I grew up not liking my father very much. I never saw him cry. But he must have. Everybody cries.

No one had ever told me that whites were supposed to sing one kind of music and blacks another - I sang what I liked in the only voice I had.

It was unlikely that anyone had ever heard a black person sing country music.

I learned to tune a guitar by ear. That method has served me pretty well.

There only have been two people on this earth that I was nervous around: Chet Atkins and Mickey Mantle. It's because of the respect I have for them.

I grew up not liking my father very much. I never saw him cry. But he must have. Everybody cries.

Fans are what make a performer and I've always taken them seriously.