Music is my life, professionally, for nearly 60 years. To be recognized by the academy is still the highest honor.

I cant retire from music any more than I can retire from my liver. Youd have to remove the music from me surgically—like you were taking out my appendix.

Music is the chalk to the blackboard of life. Without it everything is a blank slate

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

Music is nothing separate from me. It is me... You'd have to remove the music surgically.

Sometimes my dreams are so deep that I dream that I'm dreaming.

I'm not into the money thing. You can only sleep in one bed at a time. You can only eat one meal at a time, or be in one car at a time. So I don't have to have millions of dollars to be happy. All I need are clothes on my back, a decent meal, and a little loving when I feel like it. That's the bottom line.