[in acknowledgment of his similarity to today`s gangsta rappers]: I wouldn`t let anybody influence me into thinking I was doing the wrong thing by singing about death, hell and drugs. Beause I`ve always done that, and I always will.
You`ve got to know your limitations. I don`t know what your limitations are. I found out what mine were when I was twelve. I found out that there weren`t too many limitations, if I did it my way.
You build on failure. You use it as a stepping stone. Close the door on the past. You don`t try to forget the mistakes, but you don`t dwell on it. You don`t let it have any of your energy, or any of your time, or any of your space.
That was the big thing when I was growing up, singing on the radio. The extent of my dream was to sing on the radio station in Memphis. Even when I got out of the Air Force in 1954, I came right back to Memphis and started knocking on doors at the radio s...