Ray Charles Height, Weight, Age, Death, Family, Facts, Biography |

Ray Charles Quick Info
Height	5 ft 9 in
Weight	80 kg
Date of Birth	September 23, 1930
Zodiac Sign	Libra
Hair Color	Gray

Ray Charles was a legendary American singer and music composer who was ranked at number 2 by Rolling Stone magazine in its 2008 list of the “100 Greatest Singers of All Time”. Ray had started to lose his vision by the age of 5 due to glaucoma and was completely blind by the age of 7 but he nonetheless embarked on his spirited quest to achieve musical greatness that he was always destined to. He is considered to be the pioneer of the soul music genre and he also contributed to the integration of country music, rhythm and blues, and pop music. During his remarkable career, Ray achieved the distinction of placing 44 singles in the Top 10 of the US R&B singles charts.

Born Name

Raymond Charles Robinson

Nick Name

Brother Ray, The Genius, The High Priest, Ray

Age

Ray was born on September 23, 1930.

Died

He died on June 10, 2004, due to acute liver failure in Beverly Hills, California, United States. He was 73 years old at the time of his death.

Sun Sign

Libra

Born Place

Albany, Georgia, United States

Nationality

Education

Ray attended the Florida School for the Deaf and the Blind from 1937 to 1945, where he studied braille music and learned to play the piano. He was expelled from the school in 1945 after playing a prank on a teacher.

Occupation

Singer, Lyricist, Music Composer

Family

Father – Bailey Robinson (Laborer)
Mother – Aretha Williams (Sharecropper) (Died in 1944)
Siblings – George Robinson (Younger Brother) (Died at the age of 4)
Others – Mary Jane Robinson (Paternal Grandmother)

Genre

R&B, Soul, Gospel, Country, Jazz, Rock and Roll, Blues

Instruments

Vocals, Piano, Keyboard, Saxophone

Labels

Atlantic Recording Corporation
ABC Records
Warner Records Inc.
Swing Time Records
Concord Records
Columbia Records
Flashback

Build

Average

Height

5 ft 9 in or 175 cm

Weight

80 kg or 176.5 lbs

Girlfriend / Spouse

Ray had dated –

Louise Flowers (1949-1950) – Ray had his first child Evelyn (b. 1949) with his companion Louise.

Eileen Williams (1951-1952) – Ray and Eileen got married on July 31, 1951, and got separated in 1952.

Della Beatrice Howard Robinson (1955-1977) – Ray’s 2nd marriage was with Della Robinson in April 1955 and they had 3 sons together named Ray Jr. (b. 1955), David (b. 1958), and Robert (b. 1960). They got divorced in 1977.

Mary Ann Fisher (1955-1958)

Margie Hendricks (1958-1969) – Ray had a son from his affair with singer Margie Hendricks named Charles Wayne (b. 1959).

Mae Mosley Lyles (1959-1962) – Ray had a daughter from his affair with Mae Mosley Lyles named Renee (b. 1961).

Sandra Jean Betts (1961-1964) – Ray had a daughter from his affair with Sandra Jean Betts named Sheila Raye Charles (b. 1963).

Race / Ethnicity

Black

He was of African-American descent.

Hair Color

Gray

Eye Color

Dark Brown

Sexual Orientation

Straight

Distinctive Features

Baritone Voice
Affable Smile
Dry humor
Always wore jet dark sunglasses

Brand Endorsements

Ray had appeared in print advertisements for brands such as –

Craig Powerplay Car Stereo systems (1976)
Pioneer’s LaserDisc video system (1985-1986)

Ray had appeared in the TV commercials for brands such as –

California Raisins (1988-89)
Honda (Early 1990s)
Diet Pepsi (Early 1990s)
Georgia State Lottery (2003)

Religion

Protestant Christianity (Baptist)

Ray Charles Favorite Things

Game – Chess
Singer – Nat King Cole

Source – Wikipedia

Ray Charles Facts

In 1979, Ray was inducted into the ‘Georgia Music Hall of Fame’ and his rendition of the song Georgia on My Mind was made the official song of the state of Georgia.

In 1981, he was honored with a star on the ‘Hollywood Walk of Fame’. He was also the inaugural inductee in the ‘Rock & Roll Hall of Fame’ in 1986.

In 1987, he received the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. In 1993, he was awarded the National Medal of Arts.

Ray’s most popular song was the 1962 hit I Can’t Stop Loving You. The song stayed at number 1 on Billboard’s Hot 100 charts for 5 weeks.

Ray had performed at President Ronald Reagan‘s 2nd inauguration ceremony in 1985 and also at President Bill Clinton‘s first inauguration ceremony in 1993.

A special legislation was passed in the United States’ House of Representatives to award Ray with the Congressional Gold Medal in February 2005.

Featured Image by Alan Light / Flickr / CC BY-2.0

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Ray Charles Height, Weight, Age, Death, Family, Facts, Biography