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.

Rock 'n' roll offered me a platform to speak what I felt. It also offered me a platform to support my mama and my brothers and sisters - twelve children.

I got a girl named Bony Maronie, she's as skinny as a stick of macaroni.

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

I'm very much a gentleman in what I do.

But I'm a rock 'n' roll singer; that's my livelihood, my occupation.