Before she died we were able to laugh and chuckle about a lot of things. |
Desegregation is a joke. |
Every person I ever met who heard her sing could remember what they wore and what she wore (on that occasion). |
Everything that happened to me as a child involved music. It was part of everyday life, as automatic as breathing. |
From the beginning, it has been a no-no for a black man to touch a white woman. |
Greed has driven the world crazy. And I think I'm lucky that I have a place over here that I can call home. |
How do you explain what it feels like to get on the stage and make poetry that you know sinks into the hearts and souls of people who are unable to express it? |
I am particular about the seating of the audience-also about how much money they pay-but most of all where they are seated. If I am going to sing something intimate, who am I going to sing it to? |
I demand perfection in what I do, and I practice very hard before I give a concert-sometimes three to six hours a day. |
I do not believe in mixing of the races. You can quote me. I don't believe in it, and I never have. I've never changed. I've never changed my hair. I've never changed my color, I have always been proud of myself, and my fans are proud of me for remaining the way I've always been. I married a white man one time, but he was a creep. |
I don't like rap music at all. I don't think it's music. It's just a beat and rapping. |
I had a very intensive love affair from 1994 to 1995. It was like a volcano, so I don't want that anymore for a while. |
I had spent many years pursuing excellence, because that is what classical music is all about... Now it was dedicated to freedom, and that was far more important. |
I only knew classical music, which to me was the only true music. The only way I could survive at the bar was to mix the classical music with popular songs, and that meant I had to sing. What happened was that I discovered I had a voice plus the talent to mix classical music together with more popular songs, which at the time I detested. |
I think if I were over there in America, protest music would be more important. But I'm not going. |