I never learned to read or write music. Never wanted to fool with scales. That was boring, forced. The music I heard was free - flowing.

Mama tried to save us from the streets, but the streets were too strong.

No one could understand the bond between me and my brother. I struggled to understand the forces that drove his soul in one direction and mine in another.

I quit high school on my birthday. It was my senior year and I didn't see the point. This was 1962, and I was ready to make music.

Take it off, baby, take it all off. I want you the way you came into the world.

When I saw corruption, I was forced to find truth on my own. I couldn't swallow the hypocrisy.

Elton John's opinion turned the label's opinion around, all in a day.