It really is an honor if I can be inspirational to a younger singer or person. It means I've done my job.

Everybody wants respect. In their own way, three-year-olds would like respect, and acknowledgment, in their terms.

Every birthday is a gift. Every day is a gift.

Every birthday is a gift. Every day is a gift.

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.

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.

Music does a lot of things for a lot of people. It's transporting, for sure. It can take you right back, years back, to the very moment certain things happened in your life. It's uplifting, it's encouraging, it's strengthening.

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.

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 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.