Ray Charles Robinson was born in Albany, Georgia on September 23, 1930. When he was an infant, Ray and his family moved to Greenville, Florida. Throughout the early stage of adolescence, Charles began to lose his eyesight and was blind by the age of 7. His mother sent him to attend the Florida School for the Deaf and Blind in St. Augustine, FL where he was taught how to read, write, and arrange music in Braille. His love for music advanced thoroughly, for he began playing many different instruments such as the piano, clarinet, organ trumpet, etc.