Long as I was riding in a big Cadillac and dressed nice and had plenty of food, that's all I cared about.

Etta James

Many people fail not so much because of their mistakes; they fail because they are afraid to try.

Bobby Womack is always very real, both with his music and as a person.

Now I can stand up on the stage again like I used to after five years of sitting down while I sang.

Country music has the great stories.

And as I started reaching deeper I realized that most of the blues of that day was done by men. Women just didn't have the nerve.

It's not about battling the original artists when I record these songs, it's about paying tribute to them.

When Malcolm X was assassinated I was working at the Apollo. They brought his body to the Unity Funeral Home, which was around the corner.

I figured I could do "It's A Man's, Man's, Man's World" because I believe it's the truth.

This is an album of songs that I've always loved, tunes that I heard. For the first time in 53 years of recording, I really had control over an entire album, start to finish.

It's the same thing now. When I go onstage the young people scream and holler as much as the older generation.

I talked to the record company about what I had in mind. They said they wanted something lush. I figured the best thing to do was let them hear what I had in mind.

Most of the songs I sing have that blues feeling in it. They have that sorry feeling. And I don't know what I'm sorry about. I don't.

All the things I used to like - cookies, ice cream, gumbo - I don't like anymore.

I was a sloppy kid, wanted to be just wild.

I'm not starry eyed, and I'm not money crazy.

My mother was a jazz fanatic and she wanted me to play the piano so I could play jazz tunes. I wish I had learned but I was too busy getting into trouble!