Most artists try to avoid cliches, but it's pretty hard to avoid them if you yourself end up being one.

As I got older, my voice got better.

Like all soul singers, I grew up singing in church but sometimes I would leave early and sit in the car listening to gospel band, The Blind Boys of Alabama. Hearing their lead singer Clarence made me connect the idea of church and show business and see how I could make a career singing music that stirred the soul.

What I do isn't black music, it's just my music.

I grew up in a very racially integrated place called Pottstown. It was an agricultural / industrial town which has since become a suburb of Philadelphia. I grew up basically in a black neighborhood.

Yes, I travel in unusual circles. George Osborne and his wife Frances are my cousins.

Most artists try to avoid cliches, but it's pretty hard to avoid them if you yourself end up being one.