Alcohol May Be Man's Worst Enemy, But

Most Of What Has Been Written About Me Is One Big Blur, But I Do Remember Being Described In One Simple Word That I Agree With. It Was In A Piece That Tore Me Apart For My Personal Behavior, But The Writer Said That When The Music Began And I Started To Sing, I Was "honest."

(while Accepting The Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award) I've Been Thinking About Why You Have To Get Famous To Get An Award For Helping Other People...if Your Name Is John Doe, And You Work Night And Day Doing Things For Your Helpless Neighbors, What You Get For Your Effort Is Tired. So, Mr. And Mrs. Doe, And All Of You Who Give Of Yourselves, To Those Who Carry Too Big A Burden To Make It On Their Own, I Want You To Reach Out And Take Your Share Of This...because If I Have Earned It, So Too Have You.

The Thing That Influenced Me Most Was The Way Tommy Played His Trombone. It Was My Idea To Make My Voice Work In The Same Way As A Trombone Or Violin-not Sounding Like Them, But "playing" The Voice Like Those Instrumentalists.

All Day Long, They Lie In The Sun, And When The Sun Goes Down, They Lie Some More.

I Play To All People - All Colors, All Creeds ~ Drunk, Sober, Everybody.