I never wanted to be famous. I only wanted to be great.

There's nothing written in the Bible, Old or New testament, that says, 'If you believe in Me, you ain't going to have no troubles.'

I really feel that if you're gonna be good, you gotta practice... Practice whatever the hell you do.

Music is about the only thing left that people don't fight over.

Nowadays they say you need a special chip to put in the TV so kids can't watch this and that. In my day, we didn't need a chip. My mom was the chip. End of story.

You never can overwhelm an instrument. You will never get out all that's in an instrument. An instrument will bring you to your limits.

I never considered myself part of rock 'n' roll. My stuff was more adult. It was more difficult for teenagers to relate to; my stuff was filled with more despair than anything you'd associate with rock 'n' roll. Since I couldn't see people dancing, I didn't write jitterbugs or twists. I wrote rhythms that moved me. My style requires pure heart singing.