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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

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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
Right
Real
Mean
Heart
Backwoods
Thing
Begin
Men
Boys
Start
Country

More quotes by Ray Charles

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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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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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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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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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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 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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Dreams, if they're any good, are always a little bit crazy.
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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.
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Now Listen You know I work so hard, all day long Everything I try to do, Seem to always turn out wrong That's why I wanna stop by on my way home and say Let's go get stoned
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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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Music to me is like breathing. I don't get tired of breathing, I don't get tired of music.
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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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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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I had to pawn my clothes just to pay my rent.
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Music is the chalk to the blackboard of life. Without it everything is a blank slate
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Just like you can buy grades of silk, you can buy grades of justice.
Ray Charles
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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.
Ray Charles
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I was born with music inside me. That's the only explanation I know of
Ray Charles
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Goodbye don't mean gone.
Ray Charles