But I did that, and I created another blues scene, another something I can sing about.

The blues is the foundation, and it's got to carry the top. The other part of the scene, the rock 'n' roll and the jazz, are the walls of the blues.

I've been waiting for that bright sunshine to show up and shine in my back door someday.

In the blues, it just takes so long for us to get recognized.

I don't want to be in some big beautiful place that nobody want me, because I play the blues.

But let's face it, I still have to look at my self and look at the things I've done down the stretch.

In the States, it takes you a lifetime just to get from Chicago's South Side to the West Side.

So I cut out all the drinkin' and hangin' out and stuff like that early on.

Before I left, I opened a lot of doors for a lot of people to play the blues.

And I can do the rock clubs if I have to.

But you know, I still had a dream of being able to go back home and tour.

I think I'm the most positive guy still going in my generation, and I'm out there to prove that.

But I did that, and I created another blues scene, another something I can sing about.

But there was not a job that could say that Luther Allison didn't do his job.

I mean, look how many musicians have come through and played beside me, and I'm workin' and they're not.

I focused on how these people became how they were.

We played the same thing in Europe we played in the States.

I have as much input to the blues; I just never got the chance, the opportunity or maybe the respect.

I look in music magazines now and see things on Luther Allison, and my name's getting out there more, thanks to all the good people at Alligator Records and at my management company.

When I got to Chicago I had to find my way.

I want people to recognize Luther Allison when I play.

But my big thing was always the blues.

Well, I've had to deal with everything in my life... leavin' the family, learnin' what not and what to do.

I want to play in a place people want to hear me.

What I want to do, is play music for somebody who believe in me.

Me being a skinny guy, I could crawl into the steel pit.

Well, I first started going to Europe in the late '70s.

Buddy Guy finally got a break and made it. And Buddy Guy deserves it.

But I never had that commercial opportunity to be played on the radio, so how could I be popular?

I had the qualifications, but I was not chosen.

The blues is the foundation and its got to carry the top. The other part of the scene the rock n roll and the jazz are the walls of the blues.

I have a temperament that doesn't adapt well to politics. It's because I speak my mind so much.

Amazon is certainly not a perfect company. However, doctors, teachers, engineers, journalists, politicians, and labor unions are also on a continuum of consciousness, and none are perfect either. It is easy to judge and find fault with any company if that is what one's ideological biases wish to see.

I think if we were going to worry about teen pregnancy being glamorized, we should worry about shows like 'Teen Mom'. If people are going to want to have children at a young age because they see it on TV, I think that depends on the type of person you're dealing with.

Poets and heroes are of the same race, the latter do what the former conceive.

I was never pretty, never really popular. I was lanky and funny looking.

My persona is less miserable than a lot of contemporary poetry speakers are.

The man who interprets Nature is always held in great honor.

Attention is the ability we have to discriminate and to focus only on that which we want to perceive.

Hats are radical; only people that wear hats understand that.

I have more than 100 legal pads filled with handwriting. Eight novels, two books for children, countless stories and essays.

As a good horse is not very apt to jump over a bank, if left to guide himself, I let mine pick his own way.

The military has been tremendously important in the past during catastrophes and in protecting the population. But it shouldn't become an auxiliary police force.

Balancing is good to isolate the abs.

When I walked out of the seminary, I was 31, but I was like a scared, frightened kid. I had no place to live, no license, no clothes. I was just a lost soul.

One thing is for sure: a World Cup without me is nothing to watch.

Information flow is what the Internet is about. Information sharing is power. If you don't share your ideas, smart people can't do anything about them, and you'll remain anonymous and powerless.

We live in a society that celebrates familial connection above any other kind of relationship. We are shown photos of our great-grandparents and encouraged to marvel over facial similarities. We are told to take pride in our bloodlines, celebrate our ancestry.

The truth is, I think country music... there's a lot of great people, and just being raised the way a lot of country boys and girls are, hopefully there's just a lot of respect.