Mommy smoked but she didn't want us to. She saw smoke coming out of the barn one time, so we got whipped.

Why leave the nut you got for one you don't know?

My biggest hero, Gregory Peck, was my birthday present on April 14, 1973. I just sat and stared at him.

I love people and I love to sing, and that's what keeps me going.

I loved being outside. We'd hold lightning bugs in our fingers and pretend they were diamond rings.

When I lost my husband [Oliver "Doolittle" Lynn], I just didn't want to work so hard anymore. I hate that I didn't quit things a lot more before he was gone. I stayed home for six years to take care of him but, at some point, I also felt I had to go back to work.

I don't know what it's like for a book writer or a doctor or a teacher as they work to get established in their jobs, but for a singer, you've got to continue to grow or else you're just like last night's cornbread...stale and dry.