“Every birthday is a gift. Every day is a gift.”

“The voice of God, if you must know, is Aretha Franklin's.”

“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 wanted to design a line based on Hollywood's Golden Era. I talked with Stephen Burrows and with Willi Smith and with one or two other people, but it just seems like such a hard field to break into. I need someone like Calvin Klein's manager to get behind me!”

“Every birthday is a gift. Every day is a gift.”

“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.”

“Being a singer is a natural gift. It means I'm using to the highest degree possible the gift that God gave me to use. I'm happy with that.”

“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.”

“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.”

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

“We all require and want respect, man or woman, black or white. It's our basic human right.”