"People often ask me how would I like to be remembered and I answer that I would simply like to be remembered."

"Whether I'm in London, Sydney or Hong Kong, it makes no difference. There is always someone who knows me. I must be one of the most unloneliest people in the world!"

"I thought maybe in 1964 I could have been swamped by The Beatles. But it turned out the other way round and I was voted Number One vocalist in 1965."

"There was a lot of loneliness in West Texas where I grew up. We used to say it was the center of everything, five hundred miles away from anything."

"I may be a living legend, but that sure don't help when I've got to change a flat tyre."

"I was frustrated as a singer for a long time, particularly when some friendly rivalry broke out between me and a young guy in Texas named Buddy Holly, who, within a couple of months, had a couple of Number One singles and soon had stardom that reached to the Moon. I tried not to take it too hard but when Only the Lonely happened in 1960 I reckoned it was about time too. I was an avid follower of the charts. I lived by them until Only the Lonely - and then I didn't look at them anymore."