“Learning to read music in Braille & play by ear helped me develop a [very] good memory.”

“Dreams, if they're any good, are always a little bit crazy. ”

“I never wanted to be famous. I only wanted to be great.”

“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 neces...”

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

“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 f...”

“It is better to be hated for what you are than to be loved for what you are not.”

“If I am going to be drownedif I am going to be drownedif I am going to be drowned, why, in the name of the seven mad gods who rule the sea, was I allowed to come thus far and contemplate sand and t...”

“I'm an Earth ecstatic, and my creed is simple: All life is sacred, life loves life, and we are capable of improving our behavior toward one another. As basic as that is, for me it's also tonic and ...”

“Those honor nature well, who teach that she can speak on everything.”

“Peace is a precious and a desirable thing. Our generation, bloodied in wars, certainly deserves peace. But peace, like almost all things of this world, has its price, a high but a measurable one. W...”

“...Next time you're faced with a choice, do the right thing. It hurts everyone less in the long run.”

“My life is my message.”

“One of the most important days of my life was when I learned to ride a bicycle.”

“My life is like a speeding bullet that just hasn't hit the target yet.”