Melody is king, and don't you ever forget it. Lyrics appear to be out front, but they're not; they're just an accompanying factor. If they're good, you're really in good shape. Lyrics are written to be rewritten.

A great song can make a terrible singer sound good, but a good singer - you put a great song on top of that, you're really in great shape!

I found this out over the years, that racism is a thinly veiled disguise over economics and money. It really is.

You make your mistakes to learn how to get to the good stuff.

I lost my mother when I was 7 and they put her in a mental hospital. My brother and I watched her being taken away in a strait jacket. That's something you never forget. And my stepmother was like in the movie 'Precious.' I couldn't handle it. So I said to myself, 'I don't have a mother. I don't need one. I'm going to let music be my mother.'

Musical comedies aren't written, they are rewritten.