I started to sing like myself — as opposed to imitating Nat Cole, which I had done for a while — when I started singing like Ray Charles, it had this spiritual and churchy, this religious or gospel sound. It had this holiness and preachy tone to it. It was very controversial. I got a lot of criticism for it.
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About Ray Charles

Ray Charles was a 20th-century American singer, songwriter and pianist. Ray Charles Robinson was an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. He is regarded as one of the most iconic and influential musicians of the 20th century and was often referred to by contemporaries as "The Genius". Read more on Wikipedia →

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