The onetime midcentury modern home of Ray Charles has hit the open market with an asking price of $10.8 million. This is, by the way, the Ray Charles of ‘The Ray Charles Singers’ fame, not ‘What’d I Say?’ fame. So, not Charlesville, but Squaresville. If you will.

Although no square could inhabit a pad as hip as this, so Charles must’ve had some groove in him somewhere. The arranger and choral leader owned the home for nearly half a century, according to public records, having bought it in 1970 for $120K. The current owner presumably bought it from his estate in 2015, for $7 million.

The boxy, blazing white home is hunkered into a hillside in Beverly Hills, and makes an ethereal but otherwise unremarkable first impression. Once inside the 3-bed, 5-bath home, however, the home opens up beautifully, with a wide-open common area that achieves a potent sense of continuation with the hills beyond by way of walls of floor-to-ceiling glass.

Beige travertine floors keep the home from veering into overt warmth, and help the interiors maintain their down-to-earth feel. It looks as though the buyer who purchased the place from Charles’ estate carried out little in the way of revisions, as the kitchen and most baths look to be quite dated. The master suite got a refresh, though.

The location is a beaut, ideal for sliding back the glass walls and making the most of the transition space and the heated pool and travertine sunlounge. A wet bar, maid’s room, gym and patios are among the home’s other amenities.