A black man singing about a blond girl was potential trouble.

For most entertainers, there is a single experience, one defining moment, when confidence replaces the self-doubt that most of us wrestle with.

The tastes of country music fans are not limited to the narrow range defined by consultants and programmers and record company moguls.

It used to be that if you had a pretty good record, you could stop by a station in Little Rock or Atlanta and let the DJ listen to it. No way something like that can happen now.

The time I spent thinking about how I was better than somebody else or worrying about somebody else's attitude was time I could put to better use.

I finally came to terms with manic depression and lithium. I've taken lithium regularly for the past few years and have had no further bouts with manic depression.

Fans are what make a performer and I've always taken them seriously.

A fan will grab you and hug you and will not let go. When that happens, you wish it could be that way all over the world.

There only have been two people on this earth that I was nervous around: Chet Atkins and Mickey Mantle. It's because of the respect I have for them.

No one had ever told me that whites were supposed to sing one kind of music and blacks another - I sang what I liked in the only voice I had.

I learned to tune a guitar by ear. That method has served me pretty well.

Those who win are those who think they can.

Life can never be perfect. Don’t let anyone fool you into believing that it will be.

A moment of brilliance is not good enough to pay for your mistakes, it's taking responsibility

who burned cigarette holes in their arms protesting the narcotic tobacco haze of Capitalism

Will, without reason, is a blind man's motion; will, against reason, is a madman's motion.

A beneficent person is like a fountain watering the earth, and spreading fertility; it is, therefore, more delightful to give than to receive.

The gods want to bring a better day, and you are their messengers. Trust not in all you see. Trust only in your hearts. And in us, who love you both.

It is not theatre that is indispensable, but something quite different. To cross the frontiers between you and me.

What I said was: We want everybody to learn English because we don't want - I didn't use the word 'Spanish.'

If you count the sunny and the cloudy days of the whole year, you will find that the sunshine predominates.