September 23, 1930 - June 10, 2004
Point of intrigue -
Ray Charles was ranked No. 2 on Rolling Stone's 100 Greatest Singers of All Time twice - in 2008 and in 2010. As a side note, Ray Charles went completely blind by age seven. Jamie Foxx portrayed Ray Charles in the biopic film, Ray. Jamie Foxx won the 2005 Academy Award for Best Actor for the role.
(A full history of Ray Charles can be found on Wikipedia.)
Honors -
Inducted into the Georgia Music Hall of Fame (1979)
"Georgia on My Mind" made the official Georgia state song
Hollywood Walk of Fame (1981)
Inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (Inaugural Ceremony 1986)
Kennedy Center Honors (1986)
Inducted into the Rhythm & Blues Foundation 1991)
George and Ira Gershwin Award for Lifetime Musical Achievement (1991)
National Medal of Arts (1993)
The 2005 Grammy Awards were dedicated to Ray Charles.
A performing arts center at Morehouse College was named after Ray Charles and dedicated in 2010.
Inducted into the Rhythm and Blues Hall of Fame (2015)
Other Honors -
Polar Music Prize (1998)*
*Swedish international award - founded by Stig Anderson in Sweden in 1989 - honoring one contemporary musician and one classical musician
Awards -
Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award (1987)
Honorary Degree -
Dillard University (2003)
(Source - Wikipedia)
My take away -
Ray Charles had a rocky past in his personal life - one of which being drug addiction and multiple arrests. Yet, his profound lifetime achievements in the music industry gloss over imperfections - whatever they may be and however severe they may be - to highlight the true talent that is Ray Charles.
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