Ray Charles (born Charles Raymond Offenberg; September 13, 1918April 6, 2015) was an American musician, singer, songwriter, vocal arranger and conductor who was best known as organizer and leader of the Ray Charles Singers, who accompanied

Perry Como Pierino Ronald "Perry" Como (; May 18, 1912 – May 12, 2001) was an American singer, actor, and television personality. During a career spanning more than half a century, he recorded exclusively for RCA Victor for 44 years, from 1943 until 1987 ...

on his records and television shows for 35 years and were also known for a series of 30 choral record albums produced in the 1950s and 1960s for the

MGM Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. (also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures, commonly shortened to MGM or MGM Studios) is an American Film production, film and television production and film distribution, distribution company headquartered ...

Essex Essex ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East of England, and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Kent across the Thames Estuary to the ...

Decca Decca may refer to: Music * Decca Records or Decca Music Group, record label * Decca Gold, classical music record label owned by Universal Music Group * Decca Broadway, musical theater record label * Decca Studios, recording facility in West ...

and

Command Command may refer to: Computing * Command (computing), a statement in a computer language * command (Unix), a Unix command * COMMAND.COM, the default operating system shell and command-line interpreter for DOS * Command key, a modifier key on A ...

labels. As a vocalist, Charles recorded a few duets with Perry Como during the 1950s. In 1977, Charles, along with Julia Rinker Miller, sang the theme song to the television series ''

Three's Company ''Three's Company'' is an American television sitcom that aired for eight seasons on ABC from March 15, 1977, to September 18, 1984. Developed by Don Nicholl, Michael Ross and Bernie West, it is based on the British sitcom '' Man About the ...

'' ("Come and Knock on Our Door"). As a songwriter, Charles was best known for the choral anthem "Fifty Nifty United States" in which he set the names of the states to music in alphabetical order. It was originally written for '' Perry Como's Kraft Music Hall''. He is also known for "Letters, We Get Letters", also originally written for Como's show and later used on the ''

Late Show with David Letterman ''Late Show with David Letterman'' is an American late-night talk show hosted by David Letterman on CBS, the first iteration of the ''Late Show'' franchise. The show debuted on August 30, 1993, and was produced by Letterman's production com ...

''. In his later years, he continued to serve as a musical consultant to television programs, most notably for 31 years on the

Kennedy Center Honors The Kennedy Center Honors are annual honors given to those in the performing arts for their lifetime of contributions to Culture of the United States, American culture. They have been presented annually since 1978, culminating each December in ...

. Charles was acknowledged as an authority on American

popular music Popular music is music with wide appeal that is typically distributed to large audiences through the music industry. These forms and styles can be enjoyed and performed by people with little or no musical training.Popular Music. (2015). ''Fun ...

Biography

At the age of 13, Charles Raymond "Chuck" Offenberg (as he was known then) won a contest to sing on the radio in Chicago. At 16, while still at Hyde Park High School, he had his own 15minute radio program on WENR and won a vocal scholarship to the Chicago Musical College. After graduation, he attended Central YMCA College, where he met fellow future choral director Norman Luboff, who was to become a lifelong friend. In 1936, Offenberg joined the Federal Theater show ''O Say Can You Sing'', sharing a dressing room with the young Buddy Rich. In 1942, Offenberg, with his wife, Bernice, and son, Michael, came to New York City and he started getting work, singing on the radio for Lyn Murray,

Ray Bloch Raymond Arthur Bloch (August 3, 1902 – March 29, 1982) was an American composer, songwriter, conductor, pianist, author and arranger. He is best remembered as the arranger and orchestra conductor for ''The Ed Sullivan Show'' during its entire run ...

and other choral directors. By 1944, he was doing 10 radio shows a week. At this time, close harmony singing was popular, and Charles became the arranger and

tenor A tenor is a type of male singing voice whose vocal range lies between the countertenor and baritone voice types. It is the highest male chest voice type. Composers typically write music for this voice in the range from the second B below m ...

for the Double Daters, a vocal

quartet In music, a quartet (, , , , ) is an ensemble of four singers or instrumental performers. Classical String quartet In classical music, one of the most common combinations of four instruments in chamber music is the string quartet. String quar ...

featured on ''Million Dollar Band''. In May 1944, Offenberg changed his name to Ray Charles. This was several years before the

rhythm and blues Rhythm and blues, frequently abbreviated as R&B or R'n'B, is a genre of popular music that originated within African American communities in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predomina ...

singer

Ray Charles Ray Charles Robinson (September 23, 1930 – June 10, 2004) was an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. He is regarded as one of the most iconic and influential musicians in history, and was often referred to by contemporaries as "The Gen ...

first recorded under the same name in the early 1950s. Drafted into the

Navy A navy, naval force, military maritime fleet, war navy, or maritime force is the military branch, branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval warfare, naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral z ...

in 1944, Charles was assigned to

Hunter College Hunter College is a public university in New York City, United States. It is one of the constituent colleges of the City University of New York and offers studies in more than one hundred undergraduate and postgraduate fields across five schools ...

, where he created an entire new music library for the WAVE choruses and trained the "Singing Platoons", three choruses of 80 WAVES each, on six-week training cycles that sang on the radio, bond rallies and at local veterans hospitals. He also conducted the band on their two weekly CBS shows. Discharged in 1946, Charles sang on New York radio ("Um Um Good" for

Campbell's The Campbell's Company (doing business as Campbell's and formerly known as the Campbell Soup Company) is an American company, most closely associated with its flagship canned soup products. The classic red-and-white can design used by many Campb ...

soups among other gigs) and on many record dates. In 1947, he was the conductor for the Broadway hit '' Finian's Rainbow'', and conducted the original cast recording. Charles initially became associated with

in 1948 through his arrangements for the vocal group the Satisfiers. The group performed on Como's '' Chesterfield Supper Club''. From 1949 to 1951, he was choral arranger-conductor on '' The Big Show'', the last big radio variety show, with

Tallulah Bankhead Tallulah Brockman Bankhead (January 31, 1902 – December 12, 1968) was an American actress. Primarily an actress of the stage, Bankhead also appeared in several films including an award-winning performance in Alfred Hitchcock's ''Lifeboat (194 ...

and

Meredith Willson Robert Reiniger Meredith Willson (May 18, 1902 – June 15, 1984) was an American flautist, composer, conductor, musical arranger, bandleader, playwright, and writer. He is perhaps best known for writing the book, music, and lyrics for the 1 ...

. Charles was also a soloist and sang in the choir on '' Manhattan Merry-Go-Round'', ''Tuesday on Broadway'', ''The Prudential Family Hour'', ''The Celenese Hour'', ''The Schafer Beer Program'' and '' The American Melody Hour'', and he wrote the theme for

Danny Kaye Danny Kaye (born David Daniel Kaminsky; ; January 18, 1911 – March 3, 1987) was an American actor, comedian, singer, and dancer. His performances featured physical comedy, idiosyncratic pantomimes, and rapid-fire novelty songs. Kaye starred ...

's ''7-Up Radio Show''.

Early television

Before its relocation to Los Angeles, Charles did some singing on the radio show '' Your Hit Parade''. In 1950, when the show returned to New York, he became the arranger and conductor of the Hit Paraders, the choral group on the show, first on radio and later when it went to television, for seven years. Charles never got screen credit for his work as arranger and choral director of the Hit Paraders because the sponsor of ''Your Hit Parade'' was Lucky Strike and he was already getting a choral-director credit on ''The Perry Como Chesterfield Show''. Lucky Strike and Chesterfield were competitors and Como's Chesterfield show aired three times a week on CBS. For the next 35 years, the Ray Charles Singers became a fixture on the

television show. It was a busy time with television's top variety shows, records and commercial jingles. In 1955, the 15-minute '' Perry Como Show'' moved back to

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...

and became an hour-long program. It was here that he first met the "other"

. The

Screen Actors Guild The Screen Actors Guild (SAG) was an American labor union which represented over 100,000 film and television principal and background performers worldwide. On March 30, 2012, the union leadership announced that the SAG membership voted to m ...

normally does not allow two members to have the same name, but Charles the performer was registered as Ray Robinson though he performed as Ray Charles. Charles the composer also wrote special material and did the choral work on ''Caesar's Hour'' with Sid Caesar, the successor to '' Your Show of Shows''. In 1959, Charles produced the summer replacement for the ''Perry Como Show''. Allan Sherman (" Hello Muddah, Hello Fadduh"), a friend of Charles', was the head writer. Also on the staff was Andy Rooney. The stars were

Tony Bennett Anthony Dominick Benedetto (August 3, 1926 – July 21, 2023), known professionally as Tony Bennett, was an American jazz and traditional pop singer. He received many accolades, including 20 Grammy Awards, a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award, ...

(his first series),

Teresa Brewer Teresa Brewer (born Theresa Veronica Breuer; May 7, 1931 – October 17, 2007) was an American singer whose style incorporated pop, country, jazz, R&B, musicals, and novelty songs. She was one of the most prolific and popular female singers of th ...

and the Four Lads.

The Ray Charles Singers

In June 1959, the Ray Charles Singers, a name bestowed on them by

, began recording a series of albums. Due to advances in recording technology, they were able to create a softer sound than had been heard before and this was the birth of what has been called "

easy listening Easy listening (including mood music) is a popular music genre and radio format that was most popular during the 1950s to the 1970s. It is related to middle of the road (MOR) music and encompasses instrumental recordings of standards, hit s ...

". Record producer Jack Hansen used some of the singers to provide backing vocals for

Buddy Holly Charles Hardin Holley (September 7, 1936 – February 3, 1959), known as Buddy Holly, was an American singer, songwriter, and musician who was a central and pioneering figure of rock and roll. He was born to a musical family in Lubbock, Texa ...

's last songs, which Holly had composed and recorded shortly before his death in February 1959. The singers' close harmonies behind Holly's lead vocals simulated the sound of Holly's hit records with

the Crickets The Crickets were an American rock and roll band from Lubbock, Texas, formed by singer-songwriter Buddy Holly in January 1957. Their first hit record, "That'll Be the Day", released in May 1957, peaked at number three on the ''Billboard'' Top ...

. Six songs resulted from the Hansen sessions, led by the 45-rpm single "

Peggy Sue Got Married ''Peggy Sue Got Married'' is a 1986 American fantasy comedy-drama film directed by Francis Ford Coppola starring Kathleen Turner as a woman on the verge of a divorce, who finds herself transported back to the days of her senior year in high s ...

"/" Crying, Waiting, Hoping". On a cruise in 1964, Charles heard a Mexican song called " Cuando Calienta el Sol". He liked it, recorded it under the English title "Love Me with All Your Heart", and his recording became a hit, riding to 3 on ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

'' and 2 on '' Cashbox''. This was followed by " Al Di La", also a very popular recording. The Ray Charles Singers were not one group of vocalists. They were different combinations of singers on records, tours and TV shows. What made them the Ray Charles Singers was the conducting and arranging of Ray Charles. He generally recorded with 20 singers, 12 men and 8 women, and these vocalists appeared on Perry Como's television show. The Ray Charles Singers were also the voices behind many commercial jingles. Charles was nominated for a Grammy for Best Performance by a Chorus at the 3rd Annual Grammy Awards for the 1960 album ''Deep Night'', but lost to his old friend Norman Luboff, who was nominated in the same category for ''Songs of the Cowboy'' by the Norman Luboff Choir. He received a total of five Grammy nominations during the 1960s, but never won. Charles decided to produce a "live" performing group to send on the road with Perry Como. The group of 12 singers opened in Las Vegas at the International Hotel and also opened the show for Como at

Harrah's Lake Tahoe Harrah's Lake Tahoe is a hotel and casino in Stateline, Nevada. Harrah's is branded with the name of its former owner and operator, William F. Harrah. It is owned by Vici Properties and operated by Eldorado Resorts, Caesars Entertainment. The 18- ...

. Charles wrote the music and lyrics for an album produced by the Continental Insurance Company for the

1964 New York World's Fair The 1964 New York World's Fair (also known as the 1964–1965 New York World's Fair) was an world's fair, international exposition at Flushing Meadows–Corona Park in Queens, New York City, United States. The fair included exhibitions, activ ...

, titled ''Cinema '76''. It was a companion piece to a 30-minute show about unsung heroes of the American Revolution.

Films

Charles had also worked on film projects: ''

Funny Lady ''Funny Lady'' is a 1975 American biographical film, biographical musical film, musical comedy-drama film and the sequel to the 1968 film ''Funny Girl (film), Funny Girl''. The film stars Barbra Streisand, James Caan, Omar Sharif, Roddy McDowa ...

'' and ''Racing With the Moon''.

West Coast television

After years working in television and writing hundreds of jingles, Charles started making trips to the West Coast to seek new employment opportunities. The television industry was changing and migrating to Los Angeles. After a couple of years commuting, in 1968 Charles and his family relocated to Los Angeles, where he produced a

Bing Crosby Harry Lillis "Bing" Crosby Jr. (May 3, 1903 – October 14, 1977) was an American singer, comedian, entertainer and actor. The first multimedia star, he was one of the most popular and influential musical artists of the 20th century worldwi ...

special and worked on ''

The Hollywood Palace ''The Hollywood Palace'' was an hourlong American television variety show broadcast Saturday nights (except September 1967 to January 1968, when it aired on Tuesday nights) on ABC from January 4, 1964, to February 7, 1970. Titled ''The Satur ...

''. By 1968, ''The Perry Como Show'' was doing specials, so Charles could continue working with Como while residing in California. Then Charles wrote and arranged for two seasons of the '' Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour''. In 1971, he suggested to the other

that he perform "America the Beautiful" when a guest on the Campbell show. Also that year Charles wrote special material for the first

Julie Andrews Dame Julie Andrews (born Julia Elizabeth Wells; 1 October 1935) is an English actress, singer, and author. She has garnered numerous accolades throughout her career spanning over eight decades, including an Academy Award, a British Academy Fi ...

TV special, with Andrews and

Gene Kelly Eugene Curran Kelly (August 23, 1912 – February 2, 1996) was an American dancer, actor, singer, director and choreographer. He was known for his energetic and athletic dancing style and sought to create a new form of American dance accessibl ...

. Charles became the musical guru to '' Sha Na Na'' and guided that show through three seasons. His son, Jonathan, and daughter, Wendy, also worked on the show with their father. Charles, duetting with Julia Rinker, sang the title theme song for the long-running situation comedy ''

''.

The Muppets and Kennedy Center

Charles eventually went to London to help on ''

The Muppet Show ''The Muppet Show'' is a variety sketch comedy television series created by Jim Henson and starring the Muppets. It is presented as a variety show, featuring recurring sketches and musical numbers interspersed with ongoing plot-lines with ru ...

''. Writing special material for

Carol Burnett Carol Creighton Burnett (born April 26, 1933) is an American comedian, actress, singer and writer. Burnett has played dramatic and comedic roles on stage and screen. She has received List of awards and nominations received by Carol Burnett, nu ...

and

Brooke Shields Brooke Christa Shields (born May 31, 1965) is an American actress. A child model starting at the age of 11 months, Shields gained widespread notoriety at age 12 for her leading role in Louis Malle's film ''Pretty Baby (1978 film), Pretty Baby ...

, among others and working with

Miss Piggy Miss Piggy is a The Muppets, Muppet character known for her Breakthrough role, breakout role in the sketch comedy television series ''The Muppet Show''. She is notable for her temperamental diva superstar personality, her tendency to use French l ...

and

Kermit the Frog Kermit the Frog is a Muppet character created in 1955 and originally performed by Jim Henson. An anthropomorphic green frog, Kermit is the pragmatic everyman protagonist of numerous Muppet productions, most notably as the showrunner and host o ...

, Charles shared an office with

Jim Henson James Maury Henson (September 24, 1936 – May 16, 1990) was an American puppeteer, animator, actor, and filmmaker who achieved worldwide notability as the creator of the Muppets. Henson was also well known for creating ''Fraggle Rock'' ( ...

, whom Charles considered "a genius". For 32 years, 1982 through 2014, Charles was the musical consultant of the

and for 14 years performed the same function for the "Fourth of July" and "Memorial Day" concerts on

PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly funded nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of educat ...

. Ray Charles won two

Emmy Award The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the year, each with their own set of rules and award categor ...

s for special musical material, music and

lyrics Lyrics are words that make up a song, usually consisting of verses and choruses. The writer of lyrics is a lyricist. The words to an extended musical composition such as an opera are, however, usually known as a "libretto" and their writer, ...

for two comedy specials: ''The Funny Side of Marriage'' and ''The First Nine Months''. His choral anthem, "Fifty Nifty United States", in which he set the names of the states to music in

alphabetical order Alphabetical order is a system whereby character strings are placed in order based on the position of the characters in the conventional ordering of an alphabet. It is one of the methods of collation. In mathematics, a lexicographical order is ...

, is now a staple of school

choir A choir ( ), also known as a chorale or chorus (from Latin ''chorus'', meaning 'a dance in a circle') is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform or in other words ...

s. He self-deprecatingly billed himself as "the other

" in a humorous tribute to the blues singer with whom he worked on several occasions. For his 90th birthday, Ray gave a concert at the L.A. Jazz Bakery. With the help of female singer Lynn Roberts and an instrumental combo, Ray demonstrated his vocal longevity to a full house by singing his way through the songs of World War II.

Death

Charles died of cancer at the age of 96 on April 6, 2015, in

Beverly Hills, California Beverly Hills is a city located in Los Angeles County, California, United States. A notable and historic suburb of Los Angeles, it is located just southwest of the Hollywood Hills, approximately northwest of downtown Los Angeles. Beverly Hills ...

. He was survived by two sons, Michael (born 1941) and Jonathan (born 1946) however his wife Bernice (19162002) and daughter Wendy (19502004) predeceased him. Charles donated a collection of his personal papers, including his scripts and musical arrangements for the Kennedy Center Honors galas, to the

Great American Songbook Foundation The Great American Songbook Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to the preservation and promotion of the music of the Great American Songbook. The Songbook Foundation's administrative offices and Songbook Exhibit Gallery a ...

shortly before his death.

Awards

* 197071 Television Academy Award Lyrics and Special Material "The First Nine Months are the Hardest" * 197172 Television Academy Award Lyrics and Special Material "The Funny Side of Marriage" * 2004 Irwin Kostal Tribute Award from ASMAC. * 2012 Honored as a Broadcasting Legend by the Pacific Pioneers. * 2013 Foundation Life in Music Award from ASCAP.

Discography

Singles

Albums as the Ray Charles Singers

* ''I Love'' Essex ESLP 103 * ''Far Away Places'' Essex ESLP 110 * ''Spring Is Here'' MGM E3162 * ''Winter Wonderland'' MGM 3387 * ''Sing A Song of Paris'' MGM E3484 * ''Here We Come A-Caroling'' MGM E3467 * ''Here's to My Lady'' MGM E3568 * ''Autumn Moods'' MGM SE4163 * ''Summertime (Songs for a Lazy Afternoon)'' MGM E4164 * ''Love and Marriage'' Decca DL8787 * ''Sunrise Serenade'' Decca DL78835 * ''In the Evening By the Moonlight'' Decca DL78874 * ''We Gather Together'' Decca DL78940 * ''Deep Night'' Decca DL78988 * ''Something Wonderful'' Command RS 33 872 1961 * '' Something Special for Young Lovers'' Command RS 866 SD * '' Al-Di-La & Other Special Songs for Young Lovers'' Command RS 33–870 SD 1964 * ''Rome Revisited'' Command RS 839 SD * ''Songs for Lonesome Lovers'' Command RS 839 SD * ''Songs for Latin Lovers'' Command RS 886 SD 1965 * ''Paradise Islands'' Command SH-165 * ''Young Lovers on Broadway'' Command RS 890 SD 1965 * ''One of Those Songs'' Command RS 898 SD 1966 * ''What the World Needs Now is Love'' Command RS 903 SD * ''A Special Something...'' Command RS 914 SD 1967 * ''At the Movies'' Command RS 921 SD 1968 * ''MacArthur Park'' Command RS SD-936 1969 * ''Move Me, Oh Wondrous Music'' Command RS 949-5 * ''Take Me Along'' Command RS 526 SD * ''Slices of Life'' Command 9425 * ''Love Me With All Your Heart the command performance'' Varèse Sarabande VSD-5626 (CD collection) * 31 albums with Perry Como

Singles

* Command-4049Al-Di-La/'Til The End of Time1964 * Command-4090Don't Cry-There's No Place Like Rome1967

References

External links

* * * * Ray Charles Papers at th
Great American Songbook Foundation

Ray Charles Interview
NAMM Oral History Library (1995)
Ray Charles and Julie Rinker singing the 'Three's Company' Theme song, 1977.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Charles, Ray 1918 births 2015 deaths American classical musicians American conductors (music) American male conductors (music) American male singers American male songwriters American music arrangers Aurora University alumni Classical musicians from Illinois Deaths from cancer in California Decca Records artists American easy listening musicians MGM Records artists Primetime Emmy Award winners RCA Victor artists Singers from Chicago Songwriters from Illinois United States Navy personnel of World War II