Ray Charles: Rare and Classic Photos of an American Genius, 1966

Written By: Ben Cosgrove

In July 1966, LIFE magazine published a story in which Frank Sinatra called Ray Charles “the only genius in our business.” Whether or not he was the only genius in show business is debatable; but there’s no getting around the fact that the genius Ray Charles was one of the most influential American musicians in history. A prodigious pianist, soulful songwriter and vocalist of astonishing range and power, Charles transformed the pop-culture landscape with his melding of gospel, blues and R&B music during the 1950s.

In 1966, Charles’s career was on the rebound after a forced hiatus in rehab the previous year for his longtime heroin addiction. (He’d been arrested for possession for the third time in 1965, and agreed to rehab in order to avoid jail time.) After getting clean he reemerged with hits like “I Don’t Need No Doctor,” “Crying Time” and other songs in various genres, including blues-inflected country, that revealed his powers as an entertainer to be not merely undiminished, but perhaps stronger than ever.

LIFE photographer Bill Ray spent a solid month with Charles during this pivotal time in the singer’s career, chronicling performances at celebrated venues like Carnegie Hall as well as hanging out with the legend in the studio, backstage at concerts and on the road and in the air between shows. Here, LIFE.com presents a selection of Ray’s photos many of which never ran in LIFE magazine that reveal a Ray Charles most of us have never seen.

“I was amazed at how he was able to exercise so much control over so many aspects of his life,” Bill Ray said. “The music, the travel, his love life which was definitely complicated. He could sometimes seem cool, calculating, even ruthless in his dealings with people, but part of that was a way to make sure he wasn’t being cheated, or taken advantage of. To me, at least, he was always very warm, very welcoming. And when he got behind that piano and began to sing wow! It was just impossible not to be moved by music that powerful.”

Ray Charles in the driveway of his rambling Los Angeles home with his wife Della and sons Robert, 5, David, 7, and Ray Jr. 11. ‘I don’t need to see them to know what they look like,’ he says. ‘I know my wife is pretty, and I think my sons are pretty good boys.'” Ray and Della divorced in 1977.

Bill Ray; Life Pictures/Shutterstock

Ray Charles with his son, David, 1966.

Bill Ray; Life Pictures/Shutterstock

Ray Charles at home in Los Angeles, 1966.

Bill Ray; Life Pictures/Shutterstock

Ray Charles and his sons on his tour bus, 1966.

Bill Ray; Life Pictures/Shutterstock

Ray Charles and his sons goof around on his tour bus, 1966.

Bill Ray; Life Pictures/Shutterstock

Ray Charles 1966

Bill Ray; Life Pictures/Shutterstock

In the early morning at Los Angeles airport, Charles waits and his manager, Joe Adams, prepared to board his plane for a flight to New York.

Bill Ray; Life Pictures/Shutterstock

From his 50-seat private plane, Ray talked to someone at the control tower. He liked to sit up in the co-pilot’s seat and knew so much about the operation of the plane that, in an emergency, he could have taken over. As Charles said: ‘That would really be flying blind, baby.'”

Bill Ray; Life Pictures/Shutterstock

To light his cigarette, Charles feels the flame to guide it.”

Bill Ray; Life Pictures/Shutterstock

Ray Charles 1966

Bill Ray; Life Pictures/Shutterstock

Ray Charles’s tour bus, 1966.

Bill Ray; Life Pictures/Shutterstock

Charles played chess on a board with special niches. The white pieces were smaller than the black.

Bill Ray; Life Pictures/Shutterstock

Ray Charles’s tour bus, 1966.

Bill Ray; Life Pictures/Shutterstock

Charles’s chauffeur, Vernon Troupe, led him to the piano in the Los Angeles studio where Charles recorded for his own company, named Tangerine after his favorite fruit.

Bill Ray; Life Pictures/Shutterstock