Ray Charles was one of the most iconic and influential artists in the annals of pop. Performing as a singer, songwriter and pianist, he is considered one of the godfathers and true innovators of soul music, his work transcended the worlds of jazz, blues, gospel, R&B, rock‘n’roll and country and western as well.

Afflicted by blindness, he turned to music in his early life, and began recording for the Swing Time label in 1949 as a member of The Maxim Trio. In a career spanning half a century, he racked up more than 100 chart entries, with over 40 coming in this seminal first quarter-century or so of his career.

This 125-track, 5CD, collection includes just about all his A- and B-sides released on the Swing Time, Atlantic, ABC-Paramount and Impulse labels during these years. It features all his 46 Pop, R&B and UK chart entries from this era, including the pop No.1s Georgia On My Mind, Hit The Road Jack and I Can’t Stop Loving You and the R&B No.1s I’ve Got A Woman, A Fool For You, What’d I Say, Unchain My Heart, One Mint Julep and You Are My Sunshine, encompassing his time as the pillar of the Atlantic roster and the hits from his landmark albums for ABC-Paramount Modern Sounds In Country & Western Music.

For his musical contributions, Charles was one of the inaugural inductees at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1986. He has won 18 Grammy Awards, the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 1987, and 10 of his recordings have been inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame.

This collection is a comprehensive overview of his chart-focused output during these years as part of a dynamic and exciting pop and R&B landscape.

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