RAY CHARLES
Influenced by a wide range of musical styles,
including blues, boogie-woogie, big-band swing,
gospel and country
1930-2004
Inducted 1986
Early style was influenced by the polished style of
Nat “King” Cole and Charles Brown – marked by
restraint in vocals, piano playing, and
arrangement
Signed with upstart independent record label
Atlantic Records in 1952
ATLANTIC RECORDS
Achieved success at Atlantic during the late1950s: “I Got a Woman,” “Hallelujah I Love
Her So,” “Drown in My Own Tears,” “What’d
I Say.”
Atlantic showcased Charles’ new sound performing gospel songs as if they were
rhythm and blues songs
This style would be known as SOUL MUSIC
FROM GOSPEL TO SOUL
• Call-and-response
• Emotional lyric style
• Energetic boogie woogie piano
line
• Dynamic (rather than static)
chord progressions
• Punctuated horn arrangements
• Adding secular lyrics to gospel
hymns
RAY CHARLES’ GOSPEL INFLUENCES
“This Little Light of Mine”
Clara Ward & the Ward Singers (1952)
“How Jesus Died”
“It Must Be Jesus”
The Pilgrim Travelers (1956)
The Southern Tones (1954)
“This Little Girl of Mine” (1955)
“Lonely Avenue” (1956)
“I Got a Woman” 1954