Ray Charles

I never wanted to be famous. I only wanted to be great.

Music to me is like breathing. I don’t get tired of breathing, I don’t get tired of music.

My music had roots which I’d dug up from my own childhood, musical roots buried in the darkest soil.

I do Jazz, Blues, Country and so forth. I do them all like a good utility man.

There’s nothing written in the Bible, Old or New testament, that says, If you believe in Me, you ain’t going to have no troubles.

Learning to read music in Braille and play by ear helped me develop a damn good memory.

Always keep reaching.

As long as I can say what it is that I need to say, then I’ll fit whatever I’m trying to say around a melody.

When rock came in, people didn’t know what to do. Even Sinatra, he didn’t know what to do. The music was changing. And it’s changing now.

A melody is not merely something you can hum.

I have won several prizes as the world’s slowest alto player and a special award in 1961 for quietness.

The blues was like that problem child that you may have had in the family. You was a little bit ashamed to let anybody see him, but you loved him. You just didn’t know how other people would take it.

I saw a vibraphone for the first time and knew immediately I had found my means of expression.

After two takes you’re imitating yourself.

People always ask, “Why jazz?” and I’m like “Why not?” It’s kind of like asking Seurat, “Why so many dots?” I imagine if you asked Bjork, “Why the Tibetan bells?” She’d probably be like “That’s just what I heard.” It’s the same thing. This is just the way I see music.

In Jazz, improvisation isn’t a matter of just making any ol’ thing up. Jazz, like any language, has its own grammer and vocabulary. There’s no right or wrong, just some choices that are better than others.

It seems like I always had to work harder than other people. Those nights when everybody else is asleep, and you sit in your room trying to play scales. I just wonder where I was when the talent was being given out, like George Benson, Kenny Burrell, Eric Clapton… oh, there’s many more! I wouldn’t want to be like them, you understand, but I’d like to be equal, if you will.

Music should always be an adventure.

Jazz will only go where we the composers and musicians take it. It is up to us.

You know why I quit playing ballads? Cause I love playing ballads.

To me, singing is like talking. If it ain’t natural, it ain’t right.