Donald Byrd Quotes
I can take any series of numbers and turn it into music, from Bach to bebop, Herbie Hancock to hip-hop.

Quotes to Explore
-
When foreign assistance has a clear mission, buy-in from the aid-recipient country, and explicit metrics for implementation, the United States will be able to transition aid-recipient nations into strong trading partners. One of the greatest examples of this successful transition is South Korea.
-
It is something where I think that people need to take a step back and realize how bad these things we are doing really are for our ears. But nobody really thinks about it. We're playing shows every night with music in our ears. That's just the industry.
-
I never wanted to give up my given name. I'm proud of it, but the only problem was that no one remembered it. It was just a little too awkward, and they mispronounced it so frequently.
-
I don't do fake. That's the first thing you should know about me. I'm not one to put on airs or change my demeanor depending on where I am or who I am talking to.
-
It would make everything I worked for meaningless if baseball is integrated but political parties were segregated.
-
Going out at night and having a fabulous social life takes a lot out of you, and I don't know if I have that much to give, honestly. I would rather give that time to my kids or spend that time reading a book or watching a film. I am selfish and lazy.
-
If you can live in Vegas, or visit Vegas, and leave in one piece, still loving it and somehow laughing about it, you should spend at least part of your last night in town doing something that will serve you well no matter where you go next: thank your lucky stars.
-
When I was young, about 18 or 19, I read all the Dostoyevsky novels, which made me want to go to St. Petersburg. So I went, and I was so inspired.
-
Leaders are people who do the right thing; managers are people who do things right.
-
God, I can push the grass apart and lay my finger on Thy heart.
-
Every time we moved on, I joined a different class in a different school with different girls until, aged 13, my father had taken the decision to pull me out of school altogether. Everything I needed, he reasoned, could be found within the rich language of Shakespeare's plays at which, by then, I was something of an old hand.
-
I suppose I am one of those lucky people who eats what they like and doesn't gain too much weight.
-
I think when I first straightened my hair, I was a teenager. I don't believe that I was consciously doing it to look white or to be on television. It never crossed my mind. All of the girls in my neighborhood got perms and their hair straightened. But I know that historically it was to assimilate and there are some people who do it for that reason.
-
I didn't particularly like being objectified.
-
I was halfway through a rough draft of 'The Sisters Brothers' when it came time to start the 'Terri' adaptation.
-
I'm a really bad liar.
-
People ask if I walk around and pinch myself. Yes, I do.
-
With all of the qualities of the scene-setting, the dialogue, the place and time and the time and place in which your characters move. And I want to move with the characters, move with them and describe the world in which they are living.
-
My goal beyond being an actor, is just being an open channel.
-
When a guy takes off his coat, he's not going to fight. When a guy takes off his wristwatch, watch out!
-
Elvis was a great guy. We'd just horse around together or go to see a movie. He drove me around Graceland in a golf cart. He was a fan of our music and was curious about how I sounded so black.
-
I want people to know that I appreciate every piece of music they buy and every concert ticket because that's what keeps this going. Knowing that people are coming to the shows and enjoying my music makes every long day worth it.
-
Now, what of the entertainment that is available to our young people today? Are you being undermined right in your homes through your television, radio, slick magazines, and rock music records?
-
I can take any series of numbers and turn it into music, from Bach to bebop, Herbie Hancock to hip-hop.