Quotes from Ray Charles

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.

I never wanted to be famous. I only wanted to be great.

My music had roots which I'd dug up from my own childhood, musical roots buried in the darkest soil.

What is soul? It's like electricity - we don't really know what it is, but it's a force that can light a room.

Learning to read music in Braille and play by ear helped me develop a damn good memory.

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.

Music is my life, professionally, for nearly 60 years. To be recognized by the academy is still the highest honor.

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.

Live every day like it's your last, 'cause one day you're gonna be right.

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.

Nowadays they say you need to get a special chip to put in the TV so kids can't watch this and that. In my day, we didn't need a chip. My mom was the chip. End of story.

Dreams, if they're any good, are always a little bit crazy.

Live each day like it's your last, 'cause one day you gonna be right

Love is a special word, and I use it only when I mean it. You say the word too much and it becomes cheap.

I never wanted to be famous; I only wanted to be great.

Goodbye don't mean gone.

Learning to read music in Braille & play by ear helped me develop a [very] good memory.

I really feel that if you're gonna be good, you gotta practice... Practice whatever the hell you do.

There are many spokes on the wheel of life. First, we're here to explore new possibilities ?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.

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

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.

Nowadays they say you need a special chip to put in the TV so kids can't watch this and that. In my day, we didn't need a chip. My mom was the chip. End of story.

Music is about the only thing left that people don't fight over.

The important thing is to feel your music, really feel it and believe it.