B. B. King

I was a singing disc jockey who heard every type of music there was – and loved it all.

Growing up on the plantation there in Mississippi, I would work Monday through Saturday noon. I’d go to town on Saturday afternoons, sit on the street corner, and I’d sing and play.

When I do eventually drop, I pray to God that it’ll happen in one of three ways. Firstly, on stage or leaving the stage, then secondly in my sleep. And the third way? You’ll have to figure that out for yourself!

I don’t have a favorite song that I’ve written. But I do have a favorite song: ‘Always on My Mind,’ the Willie Nelson version. If I could sing it like he do, I would sing it every night. I like the story it tells.

I would sit on the street corners in my hometown of Indianola, Mississippi, and I would play. And, generally, I would start playing gospel songs. People would come by on the street – you live in Time Square, you know how they do it – they would bunch up. And they would always compliment me on gospel tunes, but they would tip me when I played blues.

As for my band, well, my mentors were Duke Ellington, Benny Goodman, Jimmie Lunceford, and no one had a band more smartly dressed than Duke.

I was probably 10 or 11 when I saw that, and sort of started thinking, ‘You know what? Marriage is an option. Having a family is an option. And going to school and getting your education and building your career is another really viable option that can lead to happiness and fulfillment.

My grandma is probably the only person on this planet that I still remember their home number by heart

Those who have never had a father can at any rate never know the sweets of losing one. To most men the death of his father is a new lease of life.

There’s a reason why people who’ve had bad relationships with their parents listen to angry stuff.

I tell my children now that they are older, ‘If something happens to me… don’t make no big fuss over me. Don’t make no big expense on my funeral. Don’t put any pressure on the rest of the family. I’ve loved everybody, and I hope they loved me. But don’t create this big expense for the family.’

People say: “Oh yeah, jobs for the boys”. I wish. You’ve got to fight even harder with a family like mine.

You don’t choose your family. They are God’s gift to you, as you are to them.

I’m convinced that what kids need today are parents – not buddies. They need someone who will exercise mature judgment.

I have not been a good father, but no father has loved his children more. Like my father, I decided the best thing I could do for my kids was work and provide. Fortunately, I’ve been able to do that. Unfortunately, my work was on the road, and that’s meant a life of one-nighters.

There’s no other love like the love for a brother. There’s no other love like the love from a brother.

Sometimes being a brother is even better than being a superhero.

When I get up and work out, I’m working out just as much for my girls as I am for me, because I want them to see a mother who loves them dearly, who invests in them, but who also invests in herself. It’s just as much about letting them know as young women that it is okay to put yourself a little higher on your priority list.

I am indebted to my father for living, but to my teacher for living well.

My father would always praise me. He always thought I was the smartest person

The best thing about having a sister was that I always had a friend.