Ray Charles

Ray Charles Robinson (September 23, 1930 – June 10, 2004), better known by his shortened stage name Ray Charles, was an American musician. He was a pioneer in the genre of soul music during the 1950s by fusing rhythm and blues, gospel, and blues styles into his early recordings with Atlantic Records. He also helped racially integrate country and pop music during the 1960s with his crossover success on ABC Records, most notably with his Modern Sounds albums. While with ABC, Charles became one of the first African-American musicians to be given artistic control by a mainstream record company. Frank Sinatra called Charles “the only true genius in show business.”

Rolling Stone ranked Charles number 10 on their list of "100 Greatest Artists of All Time" in 2004, and number two on their November 2008 list of "100 Greatest Singers of All Time". In honoring Charles, Billy Joel noted: "This may sound like sacrilege, but I think Ray Charles was more important than Elvis Presley. I don't know if Ray was the architect of rock & roll, but he was certainly the first guy to do a lot of things . . . Who the hell ever put so many styles together and made it work?"

Ray Charles is known for work in acting across film and television. New Release currently presents 13 verified screen credits connected to this profile.

Selected work includes Sunday Best: The Untold Story of Ed Sullivan (2023), Face of Unity (2014), Soul Deep: The Story of Black Popular Music (2005), Piano Blues (2003), The Blues (2003), Michael Jackson: 30th Anniversary Celebration (2001), Sinatra: 80 Years My Way (1995), Super Dave (1987). The recorded credits span 1970 to 2023, including 9 movies and 4 TV shows.

The filmography below lists available titles, release years and known roles. This profile is updated as additional verified information becomes available.