My mother always wanted me to be glamorous. When I thought about that, it really fired me up, and once I lost all those pounds, I started to feel really good about myself.

Now I can stand up on the stage again like I used to after five years of sitting down while I sang.

It's not about battling the original artists when I record these songs, it's about paying tribute to them.

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.

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.

They said that Etta James is still vulgar. I said, Oh, how dare them say I'm still vulgar. I'm vulgar because I dance in the chair. What would they want me to do? Want me to just be still or something like that? I've got to do something.

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.