Charles' album goes platinum post-humously

Four months after his death, the late "Genius of Soul" Ray Charles has achieved a success he never managed during his 60-year career: a platinum-selling album.

The musician's final studio album Genius Loves Company has become Charles' biggest hit in 40 years, selling more than 733,000 copies since it was released on August 31, his publicists announced.

During his long career in which he virtually created soul music as a major genre, Charles had five gold records, selling more than 500,000 copies each, including classics such as Georgia on My Mind and I Can't Stop Loving You.

The blind soul veteran's last album, which features a collection of duets sung with famous friends, debuted in second place on the Billboard Top 200 chart and sold 202,000 copies in its first week on sale.

The hit album marks the first time that Charles, who died of complications from liver disease on June 10 at the age of 73, has secured a place in the Top 10 since 1964.