What is Ray Charles last name is it St. Clair?

Question

We were doing some research and came upon a couple of places where it said that Ray Charles last name was St.Clair. does anyone know if this is to be true

Answer 1

no. his real last name was Robinson

Answer 2

St. Clair was the name of his record label. Maybe you're finding discographies that are talking about one of his albums on that label.

Answer 3

If you are referring to the blind, r & b singer, his last name is not St. Clair. His full name and birth/death dates are Ray Charles Robinson (September 23, 1930 –to June 10, 2004). He  was known by his stage name Ray Charles, and

was an American pianist and singer who shaped the sound of rhythm and blues. He brought a soulful sound to country music, pop standards, and a rendition of "America the Beautiful" that Ed Bradley of 60 Minutes called the "definitive version of the song, an American anthem — a classic, just as the man who sung it."

    Ray Charles Robinson was born in Albany, Georgia on September 23, 1930(1930-09-23) to Aretha Williams, who stacked boards in a sawmill, and Bailey Robinson, a railroad repair man, mechanic and handyman. The two were never married. The family moved to Greenville, Florida, when Ray was an infant. Bailey had three more families, leaving Aretha to raise the family on her own. When Charles was five, he witnessed his younger brother, George, drown in a large portable laundry tub.

     Ray began to go blind when he was five, and became totally blind by the age of seven.  Charles never knew exactly why he lost his sight,  though there are sources which suggest his blindness was due to glaucoma, and some other sources suggest that Ray began to lose his sight from an infection caused by soapy water to his eyes which was left untreated.

He attended school at the St. Augustine School for the Deaf and the Blind in St. Augustine, Florida, where he also learned how to write music and play various musical instruments. While he was there, his mother died followed by his father two years later.

      Before he left school, Charles began working as a musician in many bands that played in various styles, including jazz and, in Tampa “with a hillbilly band called "The Florida Playboys." This is where Charles began his reputation of always wearing sunglasses. When he entered show business, his name was shortened to Ray Charles to avoid confusion with boxer Sugar Ray Robinson.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ray_Charles has a longer biography of him.

Answer 4

Ray Charles Robinson was born in Albany, Georgia on September 23, 1930 (he shares a birthday with another musical icon, John Coltrane).

Answer 5

Ray Charles Robinson (September 23, 1930 – June 10, 2004), known by his stage name Ray Charles, was an American pianist and singer who shaped the sound of rhythm and blues. He brought a soulful sound to country music, pop standards, and a rendition of "America the Beautiful" that Ed Bradley of 60 Minutes called the "definitive version of the song, an American anthem — a classic, just as the man who sung it."[1]