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" I've always been the kind of person who, if there's anything that can kill me, I want to know something about it. "

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" Music is my life, professionally, for nearly 60 years. To be recognized by the academy is still the highest honor. "

" I met Quincy Jones in Seattle. We were kids together... liked each other when we met and have been close ever since. He wasn't writing when we met - in fact, I more or less started him off to write; voicing, harmony, and stuff like that. "

" 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. "

" 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. "

" With singing, the name of the game is to make yourself believable. When somebody hears you sing a song, and they say, 'Oh, that must have happened to him,' that's when you know you're transmitting. It's like being a good actor. You make people feel things, emotions and what not. "

" There are many spokes on the wheel of life. First, we're here to explore new possibilities. "

" I was born with music inside me. Music was one of my parts. Like my ribs, my kidneys, my liver, my heart. Like my blood. It was a force already within me when I arrived on the scene. It was a necessity for me - like food or water. "

" 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.' "

" To me, music is entertainment - what else can it be? In fact, it's the only language I know of that's universal. "

" 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. "

" I suppose I've always done my share of crying, especially when there's no other way to contain my feelings. I know that men ain't supposed to cry, but I think that's wrong. 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. Oh yes, I cry. "

" Mama was a country woman with a whole lot of common sense. She understood what most of our neighbors didn't - that I shouldn't grow dependent on anyone except myself. 'One of these days, I ain't gonna be here,' she kept hammering inside my head. "

" What is a soul? It's like electricity - we don't really know what it is, but it's a force that can light a room. "

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

" I don't know what would have happened to me if I hadn't been able to hear. "

" Love is a special word, and I use it only when I mean it. You say the word too much and it becomes cheap. "

" My version of 'Georgia' became the state song of Georgia. That was a big thing for me, man. It really touched me. Here is a state that used to lynch people like me suddenly declaring my version of a song as its state song. That is touching. "

" The fact of the matter is, you don't give up what's natural. Anything I've fantasized about, I've done. "

" People couldn't understand why my mama would have this blind kid out doing things like cutting wood for the fire. But her thing was: He may be blind, but he ain't stupid. "

" Music is powerful. As people listen to it, they can be affected. They respond. "

" 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. "

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

" 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. "

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