On September 23, 1930, in Albany, Georgia, Ray Charles Robinson was born. He was the child of Greenville, Florida residents Aretha (or Reatha) Robinson (née Williams), a laundress, and laborer Bailey Robinson.

Aretha’s mother died when she was a young girl. Her father was unable to raise her. Her father’s coworker Bailey took her in. Aretha was formally adopted by the Robinson family—Bailey, his wife Mary Jane, and his mother—and assumed the last name, Robinson. A few years later, Aretha, then 15 years old, got pregnant through Bailey. She departed Greenville late in the summer of 1930 to be with family in Albany during the impending scandal. Ray Charles was born, and she and the baby Charles went back to Greenville. After losing a son, Aretha and Bailey’s wife helped raise Charles.

Charles was deeply attached to his mother and later recalled her perseverance, self-sufficiency, and pride as guiding lights in his life, despite her poor health and adversity.

Ray Charles children: Meet Ray Charles Robinson, Jr., Charles Wayne Hendricks

Ray Charles’ children are Ray Charles Robinson, Jr. and Charles Wayne Hendricks, about whom little is known.