I'm from a singing family, but they're not professional singers, only gospel - my grandfather was a minister. I started to sing the music that was out then because my mother used to play it all the time. It was the end of the '50s, the beginning of the '60s. There was Frankie Lyman and the Teenagers, Etta James... We used to sit outside on the stoop and sing. We even used to put our radios and record players outside.

Most people are so hard to please that if they met God, they'd probably say yes, she's great, but.

I just appreciate still having the longevity that I've had in my career.

Being a parent is very important to me.

I'd traveled a lot, was going temporarily insane and became very successful, but there was no one to take that all home to.

I learned something from that. If someone asks me something that I really don't want to do, I say no. I have to trust that. And I'm not afraid to talk money.

I keep a great organiser, I try to keep my priorities in the right place.