I try to be a guide for people, to make their darkness bright and to make the pathway light, and never to condemn or control or criticize.
Gay people are the sweetest, kindest, most artistic, warmest and most thoughtful people in the world. And since the beginning of time all they've ever been is kicked.
I let people know that it was all right to do the kinds of things I did.
People called rock & roll 'African music.' They called it 'voodoo music.' They said that it would drive the kids insane. They said that it was just a flash in the pan - the same thing that they always used to say about hip-hop.
A lot of people call me the architect of rock & roll. I don't call myself that, but I believe it's true.
I was directed and commanded by another power. The power of darkness ... that a lot of people don't believe exists. The power of the Devil. Satan.
I came from a family where my people didn't like rhythm and blues. Bing Crosby - "Pennies from Heaven" - Ella Fitzgerald, was all I heard.