When Malcolm X was assassinated I was working at the Apollo. They brought his body to the Unity Funeral Home, which was around the corner.

It's the same thing now. When I go onstage the young people scream and holler as much as the older generation.

The two things you can't fake are good food and good music

See, I don't like places where people can't dance - don't like clubs or theatres where a bunch of bourgeois people sit around tip, tip, tipping their fingers.

A few years ago, I thought, I'll never make it. I started to go to the doctor to help me lose weight.

I'm not a braggart, but when I was a little girl people used to come from all over Hollywood to hear me sing.

I like to shop, but I don't like to go out to dances.