Studio to become Ray Charles museum

The studio where Ray Charles recorded his final album will become a museum to the late music legend.

Organisers said they planned to convert the 1850sq m, three-storey building on Washington Boulevard in Los Angeles into a museum housing recordings, awards and even a tour bus.

It was expected to be completed by late 2007. "We didn't want it in Beverly Hills or a monument to Ray Charles anywhere but right where it is," said Charles' longtime manager, Joe Adams.

Charles, 73, died in June at his home in Beverly Hills. He used the studio to record his final, Grammy Award-winning album, Genius Loves Company.