I was originally like a punker, know what I mean, like the punks are today, I'd spit in a minute.
People that can't stand to listen to the blues, they've got to be phonies.
My mother used to play nothing but Billie Holiday.
A lot of people think the blues is depressing but that's not the blues I'm singing. When I'm singing blues, I singing life. People can't stand to listen to the blues, they've got to be phonies.
In some ways, it's my rage that keeps me going.
When Malcolm X was assassinated I was working at the Apollo. They brought his body to the Unity Funeral Home, which was around the corner.