I figured I could do "It's A Man's, Man's, Man's World" because I believe it's the truth.

I talked to the record company about what I had in mind. They said they wanted something lush. I figured the best thing to do was let them hear what I had in mind.

And as I started reaching deeper I realized that most of the blues of that day was done by men. Women just didn't have the nerve.

You can't fake this music. You might be a great singer or a great musician but, in the need, that's got nothing to do with it. It's how you connect to the songs and to the history behind them.

All the things I used to like - cookies, ice cream, gumbo - I don't like anymore.

Johnny Guitar... just one of my favorite singers of all time. I met him when we were both on the road with Johnny Otis in the '50s when I was a teenager. We traveled the country in a car together.I would hear him sing every night.

I've gone through so much in my life. I should have been dead a long time ago, but I am still here, and I'm the happiest I've ever been.