Either accept people for what they are, or don't. So, in other words, man, if people don't know me, I think they do themself an injustice. Because, as a whole, I think I'm a good person.
I always considered myself being an organizer. I'm very good at teaching singers, I'm very good at staging a show, to entertain people. But I never included myself. I never applied this to me as an artist.
I believe I was ahead of my time.
I can put a hip-hop beat to reggae. That is, I can have real reggae in the drums and in the rhythm, and on top of it I can put The Rolling Stones' feeling, anyone's feeling on top. Nobody has ever done this before, man.
I didn't know anything about publishing companies. I didn't know anything about writers royalties, and they kept me green, you know.
I miss riding those fast trains in Japan... 'cause I'd never seen a train that fast in my life.
I never did drink, but I went over on the other end, with cocaine. But anyway, God helped me through it, so today, I'm healthy and fine.
I really enjoy myself in Norway. Because I had started losing confidence in my ability of what I do. But sometimes, man, you just get tired of fighting and trying to prove yourself.
I started with The Tophatters, it was 32 of us. Then we broke up into two groups, one The Dukes of Swing and we named my group Kings of Rythmn.
I still play Strat, I don't know nothing else. Strats and Telecasters.
I think you have to advance with the times, you know. With hip-hop and rap and house music, they make loops and do stuff with loops.
I used to write songs so fast like this, like snapping my fingers. Some of them didn't even have a title, for I just did the song.
I wanna record these girls individually. And then, I wanna cut a blues album on me. But all of it, original stuff, you know. When I listen to the blues today, it's like they all sounds similar. I wanna do something different, to try to add to the blues flavor.
I was familiar with Stevie Ray Vaughan because I listened to him. He played a lot of copies off of different guys' styles and stuff.
I'm just beginning to develop callouses on my fingers, because I haven't played a lot.
I'm not gonna try to defend, or undo what's been done. All I could say about whatever's been done, it's been done, and it's water under the bridge. I have no regrets of my life.
I'm really shopping for a record deal, and I haven't had a chance to go around to the record companies yet. So far I just pressed up a few of them.
I'm really thankful to God, man. Like now, I'm really making a real comeback with my group. With or without a record, with or without a movie. And behind all the negative press behind this movie.
I'm very fast on teaching guys. Like, when I came over here, I only had two rehearsals with the band. I wondered when I first got here... but it sure came up great.
I've got a combination of the blues mixed with hip-hop-all in one sound. I'm going to make a real big change in music, man.
In China, when you get to the airport everyone be talking in American slang.
In those days, man, in the '50s, black people in the South... We didn't recognize contracts that much. And we didn't recognize marriages that much, either.
Joe Louis is a great artist. He kind of helped me somewhat getting back to the blues.
Keith Richards uses a Telecaster, but he takes the sixth string off and tunes it to G. And that's what The Rolling Stones use all the time.
Like rapping man, you've got to be so super-creative to come out with the stuff that's happening in your head.
Little Richard did the intro to my book.
Most times, people have some acts that they really like. I mean, I don't have any in particular that I admire. I admire them all, you know.
Number one, The Ikettes have to be able to sing. Number two, they have to able to dance, and number three, they can't be fat. They have to be able to perform. Yeah, they could be sexy, it wouldn't hurt, right?
Piano's really my instrument, and that's what they'll see when I get to Tokyo this time. They never saw me play the piano.
Rock'n'roll is nothing but Boogie Woogie with stuff on top of it. And if you're black, they name it rhythm'n'blues, and if you're white, they name it rock'n'roll. So, I don't give a... You know.
Spector is a good guy, but he's a nut. Ha, ha, ha! You know, I love him, but he's unpredictable. He's OK as long as he don't drink.
The basic tracks I originally cut on a computer at my house, and then I over-dubbed it live. But I got the feeling I wanted here on the computer.
There's talent there, but it's like different from the old school where I came from.
They have all different names for music. I think the music I'm going to change the style with is going to be really, really big-years and years after I'm gone.
They used to say it was bad for Indians to drink, but it's bad for anybody. When they drink they lose their cool, a lot of us. Like when we played with Sonny Boy, I would never get paid, you know. He would drink up all the money.
They would come down in Mississippi, they hired me as a talent scout. And I would go all over Mississippi, Alabama, Texas, and find out different artists for them.
They'll probably start working on my movie sometime... They are doing a complete movie of my life story. It will not be based on any negativity. It will be more about my life, from a kid, how I came up and why I came through.
Walt Disney got away with portraying me in the light that they were portraying me in. I have always been a fighter, so... But I have no regrets, man. It's just like God brought me through the drugs, I know he'll bring me through this.
We're having time to give the younger generation today inspiration. Regardless of the obstacles that you have to overcome, how you can make it?
When you get my age, and like James Brown... You know, you do a little bit and let them do it. 'cause they have the wind, the air to keep it going.
When you think of blues, all you think about is crying guitar like B.B. King's guitar. You think about someone crying that their woman's gone. And how bad life is and all that. Why can't it be something happy with the blues? Why can't it have a hip-hop beat to which you can do the dances of today ?
You know, I have no regrets, but I learned; it's better to learn later than never. Like today, everything that they could find that I did, has been recopyrighted. My wife knows more about what song is mine than I do.
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