»Music has 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.«
»Music is nothing separate from me. It is me. I can’t retire from music any more than I can retire from my liver. You’d have to remove the music from me surgically – like you were taking out my appendix.«
»Music to me is like breathing. I don’t get tired of breathing, I don’t get tired of music.«
»To me, music is entertainment – what else can it be? In fact, it’s the only language I know of that’s universal.«