Cotton Mather is one of those classic figures of American history who can't be left out. One has to explain him or explain him away, redeem him or denounce him.

During summer, I only wear cotton and linen.

Picking a guitar was a lot easier than picking cotton.

I was a hard-workin' little boy. Oh, I worked. Pullin' cotton, shockin' grain, cuttin' wheat, loadin' wheat, choppin' cotton, cleanin' chicken houses, milkin' cows, plowin'.

I thought I was funny as a kid. I used to play tricks on my brothers - I'd tie a two-shilling piece to a bit of cotton, then pull it away as they went to grab it.

On the plane, I dampen cotton pads with toner and put on lotion twice as much.

My dad was a telegraph operator for the Cotton Belt Railroad. He worked seven nights a week from 4 until midnight, no vacation.

Everybody that you could name would join in our audiences from, Laguardia on down. Everybody came. Everybody came to the Cotton Club.

I pulled cotton at 6 years old and worked on the peanut farm and paper route.

You can't beat the Cotton Bowl. There's nothing like that.

I thought I was funny as a kid. I used to play tricks on my brothers - I'd tie a two-shilling piece to a bit of cotton, then pull it away as they went to grab it.

Possibly you are not aware of the fact that the largest sum given by any contributor to the fund is but a trifle when compared with the losses suffered by nearly all the firms in the cotton trade during the disastrous years of the American war.

We didn't have any segregation at the Cotton Club. No. The Cotton Club was wide open, it was free.

You know, I'm very particular about my sheets. They have to be one hundred percent cotton, with a high thread count. Only cotton. No flannel.

I knew I had arrived when taxi drivers would say, 'You're that twit on the Billy Cotton Show, aren't you?'

In essence, I'm a sophisticated cotton picker.

'High Cotton' is more conscious of class than 'Black Deutschland.'

Being the son of a handloom weaver, I have knowledge of cotton and some other material.

I went to the top of the Cotton Bowl by myself, sat down and cried.

I sleep on a Tempur-Pedic mattress, and I have custom-made sheets. They're white with some patterns, and the highest thread count of Egyptian cotton you can get.