The music for me is paradise. I think it's where God lives.

I hold all of the songs that I have had the pleasure of recording and performing in high regard.

What do you get when you kiss a guy? You get enough germs to catch pneumonia. After you do, he'll never phone you.

I look at the careers of people I'm standing on the shoulders of. People like Lena Horne, Ella Fitzgerald, Sammy Davis Jr., and Sarah Vaughan. These are icons I wanted to emulate, and I feel like they've been holding me up for quite a long time.

I am an outspoken person. I believe in what I say.

I have been blessed with some incredible compositions to record and perform and all of my songs have had the ability to grow as I and those who have supported this career of mine for these 50 years have.

It is frustrating to be a Black woman in the entertainment industry.