"Anybody singing the blues is in a deep pit yelling for help."

"If you want me to sing this Christmas song with the feeling and the meaning, you better see if you can locate that check."

"The mind and the voice by themselves are not sufficient."

"I close my eyes when I sing so I can feel the song better."

"God can make you anything you want to be, but you have to put everything in his hands."

"Without a song, each day would be a century."

"Sometimes you ask God for something and you don't know what you're asking."

"Put your mind on the gospel. And remember - there's one God for all."

"Money just draws flies."

"Blues are the songs of despair, but gospel songs are the songs of hope."

"Everybody needs somebody."

"Anybody that sings the blues is in a deep pit, yelling for help."

"I don't worry too much about the script, I just ad lib, like Pearl Bailey."

"They thought I was a success as soon as I started paying the bills."

"If you believe in God, He will open the windows of heaven and pour blessings upon you."

"It is easy to be independent when you've got money. But to be independent when you haven't got a thing, that's the Lord's test."

"You're blessed if you have the strength to work."

"This is the place to see the stars - Hollywood Bowl."

"Gospel music rhythms are not African in origin, although I know that's what the jazz experts say."

"Faith and prayer are the vitamins of the soul; man cannot live in health without them."

"One thing about playing the real jazz is that you can't count it."

"How can you sing of amazing grace and all God's wonders without using your hands?"

"The trouble with records is that they're too short."

"Do you know most of the Jewish songs have the same trend of sadness as Negro spirituals?"

"The Lord doesn't like us to be dead. Be alive. Sometimes I dance to the glory of the Lord, because He said so."

"I'll come to any benefit if I see SCLC get all the money."

"My hands, my feet, I throw my whole body to say all that is within me."

"The old Devil gets mad when you're trying to do good. Pray that God will move the stumbling blocks."

"I hope to bring people to God with my songs."

"When you are through with the blues, you've got nothing to rest on."

"When you sing gospel you have a feeling there is a cure for what's wrong."

"Time is important to me because I want to sing long enough to leave a message. I'm used to singing in churches where nobody would dare stop me until the Lord arrives!"

"Baby, black promoters oppressed me before white promoters ever got hold of me. Don't talk skin to me."