My big ears indicated a talent for music. This thrilled me.

In the South of long ago whenever a new man appeared for work in any of the laborers gangs, he would be asked if he could sing. If he could he got the job. The singing of these working men set the rhythm for the work.

Setting my mind on a musical instrument was like falling in love. All the world seemed bright and changed.

You've got to appreciate the things that come from the art of the Negro and from the heart of the man farthest down.

With a guitar I would be able to express the things I felt in sounds.

Life is like a trumpet - if you don't put anything into it, you don't get anything out of it.

I knew the whistle of each of the river boats on the Tennessee.