Editing Ray Charles (section)

===1959–1971: Crossover success===
{{See also|What'd I Say|Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music}}
Charles' contract with Atlantic expired in 1959, and several big labels offered him record deals. Choosing not to renegotiate his contract with Atlantic, he signed with [[ABC Records|ABC-Paramount]] in November 1959.<ref name=linernotes>[http://www.kalamu.com/bol/2007/08/12/ray-charles-%E2%80%9Ci-can%E2%80%99t-stop-loving-you%E2%80%9D Ray Charles, "I Can't Stop Loving You"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230409091730/https://www.kalamu.com/bol/2007/08/12/ray-charles-%e2%80%9ci-can%e2%80%99t-stop-loving-you%e2%80%9d/ |date=April 9, 2023 }}. Kalamu.com. Retrieved August 13, 2008.</ref> He obtained a more liberal contract than other artists had at the time, with ABC offering him a $50,000 (US${{formatnum:{{Inflation|US|50,000|1959}}}} in {{Inflation-year|US}} dollars{{inflation-fn|US}}) annual advance, higher royalties than before, and eventual ownership of his [[master tape]]s—a very valuable and lucrative deal at the time.<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/news/coverstory/ray_charles_soul_pioneer|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071012152244/http://www.rollingstone.com/news/coverstory/ray_charles_soul_pioneer|archive-date=October 12, 2007|title=RS Biography: Ray Charles 1930-2004|magazine=[[Rolling Stone]]|access-date=August 14, 2008 }}</ref> During his Atlantic years, Charles had been hailed for his inventive compositions, but by the time of the release of the largely instrumental jazz album ''[[Genius + Soul = Jazz]]'' (1960) for ABC's subsidiary label [[Impulse! Records|Impulse!]], he had given up on writing in favor of becoming a [[cover band|cover artist]], giving his own eclectic arrangements of existing songs.<ref name="times">{{cite news |first1=Jon |last1=Pareles |first2=Bernard |last2=Weinraub |url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9F04EEDA1530F932A25755C0A9629C8B63&sec=&spon= |title=Ray Charles, Bluesy Essence of Soul, Is Dead at 73 |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |date=June 11, 2004 |access-date=December 12, 2008 |archive-date=May 8, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240508044407/https://www.nytimes.com/2004/06/11/arts/ray-charles-bluesy-essence-of-soul-is-dead-at-73.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

With "[[Georgia on My Mind]]", his first hit single for ABC-Paramount in 1960, Charles received national acclaim and four [[Grammy Award]]s, including two for "Georgia on My Mind" ([[Grammy Award for Best Vocal Performance, Male|Best Vocal Performance Single Record or Track, Male]], and [[Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Song|Best Performance by a Pop Single Artist]]). Written by [[Stuart Gorrell]] and [[Hoagy Carmichael]] in 1930, the song was Charles' first work with [[Sid Feller]], who produced, arranged and conducted the recording.<ref name="times"/><ref>[//www.rollingstone.com/news/story/6595889/georgia_on_my_mind The RS 500 Greatest Songs of All Time: 44) "Georgia on My Mind"]. Rolling Stone.com; retrieved August 14, 2008.</ref> Charles' rendition of the tune helped elevate it to the status of an American classic, and his version also became the state song of Georgia in 1979.<ref>{{Cite web |date=February 12, 2011 |title=29 Black Music Milestones: Ray Charles' 'Georgia' Becomes State Song |url=https://www.billboard.com/music/music-news/29-black-music-milestones-ray-charles-georgia-becomes-state-song-473071/ |access-date=March 31, 2022 |website=billboard.com |language=en-US |archive-date=March 31, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220331181350/https://www.billboard.com/music/music-news/29-black-music-milestones-ray-charles-georgia-becomes-state-song-473071/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Gioia |first=Ted |title=The jazz standards: a guide to the repertoire |date=2021 |isbn=978-0-19-008717-3 |edition=Second |oclc=1238128525}}</ref>

[[File:Ray Charles 260971neu000.jpg|thumb|250px|left|Charles in 1971]]

Charles earned another Grammy for the follow-up track "[[Hit the Road Jack]]", written by R&B singer [[Percy Mayfield]].

In 1961, Charles had expanded his small road ensemble to a [[big band]], partly as a response to increasing royalties and touring fees, becoming one of the few black artists to cross over into mainstream pop with such a level of creative control.<ref name="times"/><ref name=cooper20>Cooper (1998), pp. 20–22.</ref> Concerts in Antibes and later Zurich, Lyon and Paris led to Charles becoming the #1 bestselling jazz artist in France for many years.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://raycharlesvideomuseum.blogspot.com/2011/10/ray-charles-live-in-paris-1961.html|title=Birth Of A Big Band: Ray Charles' October 1961 Concerts In Paris |date=October 9, 2011 |publisher=Ray Charles Video Museum|access-date=February 8, 2025}}</ref>  This success, however, came to a momentary halt during a concert tour in November 1961, when a police search of Charles' hotel room in Indianapolis, Indiana, led to the discovery of heroin in the medicine cabinet. The case was eventually dropped, as the search lacked a proper [[Warrant (law)|warrant]] by the police, and Charles soon returned to music.<ref name=cooper20/> 

In the early 1960s, on the way from Louisiana to [[Oklahoma City]], Charles faced a near-death experience when the pilot of his plane lost visibility, as snow and his failure to use the defroster caused the windshield of the plane to become completely covered in ice. The pilot made a few circles in the air before he was finally able to see through a small part of the windshield and land the plane. Charles placed a spiritual interpretation on the experience, claiming that "something or someone which instruments cannot detect" was responsible for creating the small opening in the ice on the windshield which enabled the pilot to eventually land the plane safely.<ref name=Autobio/>

The 1962 album ''[[Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music]]''<ref>{{cite news|last=Christgau|first=Robert|author-link=Robert Christgau|url=https://www.robertchristgau.com/xg/cg/cgv3-83.php|title=Christgau's Consumer Guide|newspaper=[[The Village Voice]]|access-date=May 24, 2022|archive-date=August 9, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220809112847/https://www.robertchristgau.com/xg/cg/cgv3-83.php|url-status=live}}</ref> and its sequel, ''[[Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music Volume Two|Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music, Vol. 2]]'', helped to bring [[country music]] into the musical mainstream. Charles' version of the [[Don Gibson]] song "[[I Can't Stop Loving You]]" topped the Pop chart for five weeks, stayed at No. 1 on the R&B chart for ten weeks, and gave him his only number-one record in the UK. In 1962, he founded his record label, [[Tangerine Records (1962)|Tangerine]], which ABC-Paramount promoted and distributed.<ref name=Autobio/>{{rp|248}}<ref name="Lydon Riverhead"/>{{rp|213–16}} He had major pop hits in 1963 with "[[Busted (Harlan Howard song)|Busted]]" (US No. 4) and "[[Take These Chains from My Heart]]" (US No. 8).<ref>{{cite magazine|title=Ray Charles Chart History|url=https://www.billboard.com/music/ray-charles/chart-history|magazine=Billboard|access-date=March 16, 2018|archive-date=August 12, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210812130531/https://www.billboard.com/music/ray-charles/chart-history|url-status=live}}</ref> In 1964, [[Margie Hendrix]] was kicked out of the Raelettes after a big argument.

In 1964, Charles' career was halted once more after he was arrested for a third time for possession of heroin.<ref name=":8" /> He agreed to go to a rehabilitative facility to avoid jail time and eventually kicked his habit at a clinic in Los Angeles. After spending a year on parole, Charles reappeared in the charts in 1966 with a series of hits composed with [[Ashford & Simpson]] and [[Jo Armstead]],<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.popmatters.com/the-brill-building-broadway-and-beyond-r-b-and-soul-singer-songwriter-joshie-armstead-2495380930.html|title=The Brill Building, Broadway, and Beyond: R&B and Soul Singer-songwriter Joshie Armstead|last=Wikane|first=Christian John|date=September 11, 2017|website=PopMatters|language=en|access-date=April 2, 2020|archive-date=April 7, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230407185601/https://www.popmatters.com/the-brill-building-broadway-and-beyond-r-b-and-soul-singer-songwriter-joshie-armstead-2495380930.html|url-status=live}}</ref> including the dance number "[[I Don't Need No Doctor]]" and "[[Let's Go Get Stoned]]", which became his first number-one R&B hit in several years. His cover version of "[[Crying Time]]", originally recorded by country singer [[Buck Owens]], reached No. 6 on the pop chart and helped Charles win a Grammy Award the following March. In 1967, he had a top-twenty hit with another ballad, "[[Here We Go Again (Ray Charles song)|Here We Go Again]]".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.pianofiles.com/browse/artist/ray+charles|title=Ray Charles Profile |publisher=PianoFiles.com |access-date=April 11, 2015  |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140504021948/http://www.pianofiles.com/browse/artist/ray+charles|archive-date=May 4, 2014}}</ref>