Profile
Famous as :
Soul singer, pianistBirth Name :
Ray Charles RobinsonBirth Date :
September 23, 1930Birth Place :
Albany, Georgia, USASpouse :
Elieen Williams (1951-1952), Della Beatrice Howard (1995-1997)Claim to fame :
Single "I Got a Woman" (1954)
Forbes' Top-Earning Dead Celebrities
October 26, 2006 11:10:53
It's been twelve years after his death that Kurt Cobain, Nirvana singer-songwriter, is making another record. The late rocker, whose wealth in an estimated $50 million between October 2005 and October of this year, tops the top spot on Forbes' 6th annual Top-Earning Dead Celebrities list.
In the last 12 months, Cobain reportedly earned $50 million, which is said largely due to his widow, Courtney Love, who sold a stake in his song catalog to publishing company Primary Wave. The once proclaimed King of Pop Elvis Presley, who died in 1977 and reigned as the top earner from 2001 to 2005, slips to 2nd spot with earnings of $42 million.
The New Created Ray Charles Album
September 09, 2006 01:09:16
The late great musician Ray Charles will live forever, at least his music work. Considering his great attainment and contribution to the scene, Concord Records and Starbucks are teaming up to release "Ray Sings, Basie Swings".
The new set reportedly is a combination of Charles vocals backed by new arrangements from the legendary bandleader's orchestra Count Basie Band.
All about Ray Charles at Country Music Museum
March 04, 2006 12:03:09
Those who want to know more about Ray Charles while recall the good old days can visit the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum on March 10 for it was the opening date of "I Can't Stop Loving You: Ray Charles and Country Music", a new exhibition from the museum dedicated to the blind singer. Scheduled to run through December 31, 2007, the exhibition puts its cornerstone on his1962 work of Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music" and so will display audio from the album, song manuscripts, sheet music, and photos plus quotes about the record from Loretta Lynn, Willie Nelson, and Billy Joel.
The 5,000-square-foot exhibition also will feature many aspects of Charles, including those of his electric pianos, saxophone, stage costumes, electronic chess board, and even the Braille editions of Playboy he had collected besides the TV footage of his performances throughout his nearly 60-year career. All those things have been gathered from the musician's estate in terms of loan as well as collectors and music artists who had worked with him.
Ray Charles' Tour Bus Donated to Morehouse College
February 18, 2006 11:02:51Late music great Ray Charles has had his midnight blue tour bus donated to Morehouse College, the college by the Ray Charles Foundation. Just for everybody to know, the bus is a historic vehicle as it is the one that carried Ray around the country.
The bus, which is emblazoned with the image of Ray's face, is fully equipped with 35 customized seats, four televisions and a kitchen. It will first be on display before then used for trips by student groups. "This is where Ray would have wanted to be. It served us well and now we want it to serve the wonderful students at Morehouse College." Joe Adams, Ray's longtime manager said.
The 75th Birthday of a Music Genius
September 10, 2005 11:09:47The music genius is about to reach his 75th year age next September 23. And in celebration, Rhino label, which has been asked by late Ray Charles to complete and release his duets projects, will release two albums of his on September 20. One of the two albums is a collection of duets called "Genius and Friends," while the other is a 146-track boxed set of his seminal work, which includes never-before-released rehearsal tracks, titled "Pure Genius -- The Complete Atlantic Recordings (1952-1959)."
The new duets albums present Charles singing with Jill Scott, Mary J. Blige, Chris Isaak, Patti LaBelle, Diana Ross, George Michael and Angie Stone. In addition, Charles also teams up with soul-man John Legend, Italian pop star Laura Pausini and Idina Menzel, star of the Broadway play "Wicked." High selling rate is expected to bring the album the platinum award and/or gold status that the music legend's previous albums have reached.
Ray Charles Post Office Building
July 30, 2005 01:07:02President Bush has, earlier this month, signed a bill into law that will change the name of a building near downtown to honor music legend Ray Charles. The musician, who died June 10, 2004, at age 73, will have his name used to rename a post office, which later on becoming Ray Charles Post Office Building.
The post office is located near the business office and recording studio where Charles produced "Georgia on My Mind" and some of his other hits. An official renaming ceremony is scheduled next month. Also, there are plans to convert the three-story building into a Ray Charles museum. This evidently proves that Ray Charles really is a legend.
"Ray" Ready for Broadway
May 04, 2005 11:05:09Stuart Benjamin, Howard and Karen Baldwin, all of which are the leading performers of "Ray," the biopic of legend Ray Charles, have gotten the stage rights to Charles' life story and greatest hits from the late icon's estate and Ray Charles Enterprises for a musical production that's part biography.
The Hollywood trades reported that Ray brain trust want to incorporate Charles' best loved tunes, including "Georgia on My Mind," "You Don't Know Me," "Hit the Road Jack," "Unchain My Heart," "I Can't Stop Loving You," "What'd I Say" and his soulful take on "America the Beautiful."
Plan for the Ray Charles Museum is Unveiled
April 04, 2005 09:04:40Music legend Ray Charles will forever remain in the heart of many people, who admire his great contribution to music. Bringing to life public appreciation to him, organizers have detailed plans for the Ray Charles Museum that were officially unveiled on Thursday April 1, 2005, in Los Angeles.
At that time organizers uttered their plan to renovate the three-story, 18,000-square-foot building along Washington Boulevard near downtown that housed Charles original recording studios. Moreover, the museum would house a permanent collection of rotating exhibits paying tribute to Charles' long and storied career and feature an educational center and the working studio-offices of Ray Charles Enterprises.
Ray Charles' Biopic Wins Four NAACP Image Awards
March 21, 2005 09:03:35The biopic of Ray Charles tells about the legendary singer life has been nominated for a leading seven awards at the 36th annual Image Awards, including outstanding motion picture and outstanding actor in a motion picture for Jamie Foxx, who received the best-actor Oscar at last month's Academy Awards. What a success as it could successfully bring home 4 awards from those 7 nominations, one of which was an outstanding-actor trophy that gave Foxx armful of honors.
Moreover, the ceremony held at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, hosted by actor Chris Tucker and aired Friday on Fox, also listed singer and songwriter Alicia Keys who won a pair of trophies for outstanding song and music video for "If I Ain't Got You."
Ray Charles' Missing Masters
March 07, 2005 11:03:51Ray Charles' missing masters case has been dissolved as Police marks Charles longtime sound engineer, Terry Howard, innocent to the charge of stealing his 300 of master tapes, which missing wasn't recognized even at the time of his death on June 10.
Claiming professional jealously as the main cause of the case, Howard's lawyer Steve Crom, has told that the entire incident is actually a mix up. Since as a sound engineer Howard has had the every right take home material and work in their home studios, thus he yes has the copies of Charles master recordings but not the original ones.
Ray Charles Collects Six Grammys
February 14, 2005 09:02:49The early ceremonies at the 47th annual Grammy Awards on Sunday February 13, 2005 has been dominated by Ray Charles' posthumous duets album which successfully won six prizes.
Genius Loves Company, which Charles sang along Van Morrison, Diana Krall and Willie Nelson, was the one got 10 nominations, including seven for Charles, that won six Grammy prizes with three of them for Charles himself.
