Description
Blinded at five, singer-composer Ray Charles learned the rudiments of his musicianship at a school for the deaf and blind in his native Florida. In his early performing career, he modeled his style largely on singer Nat "King" Cole. By the early 1950s, however, he was developing his own original blend of blues and gospel that would lead to his first major hit recording, "I've Got a Woman," and ultimately make him the "father of soul music." The winner of eleven Grammy Awards and a Kennedy Center Honors award, Charles had many hits that have long since become classics of pop music, including "Georgia on My Mind" and "Hit the Road, Jack." He also exercised enormous influence on other performers, and many experts number him among the most important American musicians of his time.
Image
Gelatin Silver Print
National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution
Record Contributed By
National Portrait GalleryRecord Harvested From
Smithsonian InstitutionKeywords
- Bench
- Blind
- Charles, Ray
- Composer
- Design
- Entertainers
- Equipment
- Furnishings
- Furniture
- Home Furnishings
- Interior
- Interior Decoration
- Male
- Men
- Microphone
- Music
- Musical Instrument
- Musical Instruments
- Musician
- Musicians
- Performer
- Performing Arts
- Physically Disabled
- Pianist
- Piano
- Pianos
- Portrait
- Portraits
- Ray Charles
- Salou, Michel
- Seating
- Singer
- Society And Social Change
- Sound Devices