Every day has its emotional difficulties. I miss my mother whether I'm singing her music or not.

I demand perfection in what I do, and I practice very hard before I give a concert-sometimes three to six hours a day.

Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood," a song that was written for Simone, she confronted the band's lead singer, Eric Burdon. "So you're the honky," she said, "who stole my song and got a hit out of it?

I can't stand loud guitars that make me deaf.

You can't be different if you look at it. Being gifted is different. I had that in my piano playing. I'm very thankful for that. I'm very aware of that. The style and what I fed is just me. I never worked at it. It just happened.

My job is not done. I address my songs now to the third world. I am popular all over Asia and Africa and the Middle East, not to speak of South Africa, where I'm trying to go to see Nelson Mandela.

You can't help it. An artist's duty, as far as I'm concerned, is to reflect the times.