“I don't hate myself anymore. I used to hate my work, hated that sexy image, hated those pictures of me onstage, hated that big raunchy person. Onstage, I'm acting the whole time I'm there. As soon as I get out of those songs, I'm Tina again.”
“When my parents went off to Knoxville to work, I lived with my father's mother. She was strict - the kind who starched and ironed dresses. I had to sit more than I played. Oh, I was miserable. I liked being out with the animals. I'd come in the house with my hair pulled out, sash off the dress, dirty as heck. I was always getting spanked.”
“Delhi came as a shock. There were so many people, and oh, the traffic.”
“I always had long legs. When I was young, I used to think, 'Why do I look like a little pony?'”
“My mother and father didn't love each other, so they were always fighting.”
“Success in America - what I find with my homeland, nothing lasts very long. Europe is different. You're right there with them until you come back.”
“After I moved with my mother to St. Louis, my older sister and I went to see Ike Turner, who was the hottest then. His music charged me. I was never attracted to him, but I wanted to sing with his band.”
“I heard stories from my mother's mother who was an American Indian. She was spiritual, although she did not go to church, but she had the hum. She used to tell me stories of the rivers.”
“I never put a lot of praise on myself because of my relationship with Ike. I was just happy when I started to like myself - when I divorced and took control of my life.”
“I don't like to dwell on the past.”