The doctor must have put my pacemaker in wrong. Every time my husband kisses me, the garage door goes up.

When people pay their money, they want to see you. That’s the way it was with Elvis. I like to remember him the way he was in Hawaii.

I won’t eat anything green.

Hip-hop is definitely not what it used to be, which was creative, original music.

I’m competitive, so I don’t like to feel marginalized by the people who sell a lot of records.

If you take different mythologies from different cultures, the names may change and the story lines may vary but there is always something in common.

Chelsea Morning is a great Joni Mitchell song and I guess I’m partial to her lyrics because they show me a slightly different perspective on life.

I work hard at that, but the fact that there are a lot of good songs means there are also a lot of really bad songs I’ve written that you never hear.

I’ve been performing on stage since I was six years old.

I think we realized this is a good time now because people really do want to hear some realistic songs, something that has some substance to it.

All governments should be pressured to correct their abuses of human rights.

My bad habits aren’t my title. My strengths and my talent are my title.

We’ve always had a dark atmosphere to our performances, so it sort of developed along those ways.

There’s no way to be able to tell what it’s like to be a country singer until you’re walking in the shoes.

Nothing is ever a barometer. Nothing is ever for sure except that this band has been around forever.

Rock and roll mainly but I can play passable jazz also.

I’ve written more songs for this record than I ever have in the past so I’m trying to give it a lot of special attention to be sure my ideas really get translated right.

I was 12 in ’55 when rock and roll hit. It just completely transformed me.

Don’t change on me. Don’t extort me unless you intend to do it forever.

Mankind: A quality of life upgrade is available to each and every one of you. It should give you a quality of life upgrade, which means no drugs, no alcohol, no fast food – unless,...

Once you’re successful with a certain kind of music, it’s hard not to have faith in it as a means to stay successful.

The labs were happy that I was brave enough to attempt to program it and the $5 million computer was left entirely to my use. I was their human guinea pig.

You know, there have been a lot of casualties in rock-n-roll.

That’s the good thing about what we’re doing playing bluegrass. It doesn’t matter one way or the other whether country radio plays it or not.

I just want to get on stage and sing and be happy.

We have talked about that a lot. Something I hear my Mom say a lot is that we don’t want to give up our souls and gain the world. It isn’t worth it.

People consider Black Star a great album, and I think it’s a classic album. But the fact is, both me and Mos Def have made better albums since Black Star.

Participation, I think, or one of the best methods of educating.

But an innovation, to grow organically from within, has to be based on an intact tradition, so our idea is to bring together musicians who represent all these traditions, in workshops, festivals, and concerts, to...

If you bleed Black Label and you’re going to be a man, you gotta get up there and do what you gotta do every day, relentless and as tired as you can be.

I want people to remember me as a full on entertainer and a good person.

I think the women – Lauryn Hill, Mary J. Blige, Erykah Badu – are doing new conceptual things and using their voices to create new American music.

In ceremonies of the horsemen, even the pawn must hold a grudge.

Being a singer is a way for me to get to a platform to do more.

I want people to think of me as a nice person. I really am so blessed. All of this has been a great experience and I thank the American public so much for putting me...

Deliverance is about what I went through the first time. And I chalk it up as a learning experience.

We used to get one room and we’d park the vehicle outside, everybody would all take showers and we’d steal towels because we knew we wasn’t gonna have enough towels for all five of us...

If he’s a true symphony artist, he knows better than that because he knows that the only truly creative musician is the jazz musician.

I started graduate school in 1971, I started working at the Smithsonian in the festival in 1972. I went full-time at the Smithsonian in 1974. And I got my doctorate in 1975.

I am truly independently owned and operated.

It taught me something. It taught you your craft.

It seems like bluegrass people have more great stories to tell than other musicians.

I think that people should learn about that. In most music, there’s one way that you do something, and that’s the only way. In jazz, it’s a lot different.

One thing, when you’re an actor, you finish something and then you have to worry about what the next gig is. When you’re a musician, you can always write your own stuff, and I’m working...

For anybody to say well this is not Hip Hop and that’s not Hip Hop, that is not the way the formula was laid down. It was for the people who were going to continue...

During the rests – pray.

There are some cities that I did take time out to study, ’cause I love history and one of them was Boston, and of course Rome and all of those places like that. But, in...

Fads are the kiss of death. When the fad goes away, you go with it.

I think I have something tonight that’s not quite correct for evening wear. Blue suede shoes.

The Lord can give, and the Lord can take away. I might be herding sheep next year.