I feel like before I came to the planet I asked God for the gift of music. I didn't want to come here without the gift of music and God granted it to me.

I wanted to be Jimi Hendrix's drummer when I was in high school, but I graduated in 1970, the year he died.

I'm known for being a good listener. Most people need a lot of love and encouragement and I'm more than willing to give a person all the encouragement and time they need.

A lot of artists don't like the sound of their voice. They're put off by it.

To be a superstar is incredible pressure. And also in our country, I'm going to speak about this, America. We have a way of kind of making it hard on our superstars. I don't sense it when I go to Europe or I go to Japan.

There's nothing more exciting than playing live for the people. Just play it, just do it.

I've known the glory of the stage and the glory of the spotlight. I still crave it. I want to be on 'American Bandstand' and 'Soul Train' as a solo artist. As a producer, songwriter and arranger, I help other artists say what they want to say. But on my records, I say what I want to say.