"As the first Black woman to fill a football stadium. That is a wish of mine. It hasn't been done. Janis Joplin did it…"

"I didn't have anybody, really, no foundation in life, so I had to make my own way. Always. From the start. I had to g…"

"If you are unhappy with anything — your mother, your father, your husband, your wife, your job, your boss, your car —…"

"I will never give in to old age until I become old. And I am not old yet!"

"Well, it was a church person in the early days, Mahalia Jackson. And Rosetta Tharpe. These spiritual, very strong voi…"

"My work is noisy, but my life is quiet. I need nature and solitude — they nurture me. My idea of a vacation is readin…"

"I like me very much. When I look in the mirror and my skin glows back at me, I think, "Wow, that sure is pretty." I h…"

"I am strong, I lived through a divorce, separation from my family, all kinds of hell. I never let it break me down. I…"

"My greatest beauty secret is being happy with myself. I don't use special creams or treatments – I'll use a little bi…"

"Sometimes I'm tossed and driven, Lord, Sometimes I don't know where to go. My mother and father won't own me, So I'll…"