166 Quotes by Ray Charles

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

I think that most great artists who are extremely known, as I am, would intimidate a lot of people. I don’t want to do that to people, but I know I do.

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.

It’s like Duke Ellington said, there are only two kinds of music – good and bad. And you can tell when something is good.

Many times during auditions, I was told that I couldn’t carry a note with a bucket, and that I sure couldn’t play the piano.