page_title: Ray Charles
section_title: 1983–2004: Later years
hierarchical_section_title: Ray Charles / Career / 1983–2004: Later years
caption_attribution_description: Deutsch: Letztes Konzert von Ray Charles, Salle Wilfrid-Pelletier des Place des Arts, während die Festival International de Jazz de Montréal in 2003. Foto von Victor Diaz Lamich. English: Last concert of Ray Charles, at Salle Wilfrid-Pelletier of the Place des Arts while the Festival International de Jazz de Montréal in 2003. Photo by Victor Diaz Lamich. Español: Último concierto de Ray Charles, en Salle Wilfrid-Pelletier de la Place des Arts durante el Festival International de Jazz de Montréal en 2003. Foto de Victor Diaz Lamich. Français&#160;: Dernier concert de Ray Charles, à la salle Wilfrid-Pelletier de la Place des Arts lors du Festival International de Jazz de Montréal en 2003. Photo par Victor Diaz Lamich. Italiano: Ultimo concerto di Ray Charles, Salle Wilfrid-Pelletier di Place des Arts, mentre il Festival International de Jazz de Montréal nel 2003. Foto di Victor Diaz Lamich.
context_page_description: Ray Charles Robinson was an American singer, songwriter, pianist, and composer. Among friends and fellow musicians he preferred being called "Brother Ray." He was often referred to as "The Genius." Charles was blinded during childhood due to glaucoma.
  Charles pioneered the soul music genre during the 1950s by combining blues, jazz, rhythm and blues, and gospel styles into the music he recorded for Atlantic. He contributed to the integration of country music, rhythm and blues, and pop music during the 1960s with his crossover success on ABC Records, notably with his two Modern Sounds albums. While he was with ABC, Charles became one of the first black musicians to be granted artistic control by a mainstream record company.
  Charles' 1960 hit "Georgia On My Mind" was the first of his three career No. 1 hits on the Billboard Hot 100. His 1962 album, Modern Sounds In Country And Western Music, became his first album to top the Billboard 200. Charles had multiple singles reach the Top 40 on various Billboard charts: 44 on the US R&B singles chart, 11 on the Hot 100 singles chart, 2 on the Hot Country singles charts.
context_section_description: In 1983, Charles signed a contract with Columbia. He recorded a string of country albums and had hit singles in duets with singers such as George Jones, Chet Atkins, B. J. Thomas, Mickey Gilley, Hank Williams Jr., Dee Dee Bridgewater ("Precious Thing") and his longtime friend Willie Nelson, with whom he recorded "Seven Spanish Angels".
  
  In 1985, Charles participated in the famous musical recording and video "We Are the World", a charity single recorded by the supergroup United Support of Artists (USA) for Africa.
  Before the release of his first album for Warner, Would You Believe, Charles made a return to the R&B charts with a cover of the Brothers Johnson's "I'll Be Good to You", a duet with his lifelong friend Quincy Jones and the singer Chaka Khan, which hit No. one on the R&B chart in 1990 and won Charles and Khan a Grammy for their duet. Prior to this, Charles returned to the pop charts with "Baby Grand", a duet with the singer Billy Joel. In 1989, he recorded a cover of the Southern All Stars' "Itoshi no Ellie" for a Japanese TV advertisement for the Suntory brand, releasing it in Japan as "Ellie My Love", where it reached No. 3 on its Oricon chart. In the same year he was a special guest at the Arena di Verona during the tour promoting Oro Incenso & Birra of the Italian singer Zucchero Fornaciari.
  In 2001–02, Charles appeared in commercials for the New Jersey Lottery to promote its campaign "For every dream, there's a jackpot".
  In 2003, he headlined the White House Correspondents Dinner in Washington, D.C., attended by President George W. Bush, Laura Bush, Colin Powell and Condoleezza Rice.
  Also in 2003, Charles presented Van Morrison with Morrison's award upon being inducted in the Songwriters Hall of Fame, and the two sang Morrison's song "Crazy Love" (the performance appears on Morrison's 2007 album The Best of Van Morrison Volume 3). In 2003, Charles performed "Georgia on My Mind" and "America the Beautiful" at a televised annual banquet of electronic media journalists held in Washington, D.C. His final public appearance was on April 30, 2004, at the dedication of his music studio as a historic landmark in Los Angeles.
caption: Charles at the 2003 Montreal International Jazz Festival, one of his last public performances
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