The time I spent thinking about how I was better than somebody else or worrying about somebody else's attitude was time I could put to better use.

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.

Even now, when I'm asked how I'm doing, I like to reply, 'Pretty good. I've got all my fingers and both eyes.

A fan will grab you and hug you and will not let go. When that happens, you wish it could be that way all over the world.

In 20 years I had sold more records for RCA than any artist except Elvis Presley.

It isn't reasonable to expect that everyone in the world is a country music fan. Not yet, anyway.