Jabarkan 1952–1959: Atlantic Records dari Ray Charles

Pada Juni 1952, Atlantic membeli kontrak Charles seharga $ 2.500 (US $ 23,587 dalam dolar 2018). Sesi rekaman pertamanya untuk Atlantic ("The Midnight Hour" / "Roll with My Baby") berlangsung pada bulan September 1952, meskipun rilis Swing Time terakhirnya ("Misery in My Heart" / "The Snow Is Falling") tidak akan muncul sampai Februari 1953.

Pada Tahun 1953, "Mess Around" menjadi hit kecil pertamanya untuk Atlantik; selama tahun berikutnya dia mendapatkan hit Kecilnya "It Should've Been Me" and "Don't You Know". Dia juga merekam lagu-lagunya Yang Berjudul "Midnight Hour" and "Sinner's Prayer".

Akhir tahun 1954, Charles recorded "I've Got a Woman". Liriknya ditulis oleh pemimpin band Renald Richard. Charles mengklaim komposisinya. Mereka kemudian mengakui bahwa lagu itu kembali ke The Southern Tones ' "It Must Be Jesus" (1954). Itu menjadi salah satu hitnya yang paling terkenal, mencapai No. 2 di tangga lagu R&B. "Aku Punya Wanita" menggabungkan musik gospel, jazz, dan blues. Pada tahun 1955, dia sukses dengan "This Little Girl of Mine" Dan "A Fool for You". Di tahun-tahun mendatang, dia mencetak gol dengan "Drown In My Own Tears" dan "Haleluya I Love Her So". Pada tahun 1959, "What'd I Say" mencapai No 6 di chart Billboard Pop dan No 1 di chart R&B Billboard.

He also recorded jazz, such as The Great Ray Charles (1957) and worked with vibraphonist Milt Jackson, releasing Soul Brothers in 1958 and Soul Meeting in 1961. By 1958, he was not only headlining black venues such as the Apollo Theater in New York, but also bigger venues such as Carnegie Hall and the Newport Jazz Festival where his first live album was recorded in 1958. He hired a female singing group, The Cookies, and renamed them The Raelettes. In 1958, Charles and The Raelettes performed for the famed Cavalcade of Jazz concert produced by Leon Hefflin Sr. held at the Shrine Auditorium on August 3. The other headliners were Little Willie John, Sam Cooke, Ernie Freeman, and Bo Rhambo. Sammy Davis Jr. was there to crown the winner of the Miss Cavalcade of Jazz beauty contest. The event featured the top four prominent disc jockeys of Los Angeles.