When I started to sing like myself - as opposed to imitating Nat Cole, which I had done for a while - when I started singing like Ray Charles, it had this spiritual and churchy, this religious or gospel sound. It had this holiness and preachy tone to it. It was very controversial. I got a lot of criticism for it.
Interpretation
Embracing one's unique style can lead to both inspiration and criticism.
Ray Charles reflects on his journey of artistic self-discovery, illustrating that true expression requires stepping away from imitation and embracing one's authentic voice. This transition not only connects deeply with spirituality and gospel roots but also invites scrutiny from critics, highlighting the challenges artists face when they dare to be original.
In practice
During an interview about his creative process, an artist might mention this quote to emphasize the importance of finding one's own voice.
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.
I never wanted to be famous. I only wanted to be great.
To me, music is entertainment - what else can it be? In fact, it's the only language I know of that's universal.
Just because you can't see anything , doesn't mean you should shut your eyes.
Any artist, when he goes in to record, should have the feeling that any song he records can be a hit. This may sound egotistical, but it makes sense.
The important thing is to feel your music, really feel it and believe it.
I am playing the violin, that's all I know, nothing else, no education, no nothing. You just practice every day.
As long as there are kids who are pissed off and have no real way in venting out that anger, heavy metal will live on.
The trouble is now, with rock'n'roll and stuff, it gets so big that it loses what once upon a time was a magnificent thing, where it was special and quite elusive and occasionally a little sinister and it had its own world nobody could get in.
Ninety-nine percent of singing is listening and hearing, and so then 1 percent of it is singing.
Jazz is there and gone. It happens. You have to be present for it. That simple.
Until I realized that rock music was my connection to the rest of the human race, I felt like I was dying, for some reason, and I didn't know why.
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