I wanted to definitely be a musician or a good preacher or a heck of a baseball player. I couldn't play ball too good - I hurt my finger, and I stopped that. I couldn't preach, and well, all I had left was getting into the music thing.

I stone got crazy when I saw somebody run down them strings with a bottleneck. My eyes lit up like a Christmas tree and I said that I had to learn.

The blues had a baby and they called it rock and roll.

The blacks have their parties, hustle a little liquor, get some things together, and I used to play for those peoples. They'd come get me on time, but they wouldn't bring me back on time... Done picked cotton all day, play all night long, then pick cotton all day the next day before I could get a chance to sleep.

The thing about San Francisco is that it has this kind of magical quality.

I went down to my baby's house and I sit down on her steps. She said, now come on in now, you know, my husband just left.

Of course that was my idol, Son House. I think he did a lot for the Mississippi slide down there.