An artist is somebody who enters into competition with God.

I think it's important for people to realize that we were all young, all naive, and also we had lived in a time that had magic.

When I was a teenager, I dreamed of being an opera singer like Maria Callas or a jazz singer like June Christy or Chris Connor, or approaching songs with the kind of mystical lethargy of Billie Holiday, or championing the downtrodden like Lotte Lenya. But I never dreamed of singing in a rock-and-roll band.

Good news doesn't necessarily have to be a positive thing. Bringing good news is imparting hope to one's fellow man.

I've lost lots of men in my life, besides my mother, which is a whole different loss.

I was never a singer, I can't play any instruments, I had no training. Plus, I was brought up in a time when all the great rock stars were male. I didn't have any template for what I was doing. I did what I did out of frustration and concern.

Make your interactions with people transformational, not just transactional.