"I never had a lesson in my life. I never learned to read music. I can't read music. I play by ear, and I sing by ear."

"I ain't got no education, but I got sense."

"I never had a mother, never had a father, never had a home, I never had a husband. I just had me."

"I've been called a lot of names in my life, but I've never been called a liar."

"I never had a mother that was really a mother. I just had a kid that was a mother. She was eighteen, I was thirteen, and she used to go out and live it up. So I had to go out and get a job. I was work…"