There is an intimacy about the Opry Theater that gives an entertainer a special charge.

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.

I was very keen on playing a victim.

You are what you settle for. You are only as much as you settle for.

When Jesus got to the point when most people today are thinking of retirement, he goes - 'time to save the world!'

Not only are love and hate such closely related emotions, but it's a lot easier to hate someone you've cared about than someone you never have.

May we understand that joy is not a sin, sacrifice is not a virtue.

Fax me a fact, and I'll telegram a hologram.

I love telling myself jokes. I think I'm a riot.

The belief that love is a finite essence that will eventually run out holds a certain logic for me even now, even if I am supposed to know better.

The goal is not to simply eliminate the bad, which does nothing more than leave you with a vacuum, but to pursue and experience the best in the world.

The big issue was cutting. I finally cut as much as I could, about a fourth of the story, and actually liked it.