I'm a businessman. I work for business people. The kind of thing they say is: Now we've sold a lot of records, let's sell some more.

I often wonder whether Negroes like myself who are pretty well known help out at all in breaking down barriers.

I make no claim to being a business genius. You can make so much money in this business that it loses its value.

The whites come to applaud a Negro performer just like the colored do. When you've got the respect of white and colored, you can ease a lot of things.

I ... started out to become a jazz pianist; in the meantime I started singing and I sang the way I felt and that's just the way it came out.

Primarily I'm a meat man, although once in a while I toy with a few vegetables.

I may be helping to bring harmony between people through my music.