I never hurt nobody but myself and that's nobody's business but my own.
God bless the child that's got his own.
The whole basis of my singing is feeling. Unless I feel something, I can't sing.
I don't think I ever sing the same way twice. The blues is sort of a mixed-up thing. You just have to feel it. Anything I do sing is part of my life.
You can't copy anybody and end with anything. If you copy, it means you're working without any real feeling.
You can be up to your boobies in white satin, with gardenias in your hair and no sugar cane for miles, but you can still be working on a plantation.