Ray Charles was born in Albany (Georgia) on September 23, 1930 and died in Beverly Hills (California) on June 10, 2004 from liver cancer. If there is one thing that defines his childhood, it is his own words: "I was born black, I was born poor, I was blind at the age of seven, and I couldn't save my younger brother, George, when he fell and drowned in a tub of laundry. I was paralyzed. Months later he was completely blind.

His mother, Aretha Robinson, moved with little Ray to Greenville (Florida) and it was right from there that he became interested in music. At the Florida School for the Deaf and Blind, where only whites were accepted, Ray Charles began to develop his musical abilities. At first he could only listen to classical music, and even learned to read and compose music in Braille. But when he learned about blues and jazz through the radio, his world changed.

His mother died and Ray was left alone in the world at the age of 15 with a prodigious musical ear, a lyrical baritone voice, a unique talent for the piano and a racial condition that made him a victim of the segregation of the American society of the time. However, his talent and his musical mastery, the combination of piano, keyboards, saxophone, synthesizers, were more powerful than his talent, and he rose to stardom in record time: his song "Baby, Let Me Hold Your Hand" reached the top positions in the music charts and years later he reached the number one position in the Billboard charts, with the song "Hit the Road Jack".

Ray Charles had a life of fame and glory, but also of shadows. He was considered a junkie addicted to sex and heroin, and was imprisoned for drug possession on three occasions. He overcame drugs after being admitted to a rehabilitation hospital and his passion for sex and voyeurism left him with twelve children by different women.