Singing as a full-time job was not something I had given a lot of thought to and I had no clear notion of the money to be made in it.

I'm not James Brown. I'm not Sam Cooke. I'm Charley Pride. I'm just me and that's what you got.

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

Performing is an experience, for me, that is as humbling as it is energizing.

I always wanted to grow up fast. I longed for more than the Mississippi Delta could give.

As far back as I can remember, the radio held a special fascination for me.

No one church has all the answers or the perfect map to the Promised Land, and I prefer to work out my own faith and my own convictions in the seclusion of my own mind.