I don't think I'm singing. I feel like I'm playing a horn...What comes out is what I feel.

I try to improvise like Les Young, Louis Armstrong or someone else I admire. What comes out is what I feel.

Them that's got shall get, Them that's not shall lose. So the Bible says, And it still is news. Mama may have, Papa may have, But God bless the child that's got his own.

I never sing a song the same way twice.

And when you're poor, you grow up fast.

If you think dope is for kicks and for thrills, you're out of your mind. There are more kicks to be had in a good case of paralytic polio or by living in an iron lung.

When you sing, always tell the truth.