The above media is provided by YouTube ( Privacy Policy, Terms of Service)ĭuring the 1970s when disco was huge, Ray Charles’ career had bottomed out and his album sales hit an all-time low. In the 1980 John Landis film The Blues Brothers, Charles sang “Shake a Tail Feather” The Blues Brothers Renewed Charles’ Popularity After experiencing a temporary ear ailment, Charles began to fund research in cochlear implants and other electronic devices and he often anonymously funded hearing aid implants for those who could not afford them. In 1994, the musician received a Helen Keller Personal Achievement Award from the American Foundation for the Blind for his determination “not to let his disability limit him.” However hearing loss or the inability to listen to music, Charles believed was a tragic impairment. And it didn't take nothing.'' Charles had his keyboards marked with braille stickers, including the Yamaha KX88 keyboard now held in the collections of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History. So blindness didn't have anything to do with it. Charles once told the New York Times: “I was going to do what I was going to do anyway. But Charles always maintained that his visual impairment never hindered his career in any way. Years later, doctors suggested that juvenile glaucoma had caused his blindness. Ray Charles did not lose his sight until he was about seven years old. Ray Charles Never Saw Blindness as a HandicapĪ Yamaha KX88 keyboard, owned by Ray Charles, complete with braille stickers, National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution. Charles began to wear sunglasses while performing after this, and some authors even suggest that this began the trend for blind musicians to do the same. But before the images were printed and distributed, McKee had an artist retouch the photos, painting sunglasses over Charles’s sightless eyes. The trio even developed publicity photos for the group. The three began the McSon Trio, a combination of the two names McKee and Robinson. Ray Charles Robinson was just 18 years old when he moved to Seattle and started a band with his friends, guitarist Gossie McKee and bassist Milton S. While fans of the “father of soul” might be familiar with the basic rolodex of Charles’ life, here are five pieces of trivia that fill in a few more details about the piano man who did it all, from why he first started wearing his iconic shades to the game he played to fight insomnia. His groundbreaking style and sound reflected his diverse life experiences. Ray Charles’ voice could be as blues-y cool as it was achingly gospel, as confessionary country as it was brassy jazz.
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