Bill Ferris Music Quotations

Music is the beginning of language to all humans. African Americans' music, in particular, harks back to a common sort of ancestry. It is a global kind of language: You don't need to understand English to understand blues or jazz.

Dance and music is the ultimate celebration. It's a way of celebrate our past experiences, and it's always pushing us to new levels of experience... Every generation of Americans can relate to black music and dance as a fresh new connection to life.

Any music can be learned from and adapted from other artists, and whites have been widely influenced by black music, from Pat Boone singing Fats Domino to Elvis Presley singing 'Hound Dog', a Big Momma Thornton song he heard on the radio.

The problems of the nation that are reflected in black music don't seem to be changing. The music is going to evolve, and it will still be with us many years from now.