Ray Charles Robinson Sr. was an American singer, composer, and pianist who lived from September 23, 1930, until June 10, 2004.
He was frequently referred to by his contemporaries as “The Genius” and is recognized as one of the most recognizable and influential vocalists in history. He favoured the moniker “Brother Ray” when referring to friends and other musicians. Charles lost his sight as a toddler, possibly from glaucoma.
Ray Charles parents: Meet Bailey Robinson, Aretha Robinson
In Albany, Georgia, on September 23, 1930, Ray Charles Robinson was conceived. He was born in Greenville, Florida, to worker Bailey Robinson and laundress Aretha (or Reatha) Robinson (née Williams).
Aretha’s mother died when she was a little girl. Her father was unable to raise her. Her father’s coworker Bailey took her in. Aretha was legally adopted by the Robinson family—Bailey, his wife Mary Jane, and his mother—and assumed the last name, Robinson. A few years later, Aretha, then 15 years old, got pregnant through Bailey.
She departed Greenville late in the summer of 1930 to be with relatives in Albany during the impending controversy.
Ray Charles was born, and she and the baby Charles went back to Greenville. After losing a son, Aretha and Bailey’s wife helped raise Charles. After leaving Greenville and the family behind, the father remarried another lady. Charles had a sibling named George by the time he turned one. Nobody was able to recall George’s father in the future.
