Ray Charles
Ray Charles
Ray Charles Robinson, known professionally as Ray Charles, was an American singer, songwriter, musician, and composer. He was sometimes referred to as "The Genius", and was also nicknamed "The High Priest of Soul"...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionSoul Singer
Date of Birth23 September 1930
CityAlbany, GA
CountryUnited States of America
giving people together
Affluence separates people. Poverty knits 'em together. You got some sugar and I don't; I borrow some of yours. Next month you might not have any flour; well, I'll give you some of mine.
blank chalk music-is
Music is the chalk to the blackboard of life. Without it everything is a blank slate
teenager writing heart
I never considered myself part of rock 'n' roll. My stuff was more adult. It was more difficult for teenagers to relate to; my stuff was filled with more despair than anything you'd associate with rock 'n' roll. Since I couldn't see people dancing, I didn't write jitterbugs or twists. I wrote rhythms that moved me. My style requires pure heart singing.
genius legends said
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.
musical-life inspirational-music ribs
I was born with music inside me
eye mean should
Just because you can't see anything , doesn't mean you should shut your eyes.
feelings way emotion
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.
sound helping knows
I can't help what I sound like. What I sound like is what i am. You know? I cannot be anything other that what I am.
addiction black blind
[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.
justice like-you grades
Just like you can buy grades of silk, you can buy grades of justice.
like-you retiring appendix
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.
breathing
Music to me is just like breathing. I have to have it. It's part of me.
sleep clothes car
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.
good-life blessed ocean
You ask me what I'd like to do that I haven't done and I say 'Nothin'!' I haven't any mountains to climb or oceans to swim. I've been an extremely blessed individual. ... I'm not clamorin' for more trinkets. If I were to die tomorrow, I could say I've had a good life.