I Was Brought Up In This Part

I'm From A Singing Family, But They're Not Professional Singers, Only Gospel - My Grandfather Was A Minister. I Started To Sing The Music That Was Out Then Because My Mother Used To Play It All The Time. It Was The End Of The '50s, The Beginning Of The '60s. There Was Frankie Lyman And The Teenagers, Etta James... We Used To Sit Outside On The Stoop And Sing. We Even Used To Put Our Radios And Record Players Outside.

My Travels Led Me To Where I Am Today. Sometimes These Steps Have Felt Painful, Difficult, But Led Me To Greater Happiness And Opportunities.

They Tell Me That It Will Be Hard To Find A Man Strong Enough To Love My Own Strength And Independence, And Not Worry About Being Mr. Diana Ross, But I Disagree. I Know Absolutely That That Man Is Somewhere Out There.

I Want To Live In Paris For A Couple Of Years. I'm Dying To Do The Josephine Baker Story. I Really Want To Be There And Do It. It's Certainly My Intention To Do It.

The First Time I Heard A Billie Holiday Record, I Thought, 'what's So Great About Billie Holiday?'