All my life I've always been so blue, born to lose, and now I'm losing you.

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.

Sometimes my dreams are so deep that I dream that I'm dreaming.

I really feel that if you're gonna be good, you gotta practice... Practice whatever the hell you do.

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.

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.

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.