Ray Charles

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

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

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

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

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.