3 December 2020 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.
3 December 2020 Ray Charles Music is my life, professionally, for nearly 60 years. To be recognized by the academy is still the highest honor.
3 December 2020 Ray Charles 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.
3 December 2020 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.
3 December 2020 Ray Charles Learning to read music in Braille and play by ear helped me develop a damn good memory.
3 December 2020 Ray Charles My music had roots which I’d dug up from my own childhood, musical roots buried in the darkest soil.
3 December 2020 Ray Charles 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.
