No need to present this artist who was one of
the most influent musician in the popular American music scene of the 20th century.

Ray Charles Robinson was born September 23rd 1930 in a very poor family in Albany, Georgia. His childhood was not easy. He was the witness of the death of his younger brother aged 3 who drown in a pool then he lost his view because of glaucoma when he was four and was completely blind for the rest of his life.

“The Genius” has played four times in Montreux during the Jazz Festival. The first time being in 1978. Then in 1991 – July 16th and 17th – at the Casino. He came to Montreux for the last time in 1997 and died at 73 from a liver disease, on June 10th  2004, in his home at Beverly Hills, USA.

His bust was unveiled in the gardens of the Fairmont Montreux Palace next to BB King and Ella Fitzgerald.