Quote

[On his heroin addiction:] 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.

Ray Charles

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Ray Charles
Age: 71 †
Born: 1932
Born: September 23
Died: 2004
Died: June 10
Composer
Jazz Musician
Music Arranger
Musician
Pianist
Recording Artist
Saxophonist
Singer
Singer-Songwriter
Soul Musician
Vocalist
Albany
Georgia
Ray Charles Robinson
Raymond Charles Robinson Peter
Society
Black
Pusher
Heroin
Addiction
Blind
Wasn
Poor

More quotes by Ray Charles

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Hit the road Jack, don'tcha come back no more, no more, no more, no more. Hit the road Jack, don'tcha come back no more.
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Just like you can buy grades of silk, you can buy grades of justice.
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The fact of the matter is, you don't give up what's natural. Anything I've fantasized about, I've done.
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Rhythm and blues used to be called race music. ... This music was going on for years, but nobody paid any attention to it.
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Goodbye don't mean gone.
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I don't sing a song unless I feel it. The song don't tug at my heart, I pass on it. I have to believe in what I'm doing.
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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.
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I think that most great artists who are extremely known, as I am, would intimidate a lot of people. I don't want to do that to people, but I know I do.
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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.
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The important thing is to feel your music, really feel it and believe it.
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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.
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I don't know what would have happened to me if I hadn't been able to hear.
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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.
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Music to me is like breathing. I don't get tired of breathing, I don't get tired of music.
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There are many spokes on the wheel of life. First, we're here to explore new possibilities.
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I always stay out of the rehearsal room you know when they first come in. Then once they had chance to play a little bit, then I walk in. Because I've seen guys fall apart.
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I had to pawn my clothes just to pay my rent.
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Other arms reach out to me, Other eyes smile tenderly, Still in peaceful dreams I see, The road leads back to you.
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I heard someone say that all black people got rhythm. Bullshit.
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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.
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