Washington D.C. as he performed the song, "America The Beautiful" and "Georgia On My Mind". Continuing with Ray Charles biography, in 2004, he recorded an album titled, "Genius Loves Company" with B.B. King, Willie Nelson, Bonnie Raitt, Norah James, James Taylor Elton John and many other singers. "Genius Loves Company" was nominated for the Grammy Awards Record of 2004. In April of 2004, he made his last appearence in Los Angeles, California to dedicate his music studio as an historic landmark to the City. He died on June 10, 2004 of an acute liver disease in his home in Beverly Hills, California, he was 73 years old. In August 2005, his album titled, "Genius Loves Company" won for best album, record and pop vocal of the year. It has sold in excess of three million copies
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