It's not about battling the original artists when I record these songs, it's about paying tribute to them.

Most of the songs I sing have that blues feeling in it. They have that sorry feeling. And I don't know what I'm sorry about. I don't.

I sing the songs that people need to hear.

You can't fake this music. You might be a great singer or a great musician but, in the need, that's got nothing to do with it. It's how you connect to the songs and to the history behind them.

Dayton is a great venue for these artists. It's a great tribute to Dr. Angelou and Ms. Winfrey's broad base public appeal.

[The original 20 songs in his repertoire he hoped to record were whittled down with Sutherland's help to a selection that kept the tone of the songs and the subject matter into a cohesive album list.] Basically the songs I most wanted to get out there were more spiritual in subject matter and were more traditional in feel, ... We tossed out the ones that felt more contemporary, even if they also dealt with spiritual issues.