Ray Charles
I was born with music inside me. Music was one of my parts. Like my ribs, my kidneys, my liver, my heart. Like my blood. It was a force already within me when I arrived on the scene. It was a necessity for me - like food or water.Collection: Food
I did it to myself. It wasn't society... it wasn't a pusher, it wasn't being blind or being black or being poor. It was all my doing.Collection: Society
I never wanted to be famous. I only wanted to be great.Collection: Famous
My music had roots which I'd dug up from my own childhood, musical roots buried in the darkest soil.Collection: Music
Music is powerful. As people listen to it, they can be affected. They respond.Collection: Music
Learning to read music in Braille and play by ear helped me develop a damn good memory.Collection: Learning
What is a soul? It's like electricity - we don't really know what it is, but it's a force that can light a room.
There are many spokes on the wheel of life. First, we're here to explore new possibilities.
I suppose I've always done my share of crying, especially when there's no other way to contain my feelings. I know that men ain't supposed to cry, but I think that's wrong. Crying's always been a way for me to get things out which are buried deep, deep down. When I sing, I often cry. Crying is feeling, and feeling is being human. Oh yes, I cry.
I'm a firm believer in God himself, but that's as far as I can go. I'm not any denomination. I'm not Catholic or Presbyterian or Baptist or Methodist or Jewish or Muslim. I'm none of those things. And I'm sure that's just fine with God.
I don't know what would have happened to me if I hadn't been able to hear.
People couldn't understand why my mama would have this blind kid out doing things like cutting wood for the fire. But her thing was: He may be blind, but he ain't stupid.
To me, music is entertainment - what else can it be? In fact, it's the only language I know of that's universal.
The fact of the matter is, you don't give up what's natural. Anything I've fantasized about, I've done.
Affluence separates people. Poverty knits 'em together. You got some sugar and I don't; I borrow some of yours. Next month you might not have any flour; well, I'll give you some of mine.
There's nothing written in the Bible, Old or New testament, that says, 'If you believe in Me, you ain't going to have no troubles.'
Mama was a country woman with a whole lot of common sense. She understood what most of our neighbors didn't - that I shouldn't grow dependent on anyone except myself. 'One of these days, I ain't gonna be here,' she kept hammering inside my head.
Love is a special word, and I use it only when I mean it. You say the word too much and it becomes cheap.
Music is my life, professionally, for nearly 60 years. To be recognized by the academy is still the highest honor.
I've always been the kind of person who, if there's anything that can kill me, I want to know something about it.
Music's been around a long time, and there's going to be music long after Ray Charles is dead. I just want to make my mark, leave something musically good behind. If it's a big record, that's the frosting on the cake, but music's the main meal.
I met Quincy Jones in Seattle. We were kids together... liked each other when we met and have been close ever since. He wasn't writing when we met - in fact, I more or less started him off to write; voicing, harmony, and stuff like that.
What makes my approach special is that I do different things. I do jazz, blues, country music and so forth. I do them all, like a good utility man.
With singing, the name of the game is to make yourself believable. When somebody hears you sing a song, and they say, 'Oh, that must have happened to him,' that's when you know you're transmitting. It's like being a good actor. You make people feel things, emotions and what not.
I am very into lyrics. I start with what the words are saying, what the storyline is saying, like a good script. It should really capture me, do something for me. If I don't get it, it's not going to move people, and if it's not going to move people, it's not going to happen.
My version of 'Georgia' became the state song of Georgia. That was a big thing for me, man. It really touched me. Here is a state that used to lynch people like me suddenly declaring my version of a song as its state song. That is touching.
Any artist, when he goes in to record, should have the feeling that any song he records can be a hit. This may sound egotistical, but it makes sense.
I don't know about other writers, but for myself, to write I must be relatively quiet - it's very difficult to write with the telephone and the doorbell ringing and conversation going on; I'm not that good a writer to write through all that!
Live each day like it's your last, 'cause one day you gonna be rightCollection: Life
Don't go backwards - you've already been there.Collection: Backwards
Just because you can't see anything , doesn't mean you should shut your eyes.Collection: Mean
Music to me is like breathing. I don't get tired of breathing, I don't get tired of music.Collection: Funny
I was born with music inside me. Music was one of my parts. Like my ribs, my kidneys, my liver, my heart. Like my blood. It was a force already within me when I arrived on the scene. It was a necessity for me-like food or water.Collection: Inspirational
Dreams, if they're any good, are always a little bit crazy.Collection: Dream
What I've got to live up to, is being myself. If I do that, the rest will take care of itself.Collection: Care
I don't think any of us really knows why we're here. But I think we're supposed to believe we're here for a purpose.Collection: Believe
I'd like to think that when I sing a song, I can let you know all about the heartbreak, struggle, lies and kicks in the ass I've gotten over the years for being black and everything else, without actually saying a word about it.Collection: Song
The important thing is to feel your music, really feel it and believe it.Collection: Music
Sometimes my dreams are so deep that I dream that I'm dreaming.Collection: Dream
Absence makes the heart grow fonder and tears are only rain to make love grow.Collection: Rain
I'm not into the money thing. You can only sleep in one bed at a time. You can only eat one meal at a time, or be in one car at a time. So I don't have to have millions of dollars to be happy. All I need are clothes on my back, a decent meal, and a little loving when I feel like it. That's the bottom line.Collection: Money
I really feel that if you're gonna be good, you gotta practice... Practice whatever the hell you do.Collection: Practice
Music is about the only thing left that people don't fight over.Collection: Fighting
Do it right or don't do it at all. That comes from my mom. If there's something I want to do, I'm one of those people that won't be satisfied until I get it done. If I'm trying to sing something and I can't get it, I'm going to keep at it until I get where I want it.Collection: Mom
Goodbye don't mean gone.Collection: Goodbye
Music to me is just like breathing. I have to have it. It's part of me.Collection: Breathing
Music is the chalk to the blackboard of life. Without it everything is a blank slateCollection: Blank
You got to set your mind right and the rest will come to you naturally. No restrictions, no hang-ups, no stupid rules, no formalities, no forbidden fruit - just everyone getting and giving as much as he and she can.Collection: Stupid
There's such a thing as too much happiness and sadness. What I'm after is contentment.Collection: Sadness
When I started to sing like myself - as opposed to imitating Nat Cole, which I had done for a while - when I started singing like Ray Charles, it had this spiritual and churchy, this religious or gospel sound. It had this holiness and preachy tone to it. It was very controversial. I got a lot of criticism for it.Collection: Spiritual