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Ray Charles: Controversies
Despite his support of Martin Luther King, Jr., in the 1960s and his support for the civil rights movement, Charles courted controversy when he toured South Africa in 1981 despite an international boycott of the country because of its apartheid policy. He faced pickets in South Africa and in 15 North American cities he toured subsequently including Albany, Los Angeles, New York and Toronto. The United Nations agency supporting the boycott asked him to apologize and promise not to visit South Africa until the abolition of apartheid to which he responded that they could "kindly kiss (my) far end." Despite having described himself as a "Hubert Humphrey Democrat," Charles accepted $100,000 to perform "
America the Beautiful" at former U.S. president Ronald Reagan's second inaugural ball. In response to criticism, his manager, Roy Adams, commented: "For that kind of money he would have sung "America the Beautiful" at a Ku Klux Klan rally."
A notorious ladies' man, Charles was married twice and fathered twelve children by seven different women. In a 60 Minutes profile, he admitted to Ed Bradley that he "auditioned" his female back-up singers. The saying was, "To be a Raelet, you've got to let Ray."
From the time of his switch from straight rhythm and blues with a combo, Charles was often accused of selling out. He left behind his classic formulation of rhythm and blues to sing country music, pop songs, and soft-drink commercials. In the process, he went from a niche audience to worldwide fame.
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