Ray Charles Robinson (September 23, 1930 – June 10, 2004), known by his
stage name Ray Charles, was an American musician. He brought a soulful sound to
country music and
pop standards through his
Modern Sounds recordings, as well as a rendition of "
America the Beautiful" that
Ed Bradley of
60 Minutes called the "definitive version of the song, an American anthem — a classic, just as the man who sang it." He also appeared in the 1980 hit movie,
The Blues Brothers.
["The Genius Of Ray Charles", an article about an 1986 segment on Charles from 60 Minutes.] Frank Sinatra called him "the only true genius in the business".
In 2004,
Rolling Stone ranked Charles
number ten on their list of "The 100 Greatest Artists of All Time" and voted him number two on their
November 2008 list of "The 100 Greatest Singers of All Time".
