US gospel singer.
Her works exemplified the links between religious and secular roots of jazz.
Someday the sun is going to shine down on me in some faraway place.
"Anybody that sings the blues is in a deep pit, yelling for help."
"God can make you anything you want to be, but you have to put everything in his hands."
Time is important to me because I want to sing long enough to leave a message. I'm used to singing in churches where nobody would dare stop me until the Lord arrives!
It is easy to be independent when you've got money. But to be independent when you haven't got a thing -- that's the Lord's test.
