Honors celebrate 58-year career of music legend

Jet, June 28, 2004

* In March 2004, Charles received the Hall of Fame Award al the NAACP Image Awards at the Universal Amphitheatre in Los Angeles.

* In January 2001, Charles received the Trumpet Award on behalf of Turner Broadcasting Systems.

* In October 2000, Charles received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Blues Foundation.

* In May 1998, Charles received the Polar Music Award, Sweden's most prestigious award, presented by the King and Queen.

* In November 1997, Charles was inducted into the International Jazz Hall of Fame.

* In June 1995, Charles was honored with the Horatio Alger Award.

* On May 12, 1994, Charles received the Helen Keller Personal Achievement Award from the American Foundation for the Blind.

* In March 1994, Charles received a Lifetime Achievement Award as part of the American Black Achievement Awards television show sponsored by Johnson Publishing Company.

* In October 1993, Charles received the National Medal of Arts presented by President Bill Clinton in Washington D.C.

* In December 1986, Charles was one of the recipients of the Kennedy Center Honors. The Honors are presented annually to individuals who through a lifetime of accomplishment have enriched American life by their achievement in the performing arts.

* In November 1986, Charles was honored by the French government when he was made a Commander of Fine Arts and Letters, the second time Charles had been selected for a distinguished honor by the Republic of France.

* In January 1986, Charles was one of the original inductees into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, yet another tribute to his versatility as a musician and to the lasting imprint he has made on all forms of popular music in the past 50 years.

* In 1983, Charles was honored by the NAACP's Image Awards as a recipient of its Hall of Fame Award. He also received an award that year at the NAACP's televised ceremonies for Best R&B Male list.

* On December 16, 1981, Charles received a star on Hollywood Boulevard's Walk of Fame.

* In 1979, Charles' classic rendition of Georgia On My Mind was approved as the official Song of the State of Georgia, and Charles was invited to be present on the floor of the State Capitol to sing its first performance as such.

* In 1979, Charles was inducted into the Georgia Music Hall of Fame, the first performer to be so honored.

* In 1976, Charles was inducted into the Songwriters' Hall of Fame.

* In 1975, The National Association for Sickle Cell Disease's (NASCD) first "Man of Distinction" Award was presented to Charles. The entertainer, who had shown a long and active concern and involvement with sickle cell disease programs, was the Honorary Chairman for the NASCD's Los Angeles chapter in 1962.