It's devastating. That's the birthplace of the music of this country. That includes all the genres of black music in this country. And it's the only place in the country that preserved it the way it should be preserved.

You could hear any sort of music all day long in New Orleans. But we won't really know for a while, the full effect. It really is a shame, and hopefully they will recover.

It was like Frank Sinatra. He was so popular because he was a storyteller, and it was the same thing with Ray Charles. It didn't make a difference if he was playing jazz, soul, R&B, pop or country. And it was always about the blues and the feelings he portrayed. The blues is awfully powerful.

The first time I sat in, I got through the whole tune before Ray got out of the fourth bar.

I got to where I couldn't listen to country radio, ... Country music is supposed to have steel and fiddle. When I hear country music, it should be country.

the original country music diva.