I would get in fights a lot. My voice was so heavy, kids would say you sound like a boy, so I would start beating them up.

If I wasn't my age, I would turn a flip. I would do some cartwheels. That's how I feel.

I'm singing these songs to inspire you, to keep you going, to lift you up and give you a reason to get up in the morning

There's still injustice happening in my world. I sing my songs at concerts and I'm so grateful that the people are ready to hear them.

I won't wear rings and jewelry on the stage because I don't want you looking at my hands. I want you hearing what I'm saying.

I have to pinch myself sometimes. It's unbelievable, but it's not. Because I know that this would not be happening if it hadn't been for Dr. Martin Luther King.

Well Lord, I'm still on the case. I'm still doing what Dr. King and Pops want me to do. I'm still on that freedom highway, and I'm going to walk on it until Dr. King's dream is realized.

I never sang for a Grammy, for money, for fame. That's my whole purpose for singing: for people, for the fans.

We stay strong. We stay positive, keep our heads up, love one another, spread love. The Devil can't win when you have God on your side.

There is a great feeling in a small venue, with the closeness of the people and the intimacy.

Music is such a joy, just an absolute joy.

Each man is master of his own death, and all that we can do when the time comes is to help him die without fear of pain.

I had evolved a year too soon, and it nearly broke me

The only river i would like to be drown is the river filled with the blood of Jesus.

You're like a song I heard when I was a little kid but forgot I knew untill I heard it again

When I came out in the public about my struggles with alcohol and drugs, that's probably the most vulnerable I have ever been in my entire life.

People weren't meaning to be racist, but they didn't know. Action signals change, not intent. So when someone feels like they're not getting a fair shake, you gotta speak on it.

Enthusiasm is the DNA of making things happen.

Naturally we would prefer seven epiphanies a day and an earth not so apparently devoid of angels.

The force of the spirit is ever progressive and endless. Its full expression makes it unconquerable in the world.

That's it. I've said all I've got to say on the world of James Bond.