But when I went on the stage to do a show, I would put on makeup because I felt that it enhanced my act; it drew attention to what I was doing.

I invented rock & roll. Jimi Hendrix was my guitar player. James Brown was my vocalist.

I think God made a woman to be strong and not to be trampled under the feet of men. I've always felt this way because my mother was a very strong woman, without a husband.

I don't think a woman has to act like a man to show that she has strength.

I would wear flamboyant clothes and long hair, and most singers at the time didn't.

I don't give the devil credit for creating nothing.

I am the innovator. I am the originator. I am the emancipator. I am the architect of rock 'n' roll!