Sam Phillips responded most to a song of mine called, "Hey Porter," which was on the first record.

I was wearing black clothes almost from the beginning. I feel comfortable in black. I felt like black looked good onstage, that it was attractive, so I started wearing it all the time.

By the time I actually recorded Bitter Tears I carried a heavy load of sadness and outrage; I felt every word of those songs... I expected there to be trouble with that album, and there was.... when it was released, many radio stations wouldn't play it.... The very idea of unconventional or even original ideas ending up on "country" radio in the late 1990s is absurd.

Life is - the way God has given it to me was just a platter - a golden platter of life laid out there for me. It's been beautiful.

All your life, you will be faced with a choice. You can choose love positivity and gratitude that things aren't worse or hate negativity and bitterness that things aren't better ...I choose love positivity and gratitude that things aren't worse.

As sure as God made black and white, what's done in the dark will be brought to the light.

The ones that you're calling wild are going to be the leaders in a little while.