Source: Jack Vartoogian/Getty Images / Getty
On this day (September 23) in 1930, a music legend was born.
Ray Charles, a musical “genius” who was known for blending music styles, mastered blues, gospel and country music and soared in all of it in the 1950s and beyond. With hits like “Hit the Road Jack,” “Georgia On My Mind” and more, it was timeless music that would go on to shape soul music as we know it today.
He was one of the first people ever inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and had been touring up until 2003 when he had to undergo hip replacement surgery. He passed a year later on June 10, 2004 from liver disease.
“I can’t retire from music any more than I can retire from my liver. You’d have to remove the music from me surgically—like you were taking out my appendix.”
-RAY CHARLES
Over the course of his career, Ray Charles recorded more than 60 albums and performed over 10,000 concerts.
Below is a look at how his music over the years inspired other artists—so much so, they sampled it.
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Gone, But Not Forgotten: 9 Artists Who Sampled Ray Charles was originally published on ronerickeysmileymorningshow.staging.go.ione.nyc
1. Kanye West – Gold Digger (“I Got A Woman”)
Gone, But Not Forgotten: 9 Artists Who Sampled Ray Charles was originally published on ronerickeysmileymorningshow.staging.go.ione.nyc
2. D.R.A.M. – Cash Machine (“Hallelujah I Love Her So”)
Gone, But Not Forgotten: 9 Artists Who Sampled Ray Charles was originally published on ronerickeysmileymorningshow.staging.go.ione.nyc
3. Wiz Khalifa – See You Again (“Bye Bye Love”)
Gone, But Not Forgotten: 9 Artists Who Sampled Ray Charles was originally published on ronerickeysmileymorningshow.staging.go.ione.nyc
4. Field Mob/Ludacris – Georgia (“Georgia On My Mind”)
Gone, But Not Forgotten: 9 Artists Who Sampled Ray Charles was originally published on ronerickeysmileymorningshow.staging.go.ione.nyc
5. MC Lyte – Paper Thin (“Hit the Road Jack”)
Gone, But Not Forgotten: 9 Artists Who Sampled Ray Charles was originally published on ronerickeysmileymorningshow.staging.go.ione.nyc
6. Outkast – Spread (“Yes Indeed”)
Gone, But Not Forgotten: 9 Artists Who Sampled Ray Charles was originally published on ronerickeysmileymorningshow.staging.go.ione.nyc
7. will.i.am – Mamma Mia (“What I’d Say”)
Gone, But Not Forgotten: 9 Artists Who Sampled Ray Charles was originally published on ronerickeysmileymorningshow.staging.go.ione.nyc
8. De La Soul – Brain Washed Follower (“Booty Butt”)
Gone, But Not Forgotten: 9 Artists Who Sampled Ray Charles was originally published on ronerickeysmileymorningshow.staging.go.ione.nyc
9. Common – Breaker 1/9 (“You Got the Right One, Baby, Uh-Huh”)
Gone, But Not Forgotten: 9 Artists Who Sampled Ray Charles was originally published on ronerickeysmileymorningshow.staging.go.ione.nyc
