The biggest honor of my career was when I won R&B Artist of the Year back in the 1970s. I look at that as a major honor.

I love antique architecture, so if I have any indulgences, I have owned and renovated and reconstructed a lot of old houses.

Being at college, I think that's the time when you really start searching for things outside yourself.

I wanted to show the world, and myself too, what I can do. I came up in the world of Philadelphia soul, but I'm fluent in a lot of languages musically and I like working with different people from different generations.

I have to say I have never been comfortable with somebody else telling me what to do - in any way.

I was just like a 21st century person waiting to be born, and this is the medium that I thrive in. And I feel stronger now than I did any time since I've been a teenager - I mean, musically, creatively.

If you take a bunch of superstars and put them in a room where they don't have their assistants and entourage, it's funny to see what happens.