CNN's coverage of sausage king Jimmy Dean has been noteworthy over the years. In the past few, the network has made sure to report on his firing, his memorial sidewalk, and his sleeping through his own yard sale.

But last Saturday morning, CNN interviewed Jimmy Dean live on the air — and in doing so created The Best CNN Jimmy Dean Segment Ever.

Excerpted from the morning show's transcript:

CNN ANCHOR TONY HARRIS: Say Jimmy Dean, and one word comes to mind, sausage. But there's a lot more to the dean of pork products. Over the years, he has also been a country music singer, a Grammy winner, TV host, and savvy businessman. Now Jimmy Dean is serving up a new book titled "30 Years of Sausage, 50 Years of Ham: Jimmy Dean's Own Story."

Jimmy Dean joins us from Richmond, Virginia, from his home there.

Jimmy, good to see you.

JIMMY DEAN, FOUNDER, SAUSAGE COMPANY: I wish you could see this studio.

HARRIS: (UNINTELLIGIBLE), describe it to me. Is it OK? Is it up to your specifications?

DEAN: As my mother would say, you couldn't cut the cat without getting hair in your teeth. This is the smallest studio you have ever seen in your life.

HARRIS: We will do better by you the next time you're here. Good to see you this morning.

DEAN: Ah, thank you. Well, it's nice to be with you. Well, I'm not here yet. Jimmy Dean…

HARRIS: Well, let me ask — No, go ahead.

DEAN: Jimmy Dean will show up in about an hour and a half, I think. It's too — you know, I'm up at the crack of noon every day, you know?

HARRIS: (UNINTELLIGIBLE), at the crack of noon?

DEAN: Yes.

HARRIS: Well, give us a sense of why you decided to write this book after all these years. I know people have been asking you to write it for a long time. So what finally got the juices flowing?

DEAN: My wife.

HARRIS: Really?

DEAN: She said you should do it. And then, people have sent people out to write, you know, and co-write and so on and so forth, and it just never left the paper. It just sat there. And I don't say that my life is exciting, but it hasn't been altogether dull.

So if you notice that my wife is the co-writer, and that's the truth, it's the two of us put it together. If you like it, we did it. If you don't like it, we did that too. But it was done right there at our kitchen table, that old table.

HARRIS: Tell us about this woman in your life as we show a picture of you guys together. And give us a sense of what she's meant for your life.

DEAN: What she's meant?

HARRIS: Yes, what has she meant for you?

DEAN: Well, she is the best friend I ever had. And I love her a lot. But I think I just wish everybody a friend like her. She's a piece of work. Besides that, she's good-looking, and I like sleeping with her.

HARRIS: Jimmy!

DEAN: You asked.

HARRIS: It's honest and truthful. I appreciate it. You had to think that your life was worth a book. Look at what you've done, TV host, singer, Grammy winner. You had to think it was worth a novel. And, well, we're happy you put it down.

DEAN: You know, I'll tell you, I — till we got into this book, we worked on it for about two and a half years, just spare time, you know. I had forgotten how much stuff I had done, the people I worked with. You know, Elvis Presley and Jack Benny and Jimmy Durante and on and on and on. And the people I had met and learned to know and learned to love. It was a revealing experience after it started kind of flowing back to me.

HARRIS: Well, Jimmy, what was the most difficult thing to write about? I'm sure there were tough moments.

DEAN: I think Mom. My mom was a great lady. She was tougher than a back end of a shooting gallery, but she was a gentle soul. And I still miss her. That's been a long time.

HARRIS: We can hear it.

DEAN: But she was a great, great lady. And we need more like her. You know, she was one of those that believed you should stand on your own two feet and say, I believe in me, I can, I will. And we need some more like that around, because we got too many people now that are — they're falling down before they get hit. And, you know, getting knocked down is part of life. But getting up is also.

And, so, what I — there were a lot of sensitive moments when I talked about Mom.

HARRIS: Here's the book. Let me hold it up for everybody to see, "30 Years of Sausage… "

DEAN: You've got it?

HARRIS: … "50 Years of… " I have it right here. "Jimmy Dean's Own Story," there it is for everyone to see.

DEAN: You're my squirrel if you never crack another nut.

HARRIS: All right. I'm so thrilled with you, Jimmy Dean. Thanks for being with us this morning. It's been fun.

DEAN: It's been my pleasure. And remember the words, if you will, the famous last words of the great philosopher Will Rogers.

HARRIS: Yes?

DEAN: When he said, Wiley, I think you put the patch over the wrong eye.

HARRIS: Jimmy, good to see you. Thanks for being with us. We appreciate it.

DEAN: (UNINTELLIGIBLE). Bye-bye.

CNN ANCHOR BETTY NGUYEN: Oh, I tell you what, he is a character, but he tells it like it is, doesn't he?

HARRIS: Absolutely.

NGUYEN: All right. Well, we want to say good morning, Miami. Rob Marciano's got your complete weather forecast, that's about five minutes. But as you can see, sunny skies there over Miami. CNN SATURDAY MORNING continues in just a moment.

And you, friends, are my squirrels too.

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