I can't help what I sound like. What I sound like is what i am. You know? I cannot be anything other that what I am.

My music had roots which I'd dug up from my own childhood, musical roots buried in the darkest soil.

All my life I've always been so blue, born to lose, and now I'm losing you.

I'm not a jazz singer, blues singer or country singer. I'm a singer that can sing rhythm & blues, that can sing jazz, that can sing country. There's a big difference. In other words, I'm not a specialist.

What I've got to live up to, is being myself. If I do that, the rest will take care of itself.

If you can play the blues, you can do anything.

When I started to sing like myself - as opposed to imitating Nat Cole, which I had done for a while - when I started singing like Ray Charles, it had this spiritual and churchy, this religious or gospel sound. It had this holiness and preachy tone to it. It was very controversial. I got a lot of criticism for it.