My career always took me away from home, I was always away from home and I just wanted to be home.
You take your problems to a god, but what you really need is for the god to take you to your inner self.
I’ve never given myself a lot of credit because of my relationship with Ike. I was just happy when I started to like myself – when I got divorced and took control of my life.
Ike’s problem was that he was a musician who always wanted to be a star; and he was a star, locally, but never internationally… so he changed his name to Ike and changed my name to Tina, because if I ran away, Tina was his name. It was patented, as they say.
I want to tell people how to live spiritually. After you’ve bought all your houses and clothes, you want something bigger.
I’m not wise, but the beginnings of wisdom are there; it’s like relaxing into – and accepting – things.
I’ve never worried about my color. I never had the black thing. If the whole world was like this, maybe there would be more harmony and love. Maybe it is. I don’t have a problem with being black in a white country or being with my people.
I’m attracted to myths.
I don’t hate myself anymore. I used to hate my work, hate the sexy image, hate the pictures of me on stage, hate the big vulgar person. On stage, I act the whole time I’m there. As soon as I come out of those songs, I’m Tina again.
When my parents went to Knoxville for work, I stayed with my dad’s mom. She was strict – the type to stiffen up and iron dresses. I had to sit more than I played. Oh, I was miserable. I liked being out with the animals. I entered the house with my hair pulled out, the ribbon off my dress, dirty as heck. I always got spanked.
Physical strength in a woman – that’s what I am.
I am self-created. I always wanted to make myself a better person because I wasn’t educated. But that was my dream – to have class.
People think my life has been hard, but I think it’s been a wonderful journey. The older you get, the more you realize that it’s not about what happens, but how you deal with it.
My biggest beauty secret is to be happy with myself. I don’t use special creams or treatments – I use a little bit of everything. It’s a mistake to think you are what you put on yourself. I think a lot of how you look has to do with how you feel about yourself and your life. Happiness is the secret of beauty.
I believe that if you just get up and go, life will open up to you.
My mom and dad didn’t love each other, so they were always fighting.
I will never give in to old age until I get old. And I’m not old yet!
My legacy is that I stayed the course… from start to finish because I believed in something inside of me.
Sometimes you need to let go of everything – cleanse yourself. If you’re unhappy with something… whatever it is that’s dragging you down, get rid of it. Because you’ll find that when you’re free, your true creativity, your true self, comes out.