Ray Charles is more than just a character in the 2004 film Ray. The legendary musician will forever be remembered for his skill playing the piano blind, but even greater than that feat, Charles became the single and most powerful leader of the new form of black pop that emerged among 1950s R&B/soul vocalists. Charles' star is up amongst the company of musical heroes like Elvis and Billie Holliday, and the musician was a signature part of the 1950s blues movement.

Going blind at age six from glaucoma, Charles had his work cut out for him practically his whole life. Studying composition and learning to play musical instruments at the St. Augustine School for the Deaf and the Blind, Charles ended up moving to Seattle in 1947, recording a number of R&B demos and eventually hitting it big with his first single "Baby, Let Me Hold Your Hand" in 1951. Quickly gaining momentum in the R&B realm, Charles soon infused the genre of music with inspirational jazzy blues music, toughening up his music through the ‘50s while rambling off hit songs like "This Little Girl of Mine" and "What'd I Say." Mixing rock ‘n' roll with his signature piano tunes, Charles flew through the ‘60s with "Busted" and "You Are My Sunshine."

Ultimately turning to pop to fulfill his musical wishes, Charles almost single-handedly brought black pop into the forefront of American music, adding soul and jazz to the mix to craft an unwavering success. Eventually plagued by rock ‘n' roll drug habits, the great pianist was brought down in the ‘60s with a heroin addiction, letting his music slip for a lulling period of time. Charles' tight grasp on the music scene eventually started to go downhill after the ‘60s, although he will go down in the history books as one of the defining musicians of America through the decades.