Everyone felt like they knew Ray Charles and in a way they did, because he was embodied by his music.

Whenever a songwriter writes a big hit, then the next 20 songs they write - no matter how bad they are - get recorded.

I did a little bit to raise the dignity and recognition of the greatness of African-American music.

The first time I heard Clyde McPhatter singing with the Dominoes at the Apollo I just fell off my chair

A singer's biographical film should have their music and their voice.

I became a jazz fan quite early and never went off the path thereafter.

My father was a very religious person. And he prayed five times a day. And he did that throughout his relationship with Ataturk - at a time when it was very brave to do because Ataturk was cutting off the heads of the imams. And people thought that that was foolhardy of my father.