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

When I'm having a rehearsal and there are new guys who come in to try out for the job, I always let my conductor rehearse them. Because I don't want the guy to get bent out of shape, because I walk in.

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.

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

I think that most great artists who are extremely known, as I am, would intimidate a lot of people. I don't want to do that to people, but I know I do.

Music to me is just like breathing. I have to have it. It's part of me.

It's like Duke Ellington said, there are only two kinds of music - good and bad. And you can tell when something is good.