I think I've always approached making albums pretty much the same way. I'm just looking for a mixture of songs and topics that aren't the same thing over and over.

I've had several working-man songs that I like.

Did you weep for the children who lost their dear loved ones and pray for the ones who don't know? Did you rejoice for the people who walked from the rubble, and sob for the ones left below?

I like to write sad songs. They're much easier to write and you get a lot more emotion into them. But people don't want to hear them as much. And radio definitely doesn't; they want that positive, uptempo thing.

I've had to live with women all my life. I grew up with four older sisters, and I was the baby and the only boy.

I don't write all my stuff. Everybody always thinks that. But in just about every album I've ever had has been about 50-50 songs I've written or co-written and other people's songs.

My mother kept asking me, "When are you going to do a gospel album?" And I've always wanted to do a gospel album. Everybody was going on about it, so mom started hounding me more.