Ray_Charles

This a 1964 photo of entertainer Ray Charles. He was born in 1930 in Albany, Ga., and became blind at the age of 7. Ray Charles, the Grammy-winning crooner who blended gospel blues died Thursday, June 10, 2004. He was 73.

Ray Charles is shown in this May 24, 1974 file photo.

Then-first lady Nancy Reagan, left, gets a laugh with Ray Charles, center, and Willie Nelson, right, and other entertainers at a salute to country music at Constitution Hall in Washington on March 16, 1983.

Ray Charles is shown performing on stage at Carnegie Hall in New York on July 1, 1973. James Baldwin, narrator of the show, sits on a stool at the opposite end of the piano at right.

Jazz and blues musician Ray Charles performs at the Kool Jazz Festival at Avery Fisher Hall in New York City on July 3, 1983.

Ray Charles is shown in this Feb. 25, 1986 file photo.

Entertainer Lucille Ball and singer Ray Charles, recipients of the Kennedy Center Honors, react during comments made by President Ronald Reagan during a tribute to the performers at the White House on Sunday, Dec. 7, 1986.

Ray Charles performs at the TV Land Awards, which were taped at the Palladium in Hollywood, Calif., on Sunday, March 2, 2003.

Ray Charles sings "America The Beautiful" in the rain at Fenway Park in Boston, Friday, April 11, 2003, prior to the Red Sox home opener against the Baltimore Orioles.

Legendary blues singer Ray Charles performs at the Apollo Theatre in Harlem in "Blowin' the Blues Away," a gala benefit for Jazz at Lincoln Center, Monday, June 2, 2003, in New York. The event coincides with "The Year of the Blues," recognizing one of America's most important musical forms.

Entertainer Ray Charles shares a laugh with actor/director Clint Eastwood during the unveiling of a plaque proclaiming Ray Charles Studio a historical monument, Friday, April 30, 2004, in Los Angeles.