My career has been a gradual climb. I think that's part of the reason why I've had longevity.

Today, people are more into the glitz and the glamour of everything. We don't even read the inside of records anymore.

Mothers love you to the end, and she didn't want to hold me back from my livelihood. So I left for a month and called her every couple of days. I came home and she died 24 hours later.

My mother passed at the end of the Circus tour. After that I really needed to take some time and just chill out and get my head together.

My dream is to become a farmer. Just a Bohemian guy pulling up his own sweet potatoes for dinner.

Beyond [Barack Obama] having made history as the first African-American president, I hope that he gets re-elected for what he does while in office, not for his skin color. I certainly believe he has the capacity.

Race in this country is still the elephant in the room that no one wants to discuss.