I am the architect of rock n' roll. I have to be a fan of all its forms.

A lot of people call me the architect of rock & roll. I don't call myself that, but I believe it's true.

When you sit down and think about what rock 'n' roll music really is, then you have to change that question. Played up-tempo, you call it rock 'n' roll; at a regular tempo, you call it rhythm and blues.

It was a way out of poverty. It was a way to success. It was a way to education. And it was a way to a brighter day for me.

Gay people are the sweetest, kindest, most artistic, warmest and most thoughtful people in the world. And since the beginning of time all they've ever been is kicked.

To me, true rock 'n' roll has a lot of bottom in it.

Black people lived right by the railroad tracks and the train would shake their houses at night. I would hear it as a boy and I thought: I'm gonna make a song that sounds like that.