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

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.

I heard someone say that all black people got rhythm. Bullshit.

The fact of the matter is, you don't give up what's natural. Anything I've fantasized about, I've done.

I was born with music inside me. Music was one of my parts. Like my ribs, my kidneys, my liver, my heart. Like my blood. It was a force already within me when I arrived on the scene. It was a necessity for me-like food or water.

Love is a special word, and I use it only when I mean it. You say the word too much and it becomes cheap.

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