Vincent Kotchounian: Where is Ray Charles’ son Now?

Vincent Kotchounian is the son of Ray Charles and his partner, Arlette Kotchounian. Kotchounian’s father was an American singer, songwriter, pianist, and composer. He was credited with the early development of soul music, a style based on a melding of gospel, rhythm and blues, and jazz music. He was a leading entertainer many billed as “the Genius.” Vincent Kotchounian’s mother, Arlette is a Parisian

Vincent Kotchounian: Bio Summary

Who is Vincent Kotchounian,  Ray Charles’s son?

Vincent Kotchounian is the son of the most renowned American pop singer Ray Charles and his Parisian lover, songwriter, and Photographer Arlette Kotchounian.  Vincent was born in 1977 in Los Angeles. He is 47 years old in 2024. He is of mixed ethnicity. Though Kotchounian is the only child of mother and father, He also has 11 other half-siblings from his father, Ray Charles’ side.

They are  Ray Charles Robinson, Jr., Sheila Raye Charles, Charles Wayne Hendricks, Evelyn Robinson, David Robinson, Robert Robinson, Raenee Robinson, Reatha Butler, Alexandra Bertrand, Robyn Moffett, and Corey Robinson.

Where is Vincent Kotchounian now?

According to reports, He attended the University of Southern California (USC), and later assumed the role of a fitness trainer at INT and MMA GYM. Additionally, he earned recognition for crafting the cover design of one of his father’s music albums. When his father passed away he left most of the money from his estate to the Ray Charles Foundation, a charity that supports the hearing and vision impaired. However, Vincent and his 11 half-siblings received $500,000 each in their trust funds per Cheatsheet. 

ALSO, READ; Charles Wayne Hendricks: What happened to Ray Charles’ son?

How did his Ray Charles and Arlette Kotchounian meet?

Vincent Kotchounian’s mother, Arlette Kotchounian, a photographer from Paris, came to New York during Ray’s run at the Copa. Arlette who was a classic Left Bank bohemian, small, dark, and heavy smoker, Kotchounian had translated the lyrics of a starkly beautiful song, “II Est Mon le Soleil” (“The Sun Died”), that a singer friend had recorded. Arlette brought the record with her and pushed her way into meeting Ray at his hotel.

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Ray liked “The Sun Died,” was intrigued by Arlette, and soon had her, most willingly, in bed. Their relationship was not to be a one-night stand. Arlette had a scrappy streak in her character that Ray liked, and the meeting began a relationship that lasted for years and resulted in the birth of their son Vincent Kotchounian.

The “Georgia on My Mind” hitmaker revealed in his 1978 autobiography, Brother Ray: Ray Charles’ Own Story, that he became hooked on women after losing his virginity at 12 years old to a woman about 20. “Cigarettes and smack [heroin] are the two truly addictive habits I’ve known. You might add women,” he said. “My obsession centers on women—did then [when young] and does now. I can’t leave them alone,” he added.

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The legendary singer was married twice. The first to Eileen Williams lasted from July 31, 1951, until 1952 and his second wife Della Beatrice Howard Robinson in Texas in 1954. The singer’s first marriage lasted less than a year; his second lasted 22 years. Throughout his life, Charles had many relationships with women.

Vincent Kotchounian’s mother, Arlette Kotchounian was not always called by her name. At the beginning of her career, the French singer-songwriter and photographer was also called  Arlette Avedian and Ann Grégory. In 1963, she began a two-year career as a singer, recording her first single The People Say/You Laugh at me.

The talented songwriter composed songs for Eddy Louis, Martine Clemenceau, and other singers, but most importantly, Ann Grégory wrote and composed the English version of The Sun Died, which became one of the best songs in the repertoire of legendary Ray Charles.

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In 2003, Vincent Kotchounian’s father, Ray Charles died at his home in Beverly Hills, California, of complications resulting from liver failure, on June 10, 2004, at the age of 73. His funeral took place on June 18, 2004, at the First African Methodist Episcopal Church of Los Angeles, with numerous musical figures including B.B. King, Glen Campbell, Stevie Wonder, and Wynton Marsalis in attendance. He was interred in the Inglewood Park Cemetery.