"I was born in the backwoods of Kentucky on the Cumberland River in a  small village called Pinkneyville."

    "Even as a boy I was fascinated with making things with my hands. We had no running water or electricity and my brother and I made our own toys from the things around us.

    Since I was surrounded by nature, that was and still is my greatest influence. I remember seeing old farmers and ranchers wearing their same old hats, year after year. They were caked with salt and soaked in their sweat, and the hat would glow in the sun. This is where I got the ideas for the "colorful sweaty look" of my hats which are now owned by many celebrities throughout the world. 

    The soulful look of these hats and the colorful characters that wear them is what gives my music and my art its uniqueness. 

    As a boy I plowed - and sang while I did it. I smelled the soil and watched the worms crawl as the earth and the grass came forth. 

    When I sang, I smelled the ground beneath my feet and the sweat from the horses as they pulled the plow. 

    I've changed some. I've got silver in my hair, gold in my teeth and lead in my pants, but I'm not getting old. I've only just reached the metallic age, and now when I sing; I sing with the stars over my shoulder."