To know that everything we say and do to this new little human being may have a profound effect on him or her is a daunting obligation.

I've sung since I talked, when I'm two, but what I sang was ballads, because it's very hard to do a dance track with your little acoustic guitar when you're a kid.

I wrote poetry, which got me into lyrics. Stevie Wonder, Carole King, Elton John pulled me into pop. I started singing with a band - just for fun - when I was 17. And pretty soon, I was thinking I could sing pop in English as well as Spanish.

The reason I’m not more political is because I have music. And from a young age, I needed it. After prison, my father came to America, joined the Army, fought in Vietnam - and was exposed to Agent Orange. He died a slow, horrible death. Music was my escape.

My daughter is almost a young lady. She's going to be 10 years old in December and I want to be there day-in and day-out.

Wherever there's a human being there's going to be somebody that tries to hold you back.

My guitar and singing was my way of crying.