{"author":"Ray Charles","author_id":"Ray+Charles","total_quotes":11,"quotes":[{"text":"I did it to myself. It wasn't society... It wasn't a pusher, it wasn't being blind or being black or being poor. It was all my doing.","author":"Ray Charles","tags":["myself","blind","black "],"id":12634,"author_id":"Ray+Charles"},{"text":"Dreams, if they're any good, are always a little bit crazy. ","author":"Ray Charles","tags":["dreaming","dreams"],"id":128326,"author_id":"Ray+Charles"},{"text":"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.","author":"Ray Charles","tags":["time","good","cake "],"id":179477,"author_id":"Ray+Charles"},{"text":"Music is my life, professionally, for nearly 60 years. To be recognized by the academy is still the highest honor.","author":"Ray Charles","tags":["life","honor","my life "],"id":291707,"author_id":"Ray+Charles"},{"text":"I suppose I've always done my share of crying, especially when there's no other way to contain my feelings. I know that men ain't supposed to cry, but I think that's wrong. Crying's always been a way for me to get things out which are buried deep, deep down. When I sing, I often cry. Crying is feeling, and feeling is being human. Oh yes, I cry.","author":"Ray Charles","tags":["deep","me","know "],"id":342790,"author_id":"Ray+Charles"},{"text":"Learning to read music in Braille \u0026 play by ear helped me develop a [very] good memory.","author":"Ray Charles","tags":["disabilities","music"],"id":348496,"author_id":"Ray+Charles"},{"text":"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.","author":"Ray Charles","tags":["food","water","heart "],"id":368817,"author_id":"Ray+Charles"},{"text":"What makes my approach special is that I do different things. I do jazz, blues, country music and so forth. I do them all, like a good utility man.","author":"Ray Charles","tags":["good","man","blues "],"id":392150,"author_id":"Ray+Charles"},{"text":"Learning to read music in Braille and play by ear helped me develop a damn good memory.","author":"Ray Charles","tags":["learning","good","memory "],"id":395107,"author_id":"Ray+Charles"},{"text":"I never wanted to be famous. I only wanted to be great.","author":"Ray Charles","tags":["great","never","wanted "],"id":413502,"author_id":"Ray+Charles"}],"pagination":{"page":1,"page_size":10,"total":11,"pages":2,"next":"?page=2\u0026page_size=10"}}