I had gone to Europe . . . to reach for a place as a serious artist, but I never doubted that I must return. I was - and am - an American.

If you have a purpose in which you can believe, there's no end to the amount of things you can accomplish.

You lose a lot of time, hating people.

The minute a person whose word means a great deal dares to take the open-hearted and courageous way, many others follow.

When you stop having dreams and ideals - well, you might as well stop altogether.

A singer starts by having his instrument as a gift from God... When you have been given something in a moment of grace, it is sacrilegious to be greedy.

Prejudice: Sometimes it's like a hair across your cheek. You can't see it, you can't find it with your fingers, but you keep brushing at it because the feel of it is irritating.