Awards and Achievements DISCLAIMER: This list ends in 1996, and will be updated to include the many honors, awards and achievements that Ray garnered in the years since that time. 5/96 - Honorary Doctorate Degree in Performing Arts from Occidental College 10/95 - Governor's Performing Arts Award 6/95 - Horatio Alger Award 1994 - Grammy Award: Best R&B Vocal by a Male Performer "A Song For You", from his Warner Brothers release, "My World." This was Ray's 12th Grammy Award. 5/12/94 - the Helen Keller Personal Achievement Award From the American Foundation for the Blind. 1994 - Lifetime Achievement Award Black Achievement Awards television show sponsored by Johnson Publishing Company. MTV's "A Town Hall Meeting with President Clinton" When asked to name his favorite song, the President replied, Ray Charles' version of "A Song For You" 10/93 - National Medal of Arts Presented by President Bill Clinton 1/93 - Performer: Pre-inaugural concert at the Lincoln Memorial honoring President Bill Clinton Produced by Quincy Jones, the concert aired as a special on HBO. 2/92 - Black History Month Honoree 2/92 - Distinguished Service Medal In recognition of his "outstanding contributions." 2/92 - Inductee: The Florida Artists Hall of Fame Ray Charles, born in Georgia, was raised in Florida, where he attended the St. Augustine's School for the Deaf and Blind and began his career as a professional musician. The Florida Artists Hall of Fame includes Hemingway, Tennessee Williams, and John D. MacDonald, among others. 1991 - 50 Years of Music Making: A Tribute to Ray Charles A Fox Television Network special featuring Michael Bolton, Willie Nelson, and Stevie Wonder, among others, and hosted by Hammer. The show was taped by Willenborg Productions and co-executive produced by Gregory Willenborg and Ray Charles, Jr. 1991 - Ray Charles: The Genius of Soul An excellent documentary, produced for the American Masters series on public television. 1991 - Campaign of the Year: Ray Charles' Diet Pepsi commercials Ray Charles' series of commercials for Diet Pepsi, which debuted in 1990, brought praise for both Charles as pitchman and for the creativity of the campaign. A survey by Video Storyboards, leading tracker of America's favorite commercials, showed that Ray Charles' Diet Pepsi commercials were the most popular of 1991. The Economist added that "Diet Pepsi's jazzy ads featuring Ray Charles have scored higher than those for any other consumer product." Pepsico approached Mr. Charles initially after its research showed "his appeal crosses age boundaries like few other performers." The first ad in the series was acclaimed "the best commercial in the world". 1990 - Star Presenter of 1990 Advertising Age named Ray Charles as its Star Presenter of 1990. 1990 - Clio Award: Best Male Performer 4/90 - Honorary Doctorate of Fine Arts, University of South Florida At his own instigation, he returned to USF in February 1991, for a benefit performance at the Sun Dome with the USF Community Gospel Choir, marking the first time he has ever performed an entire program solely with amateur musicians. Proceeds from the concert were divided between the College of Fine Arts Music Scholarship Fund and Charles' own Robinson Foundation. 1989 - Japan #1 single "Ellie My Love" The single was recorded for an exclusive Japan release and earned the Japanese equivalent of a Gold Record. 1988 - Limit Up Ray played the part of God in this feature film. 1988 - Emmy Nomination The Academy of Television Arts and Sciences nominated Ray for his performance on the TV special honoring Irving Berlin's 100th birthday. 4/87 - Robinson Foundation for Hearing Disorders Opened by Ray with a personal endowment of $1 million. "Most people take their ears for granted," Charles remarked. "I can't. My eyes are my handicap, but my ears are my opportunity." 12/86 - Kennedy Center Honors Celebrated with a televised gala at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C, the Honors are presented annually to individuals who through a lifetime of accomplishment, have enriched American life by their achievement in the performing arts. Of interest, Charles was the only black and the only popular musician honored that year and the second youngest to be so honored up to that time. 1988 - Ray Charles & the New York City Ballet Ray Charles appeared with the NYC Ballet, which choreographed dances to some of his classics. Joining Charles in playing for the engagement were members of his original band, Hank Crawford, Leroy Cooper and David "Fat Head" Newman. That appearance was so successful, that it was repeated in 1989 for another sold-out audience. 1988 - "Raisin Ray" The "first celebrity raisin" in the California Raisin Advisory Board's trendy series of commercials, Ray Charles was seen in claymation. 11/86 - Commander of Fine Arts and Letters (By order of the French government) the second time Charles had been selected for a distinguished honor by the Republic of France. 1/86 - The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame As one of the original inductees, this was yet another tribute to his versatility as a musician and to the lasting imprint he has made on all forms of popular music in the past 50 years. 1987 - St. Elsewhere Charles' dramatic television debut in which he played a homeless man. 1987 - Who's the Boss? Ray appeared as himself on this well-received sitcom. 1987 - CBS-TV 60 Minutes Another excellent profile. 1985 - We Are The World Ray Charles was one of the participants in the historic "We Are The World" recording to benefit USA for Africa, which raised many millions to help feed Africa's starving. 1984 - Republican National Convention Ray Charles was hired by the Committee to Re-Elect the President to perform at the Republican National Convention. His televised rendition of "America The Beautiful", first recorded on the ABC records label in his "A Message from the People" LP, was both inspirational and electrifying. Charles' "America" is included in the 1987 two-disc CD release of Ray Charles hits on the Dunhill Classics label, "America" was also released as a CD single. 1963 - Ballad in Blue Ray Charles starred in his first feature film. 1983 - NAACP Hall of Fame Award 1983 - NAACP Best R&B Male Vocalist In addition, Ray Charles received numerous awards from Afro-American Studies groups at campuses across the U.S. 1981 - ABC-TV 20/20 This excellent profile of Ray Charles was awarded two Emmys. 12/16/81 - Star on Hollywood Boulevard's Walk of Fame In recognition of both his artistic and humanitarian achievements. 1980 - The Blues Brothers Ray was a featured player in the classic comedy starring John Belushi and Dan Akroyd. 1979 - Official Song of the State of Georgia Ray Charles' classic rendition of "Georgia On My Mind" was approved as the official state song, and Charles was invited to be present on the floor of the State Capital to sing its first performance as such. 1979 - Inductee: Georgia Music Hall of Fame Ray Charles was the first performer to be so honored. 1978 - Brother Ray Ray Charles' autobiography, written with David Ritz, was published in 1978 by Dial Press. It was a national best-seller as well as a book club selection and is currently available in paperback. In the 1970s, Ray Charles received many major awards, among them: 1976 - Man of the Year: Beverly Hills Lodge of the B'nai B'rith 1976 - Inductee: Songwriters' Hall of Fame 1976 - "I Got A Woman" nominated for the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences Hall of Fame. 1975 - The Golden Plate Award Presented by the American Academy of Achievement for his outstanding contributions. He was subsequently named to the Academy's board of directors. 1975 - Man of Distinction Award The National Association for Sickle Cell Disease's first "Man of Distinction" Award was presented to him in 1975. Charles, who has shown a long and active concern and involvement with sickle cell disease programs, was the Honorary Chairman for the NASCD's Los Angeles chapter in 1962. 1968 - Playboy Magazine Hall of Fame He topped the magazine's readers' poll in several categories many times as Best Jazz Male Vocalist. ONGOING - Honorary Life Chairman of the Rhythm & Blues Hall of Fame Since his first major recording hit, "I Got A Woman" (1958), it is generally conceded in the music world that Ray Charles has left an indelible mark on virtually every facet of popular music, be it R&B, country & western, jazz or rock & roll. As Jeff Levinson wrote in Downbeat (Jan., 1989): "A few years back it was jokingly suggested that we just honor Charles by carving his visage at the peak of Mt. Rushmore.... Wouldn't that be a kick? Brother Ray rubbing shoulders with Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln and Roosevelt, peering out from behind those shades, canvassing the great plains. After a minute the idea was scrapped, rendered totally dumb.... Why should he go through all that? The man's already a monument!" He is equally at home with the major symphony orchestras of the world (from London's Royal Philharmonic to the Boston Pops) as he is with his own family of musicians -- the 17 piece Ray Charles Orchestra and his five backup singers, The Raelettes. He never follows trends; he sets them. Song date Chart Peak # weeks Swanee River Rock 11/25/57 34 1 What'd I Say (Part 1) 7/20/59 6 11 I'm Movin' On 12/14/59 40 1 Sticks And Stones 8/8/60 40 1 Georgia 10/10/60 number 1 10 Ruby 12/12/60 28 5 One Mint Julep 3/27/61 8 9 Hit The Road Jack 9/18/61 number 1 11 Unchain My Heart 12/4/61 9 10 Hide 'Nor Hair 4/21/62 20 4 I Can't Stop Loving You 5/19/62 number 1 14 You Don't Know Me 8/4/62 2 9 You Are My Sunshine 12/1/62 7 9 Your Cheating Heart 12/8/62 29 5 Don't Set Me Free 3/16/63 20 4 Take These Chains From My Heart 4/27/63 8 8 No One 7/6/63 21 5 Without Love (There Is Nothing) 7/6/63 29 4 Busted 9/14/63 4 11 That Lucky Old Sun 12/21/63 20 7 My Heart Cries For You 3/21/64 38 2 Baby, Don't You Cry 3/21/64 39 1 Crying Time 1/15/66 6 9 Together Again 4/16/66 19 5 Let's Go Get Stoned 6/25/66 31 4 I Chose To Sing The Blues 10/1/66 32 2 Here We Go Again 6/10/67 15 9 In The Heat Of The Night 9/23/67 33 3 Yesterday 12/2/67 25 3 Eleanor Rigby 7/20/68 35 3 Don't Change On Me 4/17/71 36 4 Booty Butt 5/15/71 36 2