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.

And as I started reaching deeper I realized that most of the blues of that day was done by men. Women just didn't have the nerve.

I’ve learned to live with rage. In some ways, it’s my rage that keeps me going. Without it, I would have been whipped long ago. With it, I got a lot more songs to sing.

A few years ago, I thought, I'll never make it. I started to go to the doctor to help me lose weight.

People that can't stand to listen to the blues, they've got to be phonies.

You know the one with the big ears? Wait a minute, he ain't my president, he might be yours, he ain't my president. You know that woman he had singing for him, singing my song - she's gonna get her a- whipped. The great Beyoncé But I can't stand Beyoncé. She has no business up there, singing up there on a big ol' president day singing my song that I've been singing forever.

I was originally like a punker, know what I mean, like the punks are today, I'd spit in a minute.