“I demand perfection in what I do, and I practice very hard before I give a concert-sometimes three to six hours a day.”

Music is a gift and a burden I’ve had since I can remember who I was.

I love the classics but there are many new ideas to be made into reality. I’d rather be concerned with my own thing. There are many masters of classical piano so I’ll leave it to them.

Life is short. People are not easy to know. They’re not easy to know, so if you don’t tell them how you feel, you’re not going to get anywhere, I feel.

My singing, if you want to call it that is merely another medium of expression. Just an instrument I play. That’s how I see my voice.

I think if I were over there in America, protest music would be more important. But I’m not going.

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.

Desegregation is a joke.

The allusion was that I was actually naked. I loved that. It always, kind of shocked people enough that they became mine immediately.

I tell you what freedom is to me: no fear.

I look forward to doing my own show, not someone else’s. That’s always been my dream.

I would like you to know, I am a doctor of music.

I think the rich are too rich and the poor are too poor. I don’t think the black people are going to rise at all; I think most of them are going to die.

If I get an idea I put it on tape and somebody else writes it out.

I’m a real rebel with a cause.

When a child is gifted, people try to help that child.

Theory and harmony broadened my mind in music. I know what music is made of.

You grow up real quick, a half-Mexican in a sailor’s suit, because I’d be riding the streetcar to school everyday.

We measure our days out in steps of uncertainty not turning to see how far we’ve come.

If I was a painter no one would question me about my age. I’m an artist, I hate saying that.

I believe in one day at a time; you’ve got TODAY, that’s what you’ ve got.

If I was having a bad day, eating was like self-medicating. But if you abuse food, you still have to use that substance that you abuse every day.

I had hoped one day to find someone who loves my monsters, the wolves that I feed, the demons I sing to sleep, the tiger that is my caged heart, the parts of me I do not talk about. I prayed and wished and yearned until I realized that I had already found her within me.

There is no quick fix. At the end of the day, you still have to do the work to maintain your weight. It can’t be a diet. You have to change your life.

An exercise outfit helps because it sets this time apart from the rest of your day and makes it matter more.