I donate heavily to the church and various churches in the Detroit community and food banks.

...the people at large absolutely gave James Brown respect. He was an original like a Rembrandt or a Picasso

I've been around long enough for people to know who I am and what my contributions are. They know me as more than just an artist. I think they know me as a woman as well.

Judy Garland is a singer with a capital S. And talk about soul. This woman was soul personified. Judy Garland is a class by herself.

If a song's about something I've experienced or that could've happened to me it's good. But if it's alien to me, I couldn't lend anything to it. Because that's what soul is all about.

Soul is a constant. It's cultural. It's always going to be there, in different flavors and degrees.

Don't say Aretha is making a comeback, because I've never been away!