Ray Charles
Year Title Role Notes
1961 Swingin ' Along Himself
1965 Ballad in Blue Himself
1966 The Big T.N.T . Show Himself Documentary film
1980 The Blues Brothers Ray Cameo appearance
1989 Limit Up Julius
1990 Listen Up : The Lives of Quincy Jones Himself Documentary
1994 Love Affair Himself Cameo appearance
1996 Spy Hard Bus Driver Cameo appearance
1998 New Yorkers 2 Himself Cameo appearance
2000 The Extreme Adventures of Super Dave Himself
2000 Blue 's Big Musical Movie G-Clef ( voice ) Final film role before his death in 2004
2004 Ray Himself Uncredited Archival footage
Filmography -- Film
Ray Charles Robinson (September 23, 1930 - June 10, 2004) was an American singer, songwriter, pianist, and composer. Among friends and fellow musicians he preferred being called Brother Ray. He was often referred to as The Genius. Charles started losing his vision at the age of 6 due to glaucoma. Charles pioneered the soul music genre during the 1950s by combining blues, rhythm and blues, and gospel styles into the music he recorded for Atlantic. He contributed to the integration of country music, rhythm and blues, and pop music during the 1960s with his crossover success on ABC Records, notably with his two Modern Sounds albums. While he was with ABC, Charles became one of the first black musicians to be granted artistic control by a mainstream record company. Charles' 1960 hit Georgia On My Mind was the first of his three career No. 1 hits on the Billboard Hot 100. His 1962 album, Modern Sounds In Country And Western Music, became his first album to top the Billboard 200. Charles had multiple singles reach the Top 40 on various Billboard charts: 44 on the US R&B singles chart, 11 on the Hot 100 singles chart, 2 on the Hot Country singles charts. Charles is a 17-time Grammy Award winner.