[But longtime friend and competitor Robert Johnson, who founded BET, says,] To me, his achievements would rival those of any business person in America, ... He had charisma, tenacity and passion to convince people that there was such a thing as a black consumer market.

A friendship founded on business is better than a business founded on friendship.

Robert Johnson? No, I didn't know him, personally.

I was 22 years old when I met Robert Johnson. I was there the night he was poisoned.

When Johnson started singing, he seemed like a guy who could have sprung from the head of Zeus in full armor.

At first the music almost repelled me, it was so intense, and this man made no attempt to sugarcoat what he was trying to say, or play. It was hard-core, more than anything I had ever heard. After a few listenings I realized that, on some level, I had found the master, and that following this man's example would be my life's work.