Jose Feliciano

Some people wanted me deported - as if you can be deported to Puerto Rico.

— Jose Feliciano

New York will always be a part of me no matter where I go.

— Jose Feliciano

When people don't hear you on the radio they think 'maybe he retired.'

— Jose Feliciano

The accordion was the first instrument I played, when I was 7 years old.

— Jose Feliciano

I'm a musician first and sight has never had anything to do with it.

— Jose Feliciano

New York is really where my career somewhat started.

— Jose Feliciano

I never knew whether I'd make it as a star but I always wanted to.

— Jose Feliciano

I never expected to have such a long career, it's been 52 years.

— Jose Feliciano

My first memory of playing music was when I was 3 years old in Puerto Rico. I played percussion on a tin…

— Jose Feliciano

One thing about computers and iPhones is they're making people mentally lazy.

— Jose Feliciano

When my career took off it surprised me, I was only 22. To have that much success so fast, I just wasn't prepared.

— Jose Feliciano

I was drawn to the guitar, and still am, because it struck me as the most soulful instrument.

— Jose Feliciano

The only thing I can say to the people of Israel is that I love them and I am a strong ally.

— Jose Feliciano

I don't know if it's a legacy, but I love it. In my mind and other people's minds, they know I was…

— Jose Feliciano

Very few guitarists play nylon-string. They don't know how to get the sound out of them. That's something I've spent a lot…

— Jose Feliciano

I didn't have romances when I was in school. Girls didn't want to go out with me because I was blind.

— Jose Feliciano

When I first heard Bob Dylan, I'll be honest, I didn't like him. But I was shallow of mind and didn't understand…

— Jose Feliciano

I just happened to be Latino, and like any artist, I was trying to forge a career. If I opened doors for…

— Jose Feliciano

I'm kind of iffy on the Latin Grammys because I think we fought so hard, for example, to get the American side…

— Jose Feliciano

When you've had a chance to live some experiences then you can really write, and not having lived that much when I…

— Jose Feliciano

RCA wanted me to change my name. They asked me around 1965, when they first signed me. They said, 'Feliciano is too…

— Jose Feliciano

I mean, it wasnt like I had said to myself beforehand, 'OK, I'm gonna go out there and sing 'The Star-Spangled Banner'…

— Jose Feliciano

In 1970, my label decided I should do a Christmas album and I put a bunch of tunes together. We couldn't decide…

— Jose Feliciano

When I did the anthem, I did it with the understanding in my heart and mind that I did it because I'm…

— Jose Feliciano

My dream was to be a celebrity, to be on TV like Bob Hope was.

— Jose Feliciano

I made history and nothing can besmirch that. Nothing can erase that.

— Jose Feliciano

I'm Puerto Rican, but I represent everybody.

— Jose Feliciano

To me, my guitar has always been my orchestra.

— Jose Feliciano

I liked the Doors and that kind of music.

— Jose Feliciano

I've been playing in Israel since 1971.

— Jose Feliciano

I've been a fan of Elvis since I was 11, so for me, it was a real thrill to make an album…

— Jose Feliciano

God did not want me to be a blind beggar on the street, alone and bitter. He gave me music, first to…

— Jose Feliciano

When I was 15, I became an avid fan of Andres Segovia. He brought so much respectability to the guitar.

— Jose Feliciano

Music made me feel like I was sexy. Music made me feel like I wasn't just a blind guy.

— Jose Feliciano

I'm lucky that I can play all kinds of music, that it appeals to all of the generations.

— Jose Feliciano

The day I stop learning and I don't try to make myself better on the guitar, that's the day I hang it…

— Jose Feliciano

Now everybody has been doing the national anthem in their own style, but in 1968 I was the one that took the…

— Jose Feliciano

Feliz Navidad' has interfaced the English and Spanish cultures to come together and after all, we're living in a multi-cultural world.

— Jose Feliciano

I'm very proud being Puerto Rican. I'm American. That is what America is made of - people from different lands.

— Jose Feliciano

I taught myself until I was about 16. And then I studied classical guitar with some teachers.

— Jose Feliciano