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Ray Charles Robinson, a talented musician, singer, and composer, was one of the first African American artists to merge the blues with gospel to pave the way for rhythm and blues (R&B) music.
Robinson was born September 23, 1930, in Albany, Georgia.
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At age five, he began to go blind, and by the age of seven, his sight was completely gone. In order to help teach him to be self-sufficient, his mother sent Robinson to the St. Augustine School for the Deaf and Blind, a racially-segregated school in Florida.
There he learned to read music in Braille as well as to play both classical and jazz music on the piano.
Robinson’s mother passed away when he was fifteen years old. He decided to move to Seattle, Washington, where he continued his musical development.
By 1948, he had become a professional musician, shortening his name to Ray Charles, and forming his own trio. Before his twentieth birthday, Robinson had become a local sensation in the bars and clubs along Seattle’s Jackson Street.