I love 'Anne of Green Gables.' I have for years. That's one of my favourite things. She's such a can-do kind of girl; that's why I'm crazy about her.
I really don't have any shelf music.
Men have always been gentlemen to me - responsible people with healthy attitudes.
I like Beyonce's music - some of it, not all of it.
I like writing and don't confine myself to just the words or just the music. But I don't particularly write songs with myself in mind.
President Clinton, I sang at his post-inauguration party out in Maryland.
What is auto-tune? I don't even know what auto-tune is.
It really is an honor if I can be inspirational to a younger singer or person. It means I've done my job.
Falling out of love is like losing weight. It's a lot easier putting it on than taking it off.
I've done the Kennedy Center many times. I've sang for Marian Anderson. I've sang for Marion Williams. I've sang for Lionel Hampton.
I love producing, writing. I rarely write with other writers unless I have a real great respect for them. Like Burt Bacharach, or Carole Sager, or Stevie Wonder. Somebody like Smokey - like that. Otherwise, I choose to write alone.
I love all music.
Parents have to really talk to their children before they leave home.
I know people I feel are extremely talented, but I don't know that I've ever heard any geniuses.
As long as it's good music. I love all music. It's got to be constructed properly.
And I was booked once to go on 'Ed Sullivan' and I got bumped and ran out the back door crying.
My generation, we came along, we had to really know our craft.
Sam Cooke had a huge influence on me. He left the gospel field at one point and went into the secular, and he had this huge hit, 'You Send Me.' Irma, my older sister, and I heard 'You Send Me' on the radio while we were driving through the South one night. We had to stop the car. We got out and danced around the car out on the highway.
Politics are not my arena. Music is.
Men don't like eating out of cans. And I don't like eating out of cans too much, either.
I'm a big woman. I need big hair.
When I first started, I wore Ceil Chapman gowns. I've been wondering for years what happened to the Ceil Chapman line of clothing.
For many years, I've wanted to do one, and I've always mentioned it to the chieftains, and they would say things like, 'Oh well. Christmas albums don't sell,' and things like that. But that's not the point. Christmas albums are important. The music is important. The season is important.
I used to have hamburgers coming and going, especially when I was on the road. Now, occasionally I will still have that quarter pounder because I love fast food, but you have to keep it to a minimum. I am now opting for salads and just healthier lunches.
I donate heavily to the church and various churches in the Detroit community and food banks.
I don't do crazy things - I just don't.
Women absolutely deserve respect.
We all require and want respect, man or woman, black or white. It's our basic human right.
I wouldn't be without Google, and I love Facebook.
If a song's about something I've experienced or that could've happened to me it's good. But if it's alien to me, I couldn't lend anything to it. Because that's what soul is all about.
Many of my friends were there at Motown. The studio was only a few blocks from where my dad's home was, where we lived.
I certainly enjoy Usher, Beyonce, Chris Brown, and there is Fantasia; these people will be around a while. They've got it. They've got the 'it' factor.
I don't feel one's personal medical condition is everybody's business. It just isn't something you advertise, and it's not open to discussion.
I love Wal-Mart, and not just because my record is there. You can get some things there that you cannot find at Saks or Bergdorf's or other upscale stores.
Prince is gone. But the music will go on.
Who hasn't had a weight issue? If not the body, certainly the big head!
I think women and children and older people are the three least-respected groups in our society.
I saw the Supremes when they were still singing in little black skirts and white blouses.
I'm never tired of going to the studio. I enjoy recording and documenting everything and trying new things.
I think you have a lot of really good artists today. You have your Beyonce, Usher, Nicki Minaj and the like. But our generation, the artists were stronger. You're talking about myself, Ray Charles, Stevie Wonder, Roberta Flack, Gladys Knight, The Temptations, The Four Tops.
People really don't have to give you anything, so appreciate what people give you.
There is no way in the world anyone else could do my wedding other than myself, along with whomever I select to do various things.
Let's start with the church. As you know, it's my background, it's a natural setting for me and it's definitely my roots.
Yeah, I want a job in Barack's Cabinet. How about a job, Mr. Obama? Please? Please?
I've been around long enough for people to know who I am and what my contributions are. They know me as more than just an artist. I think they know me as a woman as well.
I paid my dues; I certainly did.
I love the Ritz.
I had not been in the jazz environment, having been brought up in the church. But once I got to New York, and I was signed to perform at The Village Gate and the Vanguard and clubs like that, and these - the Vanguard was one of the most elite, if not the most elite, jazz club out there.
