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2004: Ray Charles, the genre-crossing mega-talented singer and songwriter who brought R&B into the mainstream, dies on June 10 at age 73. The multiplatinum-selling artist, called the Genius, had hits in pop, rock, blues, R&B and country, including "Hit the Road Jack," "I Can't ... moreStop Loving You," "Georgia on My Mind," and even "America the Beautiful" (a recording that journalist Ed Bradley called "the definitive version of the song, an American anthem -- a classic, just as the man who sang it"). The director of the biographical film "Ray," Taylor Hackford, brought actor Jamie Foxx to meet Charles about a year earlier, and Charles insisted the two play pianos together. Afterward, Charles stood up, hugged Foxx, and told Hackford that Foxx had his blessing to portray him in the film, saying, "He's the one ... he can do it." Sadly, the film opened in October, after Charles' death, but it, and Foxx's amazing and Oscar-winning portrayal of him, became a fitting tribute.