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Legendary musician Ray Charles sits at his piano and sings into a mic while wearing his trademark sunglasses in this black and white image from 1985

Ray Charles

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From Nat Cole Imitator to Soul Original

Rock historian Ed Ward tells the story of how Ray Robinson--an obscure emerging R & B singer--broke away from his image as a Nat King Cole imitator, changed his name, his record label, and established his identity as Ray Charles.

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