ifferences from noted events

The film's credits state that Ray is based on true events, but includes some cha
racters, names, locations, and events which have been changed and others which h
ave been "fictionalized for dramatization purposes." Examples of the fictionaliz
ed scenes include:
The film's portrayal of Charles' brother George's death in 1935 shows him dr
owning to death in a metal tub after Ray doesn't attempt to rescue him because h
e assumes he is just playing; Ray's mother then discovers George drowning when c
alling the boys in for dinner. Though George did drown to death in a metal tub,
Ray did try to pull him out, but was unable to do so due to George's large body
weight;[6] Ray then ran inside to tell his mother what had happened.[6]
In the studio scene where Charles is taught the "Mess Around," he is told it
is in the "key of G", but the "Mess Around" is actually in the key of E flat.
In the film, when he arrives in Seattle at the club where he is going to aud
ition, Ray meets a teenage Quincy Jones that very night. This event is only part
ly true, as Ray actually met Quincy a few days after arriving.is devastated by t
he tragedy. In reality, her death from an alleged drug overdose did reportedly u
pset Charles, but it did not occur until 1973.[10]
In the scene where Charles is about to enter a segregated music hall in Augu
sta, Georgia, in 1962, a group of civil rights activists protesting just outside
the hall successfully persuade him not to perform; Charles then declares that h
e will no longer perform in segregated public facilities and in response, the Ge
orgia state legislature passes a resolution banning Charles from ever performing
again in the state. In reality, a group of civil rights activists did successfu
lly persuade Charles to reject this invitation, but the advice came in the form
of a telegram rather than a street protest;[8] Charles also did make up for the
gig later, and was never banned from performing in Georgia and still accepted in
vitations to perform at segregated public facilities.[8]
During the final scene in the film where Charles' version of "Georgia on My
Mind" becomes Georgia's state song, Charles is congratulated by his wife Della,
and a resolution is also passed to lift the lifetime ban he had received in 1962
aft the end of the film, but it is not mentioned that he would often use gin an
d marijuana as substitutes for heroin throughout much of the remaining years of
his life.[7][8]
In the scene where "What'd I Say" is being played, Charles is depicted as pl
aying a Fender Rhodes electric piano, but in reality, he used a Wurlitzer electr
ic piano on the original recording and begun using it on tour in 1956, because h
e didn't trust the tuning and quality of the pianos provided to him at every ven
ue.[9]
In the film, when his backing singer and mistress Margie Hendricks informs R
ay she is pregnant with his child, Ray suggests she should have an abortion, out
of loyalty to Della; Margie decides to keep the baby and soon leaves Ray to pur
sue a separate singing career after he refuses to abandon his family, move in wi
th her and welcome the baby into his life. In reality, Hendricks did conceive a
child with Charles and abandoned him after he refused to leave Della, but Charle
s never asked her to have an abortion, and welcomed any child he conceived, whet
her from Della or any mistress, into his personal life.[8]
The film shows Ray having a party in Los Angeles sometime in 1965 when he is
informed that Margie has died of a drug overdose, and he er he declared he woul
d no longer perform at segregated public facilities. In reality, by the time "Ge
orgia on My Mind" became Georgia's state song in 1979, Charles and Delia had alr
eady divorced, so she wasn't present when Charles performed at the Georgia State
Legislature;[8] and since he had never been banned from performing in Georgia i
n the first place, no such resolution was ever passed.[8]
Throughout the film, it is suggested that Ray's depression and heroin addict
ion were fueled by nervous breakdowns he had over the deaths of both George and
his mother, as well as his blindness. In reality, the death of his mother did gi

ve him a nervous breakdown and was thought to be a leading cause of his depressi
on,[7] but the death of George and his blindness did not lead to nervous breakdo
wns.[7]
It is true that Charles kicked his heroin addiction after undergoing treatme
nt in a psychiatric hospital during 1965, as stated towards