I kept singing. Your voice dries up if you don't use it. And I can still do it. I stopped smoking 30 years ago, and if I were still smoking, believe me, I would not be singing.
What I like about singing is that, for me, it's a substitute for the psychiatrist's couch. I can tell it all in song: pathos, gladness, love, joy, unhappiness. Each song, you're telling a story and acting.
A lot of the music, and especially rap, I don't understand. As for
[today's] pop stars, I never had the occasion to listen. I never felt
it warranted my attention."
A lot of younger people don't know me from Adam. I wish that my grandchildren would know who I was a little better. They've heard the records, of course, but it's not quite the same thing. [The Arizona Republic, Jan. 13, 1995]