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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
Pawn
Pawns
Rent
Explanation
Clothes
Pay
More quotes by Ray Charles
The important thing is to feel your music, really feel it and believe it.
Ray Charles
Just like you can buy grades of silk, you can buy grades of justice.
Ray Charles
Sighted people, you gotta deal with them.
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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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There are many spokes on the wheel of life. First, we're here to explore new possibilities.
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[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
Before I begin, let me say right here and now that I'm a country boy. And, man, I mean the real backwoods! That's at the start of the start of the thing, and that's at the heart of the thing.
Ray Charles
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.
Ray Charles
I was born with music inside me. That's the only explanation I know of
Ray Charles
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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Goodbye don't mean gone.
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I heard someone say that all black people got rhythm. Bullshit.
Ray Charles
The fact of the matter is, you don't give up what's natural. Anything I've fantasized about, I've done.
Ray Charles
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.
Ray Charles
Music is nothing separate from me. It is me... You'd have to remove the music surgically.
Ray Charles
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.
Ray Charles
I just want to make my mark, leave something musically good behind.
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.
Ray Charles
Art Tatum -- he was a genius. And Einstein, not me.
Ray Charles
It's like Duke Ellington said, there are only two kinds of music - good and bad. And you can tell when something is good.
Ray Charles
