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I had to pawn my clothes just to pay my rent.

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
Explanation
Clothes
Pay
Pawn
Pawns
Rent

More quotes by Ray Charles

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The important thing is to feel your music, really feel it and believe it.
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I never said I was a genius. I never said I was a cornerstone. I've never said I'm a legend in my own time. You never heard me say nothing like that.
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I got a cow that went dry and a hen that won't lay, a big stack of bills that gets bigger each day.
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When I'm having a rehearsal and there are new guys who come in to try out for the job, I always let my conductor rehearse them. Because I don't want the guy to get bent out of shape, because I walk in.
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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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I just want to make my mark, leave something musically good behind.
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Music is nothing separate from me. It is me... You'd have to remove the music surgically.
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Art Tatum -- he was a genius. And Einstein, not me.
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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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Just because you can't see anything , doesn't mean you should shut your eyes.
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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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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.
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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.
Ray Charles
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Sighted people, you gotta deal with them.
Ray Charles
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It's like Duke Ellington said, there are only two kinds of music - good and bad. And you can tell when something is good.
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I cant retire from music any more than I can retire from my liver. Youd have to remove the music from me surgically—like you were taking out my appendix.
Ray Charles
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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.
Ray Charles
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Music to me is like breathing. I don't get tired of breathing, I don't get tired of music.
Ray Charles
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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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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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