How much was Ray Charles worth?
| Net Worth: | $75 Million |
|---|---|
| Profession: | Professional Singer |
| Date of Birth: | September 23, 1930 (aged 73) |
| Country: | United States of America |
| Height: | 1.75 m |
About Ray Charles
Ray Charles Robinson born September 23, 1930 was an American singer, songwriter, pianist, and composer with an estimated net worth of $75 million. Ray Charles often called “The Genius,” was an inspiring pianist and singer who was known for his gospel music and blues that he stamped with his own unique style. He also appeared on films such as In the Heat of the Night and The Cincinnati Kid. Just four months after his death in 2004, the musical drama Ray was released. Ray Charles is played by Jamie Foxx in the picture.
Ray Charles was also a producer and formed Tangerine Records, Tangerine Music, and Racer Music Company under the Ray Charles Enterprise umbrella. His music style was a fusion of blues, country, gospel and pop, and is known as one of the greatest artists of all time.
At 7 years old he became blind due to glaucoma. He went to St. Augustine School for the Deaf and Blind from 1937 to 1945. It is there where he learned how to play the piano and the saxophone as well as studying composition. He was influenced by such performers as Nat King Cole and Charles Brown. Ray would later on perform in clubs around Florida at the age of 15. He moved to Seattle in 1948 and formed a group called Maxim Trio. A year later they had their first hit, “Confession Blues.”
After his parents’ deaths, Ray left school for good and was taken in and raised by a couple who had been friends with his mother. He began playing music professionally for local piano bands, and eventually moved to Seattle in 1947 to expand his career. In 1952, he signed a deal with Swing Time Records and took the stage name of Ray Charles to avoid being confused with “Sugar” Ray Robinson, who was a champion boxer at the time. In 1953, the Swing Time label folded and Ray migrated to Atlantic Records. He had his first big hit, “Mess Around,” later in 1953, followed by “I Got a Woman” the next year.
During the 1950s and ’60s, Ray had a string of R&B; hits, including “The Night Time (Is the Right Time),” “Hit the Road, Jack,” and “Georgia On My Mind.”
However, Ray also struggled with addiction to heroin. In 1961, after being arrested, he told police he’d been a user since he was 16 years old. He would go on to be arrested for possession multiple times, and in 1965 was admitted to a rehab clinic in Los Angeles. Eventually he managed to make it clean and continued to release occasional hits during the ’70s and ’80s. Four months after he died of lung cancer, the biographical film about his life, Ray, starring Jamie Foxx, was released.
The movie Ray, which focused on a 30-year period in Ray’s life, was a critical and commercial success upon its release in October 2004. Jamie Foxx won an Academy Award for his uncanny performance as Ray Charles. The film also won an Academy Award for Best Sound Mixing and Grammy Awards for Best Soundtrack and Best Musical Score.
Although Ray Charles was a huge success in most areas of his professional life, he was unable to have the same success in his own complicated private life.
Ray Charles’ first wife was Eileen Williams, whom he married in July 1951 at the age of 21. They divorced the following year.
He was also married to Della Howard Robinson from April 1955 until 1977, and they had three children together, all male.
Other than his offspring with Della Robinson, Ray sired nine other children with various women between 1950 and 1987. Six were female and three male.
