Charles was orphaned at 15 and grew up playing r'n'b and gospel before merging the two to help define the soul sound. He won nine of his 12 Grammy Awards between 1960 and 1966, during which time he also dabbled in country, jazz and blues. He was arrested for heroin possession in 1965. 'His sound was stunning,' singer Van Morrison said recently. 'It was the blues, it was r'n'b, it was gospel, it was swing - it was all the stuff I was listening to before that but rolled into one.'