African Quote by Willie Nelson

I was influenced a lot by those around me - there was a lot of singing that went on in the cotton fields.

— Willie Nelson

Seriously though, my father was the first African American to sign a contract with the Metropolitan Opera so I grew up with classical music…

— Bobby McFerrin

When I was 18 and going to Berklee College of Music, I started singing in a 60-person gospel choir where almost everyone was African-American.

— Susan Tedeschi

I made a living out of singing Mexican music.

— Jenni Rivera

I had a fascination with the roots of African American music. That would have been my first education in music. I had a real…

— Hozier

My dad loved black singers. So listening to New Orleans music, eventually I wanted to play an instrument.

— Bill Kreutzmann

Actually, my first professional job was singing opera with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra.

— Brett Cooper

I learned from Ethel Waters, Duke Ellington, Adelaide Hall, the Nicholas Brothers, the whole thing, the whole schmear. [The Cotton Club] was a great…

— Lena Horne

I think music is one of the hero/sheroes of the African-American existence.

— Maya Angelou

I grew up in the country surrounded by music.

— Martina McBride

When I was young I was working with a lot of people being out in the south. My uncle wrote for Al Green and…

— Drake

I was really lucky to grow up in an extremely diverse neighborhood. I grew up in a city called Southfield, and it's one of…

— Mike Posner