“I wanna show that gospel, country, blues, rhythm and blues, jazz, rock n roll are all just really one thing. Those are the American music and that is the American culture.”

“Jazz took too much discipline. You have to come in at the right place, which is different than me singing the blues, where I can sing, 'Oh, baby,' if there's a pause in the melody. With jazz, you b...”

“You can't fake this music. You might be a great singer or a great musician but, in the need, that's got nothing to do with it. It's how you connect to the songs and to the history behind them.”

“Long as I was riding in a big Cadillac and dressed nice and had plenty of food, that's all I cared about.”

“Once you lose the weight, you're really anxious to eat healthy.”

“Even as a little child, I've always had that comedian kind of attitude.”

“Lost Time is never found again.”

“How you spend your time is more important than how you spend your money. Money mistakes can be corrected, but time is gone forever.”

“Men talk of killing time, while time quietly kills them.”

“It takes a lot of energy to be negative. You have to work at it. But smiling is painless. I'd rather spend my energy smiling.”

“Nobody was listening when I learned how to play music. But there's something about being on stage, talking to the audience, looking at them and smiling, that's always been difficult for me. I'm a l...”

“Happiness is the bomb cosmetic! When I'm smiling, sometimes I'm giving thanks for all the things I have rather than worrying about the things I don't.”

“I am the perfect version of me.”

“But if you tame me, then weshall need each other. To me, you will be unique in all the world. To you, Ishall be unique in all the world.”

“I don't want the world to keep turning without me on it.”