Extended interview: Patti LaBelle

So I want to ask you, we've talked to you before. Sunday Morninghas a habit of checking in with our legends. Thank you so much. Yes. Trust me, thank you. We talked to you in the '90s. We talked to you in the teens. Now we're talking to you in the '20s. How is this stage of your life? Better than some of the other stages. This is a better life for me now at 82. I feel better, not always physically with my knees. Maybe they might hurt a bit, but I feel good. I feel settled. I feel that I don't have to climb. I don't have to do anything else. I feel settled. Got nothing to prove. I don't have a thing to prove. Nothing to prove, no, to nobody but myself. Is that what you mean when you say, I don't have to climb? What do you mean? I'm settled at this place that I'm in. I don't have to do more. I don't have to do more. I am just easy. I'm very easy right here in the space that I'm in now. There's not that-- I have to climb--

I have to.

--I have to grasp-- Yeah.

--I have to go for the next thing. Yeah, no more climbing. Which is good. That's better for your knees. Oh, it sure is. It's better for my heart, too. It's just good to feel this way. This story will air on your 82nd birthday. Woo! What are your thoughts as you approach 82? I'm just gonna be still. With my other birthday, I think it was 80, I had a huge party in New York with everybody there. It was so much fun. For the 81st, I chilled. For the 82nd, I'm gonna chill even more. You're gonna chill? What is that? What is chilling for Patti LaBelle? It means no people in my crib. [LAUGHS] It means just, like laid back, just cooking something for myself and just enjoying my TV and just enjoying my little puppy, my little dog. He's not a puppy anymore, Mr. Cuddles. He's about 107. So he's, like, walking around like this and he can hardly see, but he can smell Mommy. He knows I'll be with him having fun. You've written a whole book on Patti's Pearls, these little gems of wisdom. Do you have a Patti's Pearl about aging? Don't let it make you nervous. Age is a number, and it's a graduation. When I turned 50, I said, wow, it doesn't seem old, 50 doesn't seem old. 80 doesn't seem old to me. And my secret for who I am and what I'm doing at 81 right now-- I am really living it down, not up, but having fun living it down. I play cards. We have card games on Saturday nights, and crab nights and nights that I cook for everybody and we watch movies. And I don't do much. I don't do much. I'm very boring. But you kind of like it that way. I love it that way. That's the way it's been for all my life. Living it down, I like that, instead of living it up. That's what I do. And that just means mellow. Yeah, mellow. How easy is it to play cards and take other folks' money?

[LAUGHS] That's what I do and I love it.

Is that true? Yes. What's your card game? Acey Deucey. And you play for money? Yes. Should I say that to the people listening and watching the show? Yeah, I play for money. I don't have time to waste. Some people play for a quarter or whatever. But, no, we play for money. I love it. And you win? I win sometimes.

OK. Sometimes I don't. And then I get very angry. Oh!

And then I'll say to everybody playing, I said, bye, you guys, I'm gonna go watch Netflix and I leave, but I come right back. I'm addicted to those card games. Pitty Pat, Acey Deucey, those are the card games I play. Oh, and 500 Gin Rummy. You're talking about how you're living it down, you're going mellow. But you are still professionally singing. You're out there. Girl, I better. [CHUCKLES] I have to sing. Singing is my life. We're in The Queen's Tour and then I have Patti LaBelle shows in between. And just stuff is happening for me and I'm happy to say I'm still standing and I'm still working. Yes. What do you think accounts for your staying power? I have no clue. Maybe because I don't do much. Like I said, I live it down. I don't do drugs. I drink red wine occasionally, yes. And that's about it. I'm a very quiet person. And, Tracy, I don't know if I answered your question, or did I? You did, as far as your longevity, health-wise. Mm. What do you think it is about Patti LaBelle that you're still selling out shows, you're still touring? Gosh, it's a blessing that people still come to see Patti LaBelle and my wonderful band and singers. I mean, we've been together, some of us, for 40 years have been with me. I know that helps when I have to perform or whatever, because they give me no fever, no drama. Girl, I couldn't stand drama. No drama. Is that kind of a rule of yours? No drama? Well, they can look at me and tell I'm not that girl who's gonna take drama. I have to just snap 'em out. You snap 'em out?

[CHUCKLES] Yes. I mean, why not let people know what you won't take? And they know it. But because they're all nice people, so they're not drama driven. How would you describe your voice? It's big. I have a big voice. It's loud. It's soft. It can rap. It can do opera on a good day, a real good day. And it's just whatever it is, it is. Some days there is no voice, like hoarseness comes in, and you can't sing well, but you sing anyway. Do you sing anyway? You got that right. I know I got to sing. No matter what comes out, it's who I am. It's Patti at that moment. And sometimes it's not pleasant to me at all, but I'm still gonna sing the song. And sometimes the audience, they'll sing it for me, so.

They help you out? Yeah, they do. It's interesting you say, "I've got to sing." Yes. Is it something that you must do? It's something that I have to do. I was born singing. I love to do shows. I love the meet and greets. I just love what I do. And I'm so happy to be in this place at this time in my life. What do you think you're best known for? What makes people say, ah, that's Patti LaBelle? Oh, gosh, it used to be my hair. I used to wear those crazy hairstyles. My nails have always been like something that people would look forward to seeing what color or how long or whatever. And I gravitate to people. Like if they're afraid to come over to me, I'll say, hey, you want a photo? And they'll say, yes, Ms. Patti, but I was afraid to ask you. I thought you would say no. I said no, I'm saying yes. It's when you guys stop wanting photos and autographs, that's when it's over for me. And how about sound-wise, is there a Patti LaBelle sound that people say, ah, that's Patti LaBelle? Loud. [LAUGHTER] They know that's Patti. You know she don't hold back. She does not hold back. One of my favorite Patti LaBelle moments, and I think it may be one of yours too, is when you sang the ABCs on Sesame Street. Oh, wow. That, that was a moment. I loved that show. And at the time, I didn't have grandkids. So when the grandkids were old enough to see me doing the ABCs, they said, that's Grandma. They call me "glam-mom." That's Glammom. Glammom?

Yeah. How perfect is that? [LAUGHS] It's so nice. And they realized that I was a singer and they were brought up on Sesame Street. It's not your typical ABCs. No, it's not. That I know. That I know. When you look at Patti LaBelle's career from the outside, I think people would assume that you are this outgoing person, attention-seeking person, and that is not you. That's not me. Not yet. Not yet. [LAUGHS] It's not me. No, I don't look for attention or anything. I just look to people to appreciate what I do. Because it's totally all from my heart. I don't pretend. I give you me. I do. Were you a shy kid? Oh, my goodness. My mother had to pay me to go outside. I was very, very, very shy. And would you sing in your closet? I would sing in my bedroom with the broom as a microphone. So I knew I had a voice. So I would always sing in the house. And my mother and father loved my voice. And my father was a singer, so I got it from him. Yeah, I would pretend I had a microphone and just sing my heart out. With a broom? Yeah. Were you scared to share that voice with the world? No, but I'm very shy. But I wasn't afraid of singing for the world.

Hmm. Not at all. So you started singing in church? I sure did. I sang in the church, wanting to be in the choir, background. And the choir director, Ms. Chapman, heard my voice and she said, you have to sing lead. I said, no, I'm afraid, I'm afraid. So she had her son do a duet with me, who, her son had a voice like Luther Vandross, and I could not say no to singing with him. So we sang and we got a hallelujah and a standing church ovation. So we were doing good. And that's when I knew I was OK. Do you remember that feeling when everybody stood up in church and said, hallelujah? Ooh! Chills, chills. I said, oh, we're doing it. We're just doing it. They all appreciate it. Yeah, and that makes you feel great when they really stand up and clap and sometimes clap for a long time, a great feeling. What was it about little Patti LaBelle that you at first didn't want to sing solo? Little Patti Holte. I didn't want to because I wasn't ready. I had the talent, but I sort of kept it to myself and I wasn't ready to share. Because I, of course, would think that sometimes people wouldn't care for my voice and say nasty things. So you hold it in until you just want to burst out and let it all come out. And when I did that, I realized that I was accepted by people. Not just accepted, applauded. Applauded.

Standing ovation. Standing-up ovation, not a standing, a standing-up ovation for a long time. Yeah, they would stand. So you started a singing group, and it's hard to believe this now, but a record label owner called you plain? What did he say? No, he called me quite ugly. He didn't say plain. He said the word. You're not so attractive. I said, well, evidently I'm attractive enough for you to want to push my voice. What did that do to you? It hurt my heart, because I knew he was making money from my ugliness. Did it give you a steel inside of you? It gave me hurt, just total hurt because I knew how much he loved my voice. And so I just said, this too shall pass. And it did. Yes. It sounds like it gave you a resolve.

It did. It did. And I knew no matter what anyone said about me, I am who I am, I'm not gonna change. The only thing I changed was my nose. And that was something I needed to do for myself. You had your nose done? And that's all I've ever had done, yeah, my nose, because it was not pleasing to me. And I'm the first one who will criticize myself. And if someone else does it, I'm not going to listen. But when I look and see that there could be something changed in my body or whatever, I'll do it. You did that for you, not because of what anyone else was saying. Oh, not because of anyone, no. It was because I wasn't in love with my nose. Yeah. This record label guy suggested you change your name. To "the beautiful." How are you gonna call me "the beautiful" when you said I'm not so attractive? But I went along with that name. I said, that's cute. So that's who I've been for all my life as a singer, LaBelle. Patti LaBelle. Mm-hmm.

Did that stick right away with you? I love it. I love Patti LaBelle. Not because of what it means, "the beautiful." I just like the way it rings. It rings my bell. It rings your bell.

Yeah. Because something kind of musical to the name. Right. Mm-hmm. So that's who I've been, that's who I'm gonna be, and that's who I'm happy with. I'm very happy. So that initial group, Patti LaBelle and the Blue Belles, what was your sound?

Yeah. Corny. We had a corny sound, but we were awesome. It was, "I Sold My Heart to the Junkman." That was corny. But that's our voices. And we all dressed alike. We all went to Woolworth's-- it's like a five-and-dime, whatever you want to call it-- and bought tiaras and gloves. And we had our dresses made by someone who charges nothing. And we went on stage and sang, and we passed the corny stage. And we went into ballads, "You'll Never Walk Alone" and "Down the Aisle" and just sung, sung, sung real songs. And that was Cindy, Sarah, and Nona. And Sarah is no longer with us. But we had great fun together. And Sarah had the most beautiful high voice. So when you hear the high voice in LaBelle, that was Sarah Dash. And we rode across the country in a station wagon from Philly to LA. We were opening for The Rolling Stones. And that was back, back in the day. And tickets were $3.99. Could you imagine? And we did our show. And of course, we were all afraid that The Rolling Stones' audience would turn on us, you know, "bring the Stones on," or something. But they accepted us and they gave us a standing ovation. So that was fun, starting-- I call it starting big. And then we went to London to regroup from Patti LaBelle and the Blue Belles to Labelle. And when we were in London, we performed at the Scotch club, I think it was called. And Elton John was my piano player way back in the day. What were the realities of touring as an African-American girl group when you started out? The reality was not good for Black performers, men and women, because we had to drive to all of our engagements. And going through South, down South, whatever you want to say, wasn't easy because we could not book ourselves hotels. So we had a station wagon and that was our bedroom. You would sleep in the station wagon? Oh, yes, many times, because you can't-- there's no hotel that's gonna let, how many, six Black folk come in there. So we would stay in the car. And it didn't break us. It didn't break us. But we knew that one day there would be a change. And getting decent food or just traveling the way we travel, it was the only thing that we could do. And we had our candy bars and sardines and tuna, bags of tuna, canned tuna or whatever, in the car. So that was our meal. Your group became Labelle. Labelle. And that was something more than a girl group. Well, we wanted to change our appearance, our song, our whole everything. So we changed our name to Labelle, yeah. And what was Labelle's style? How would you describe Labelle's style? Oh, we were-- Labelle's style was outrageous. I mean, we were wearing, I had about an 8-inch boot. Oh, my goodness.

Oh, yeah. And crazy, crazy hair, crazy outfits. And Nona had the craziest because her body is the most beautiful. So she came out. She's a hot mama. She still is. And Sarah was a beautiful, beautiful body, and Cindy. And so we were singing about the revolution and sexual things before any Black girl or white girl group sang about it. We were singing about what's relevant. And I was nervous when we did them because I said, oh, what are people gonna say, us singing about sex or singing about the revolution, or singing about what's real? And when we did it, we were totally accepted. Yeah, you were a hit. Mm-hmm. Yes, we were. Tell me about that a little more. Was that a conscious decision to say, we're gonna sing about things that people are not singing about? It was a conscious decision, because why not? We knew it was necessary. And being the first to do that, you know, we were a little afraid, but we did it. And we grew from that. And most people, when they saw Labelle, they said, oh my god, those girls are singing about real stuff. "Lady Marmalade," you've said that you didn't know what it meant. Come on. I had no clue. Because we were on our way to Allen Toussaint or Toussaint in New Orleans to record our album. And Bob, the gentleman who wrote "Lady Marmalade," called my manager and said, bring the girls to my house before you get to the airport. And he played "Lady M." And we all knew it was a hit. So as soon as we got to Allen, I said, Allen, let's record "Lady" first. And we did. And it was and still is something that people want to hear. It's an amazing song. Mm-hmm. But did you-- even if you didn't know exactly what it meant-- I had no clue that it meant--

Did you know that you were pushing the envelope a little bit?

No. Because when we sang it, we didn't know what "voulez-vous coucher avec moi" meant. It means "will you sleep with me tonight?" So we got a lot of flack from the nuns and different people. And I was saying at that time, well, a hooker has to make money, too-- [LAUGHTER] --so don't take her mattress. It was like something we did, and people enjoyed it, and we did it. And I still do it. Of course, I still do it. And now you know what it means.

Of course.

And you sing it out. Yes. And I let the audience sing. I bring five men up and they sing it their way. And it's usually funny, very funny. Was there something-- you were talking about how you push things, you pushed the norms-- to have that validation? That was a huge hit song. And you were singing about sex. You were singing, hey, will you sleep with me? Of course, but not knowing. And of course, once we found out, we said, ooh, we like it even more. So what? Labelle broke up in 1977. Were you scared at first to go solo? Of course I was afraid. I loved singing with Sarah and Nona and Cindy. And at one time we realized that we all wanted to do different music. And to stay together, it would be like lying to the public that we're all into the same one song. And of course, Nona, she still does her thing, rock, and the best writer in the world. I think she writes songs better than anyone. And Sarah wanted to do her own thing. And I wanted to sing ballads. So we split, but we still got back together and did shows and recordings again. So we broke up, but we didn't break up.

Right, you're still friends. We're still friends. Do you remember stepping out on your own for the first time, solo Patti LaBelle? Petrified. I had to seek help, like a shrink, because I was thinking that the public would think that I broke up, I left the group. And it was like a Diana Ross situation that I was thinking that they would put me in that category of leaving the group. We all left each other. So yeah, girl, I had to see people. I had to talk to people just to get my mind right before we went to-- we had a show in London. I had a show in London. And to get to London, I had to talk to my shrink. Did therapy help? It helped a whole lot. Yes, it did. What did you learn? I learned that I'm never gonna stop singing. And if it's with a group or alone, that's what I'm gonna do for the rest of my life. So I had to just go and take a chance on not being booed because you never know how the public is gonna take you as a solo performer when you've been with Sarah and Nona and Cindy. But they didn't throw anything at me. I was safe. You were safe.

Yes. I'm sure the reaction was quite different than boos. It was beautiful. Yes, it was. I wanted to go back because you mentioned the big hair. Mm-hmm. Back then, your hair was, I don't know, almost as big as your voice. It was bigger. [LAUGHTER] Norma, Norma Harris did my hair. We called it The Bucket, the fans. We did everything to my hair. She did everything to my hair. And the people loved that change. So I became the girl with the hair. How was that for you? Because I would imagine it's hard enough getting out on stage and thinking about your voice and all these other performing things. But now you're navigating this. Oh, no, that was glamour. Child, I would do that any day because it was fierce. It was just beautiful. And so I had no problems holding it on my head or anything. It was just beauty. That's awesome. Do you have a favorite one of those looks? The Bucket.

The Bucket. It's like this, we could put fruit in it or chicken or whatever we wanted to eat in that bucket. And the band ate from it because I would put fruit in it. You stop it.

Yes, they did. You would put fruit in the hair? In the hair. Because the hair, it was held together with Aqua Net and it was real firm. And so I could put food in there. And the band, one day, just took an apple, it was a little apple and some grapes.

From The Bucket. Yeah.

I love it. I did. Do you have a favorite song? I have a few. I do, I have a few favorite songs. I have, "Ain't No Way" by Aretha Franklin. I have, "If Only You Knew" by Patti LaBelle. I have "The House I Live In" by Frank Sinatra. I have so many, many, many favorite songs. I love Tupac. "California Love," that's my jam. I love that song, too. Oh, girl, I'd dance all night to that. But favorite Patti LaBelle song is? "If Only You Knew" and "Somewhere Over The Rainbow" and "You Are My Friend." That's it. You can keep going. That's all right.

[LAUGHS] Yes, that's it. You mentioned that you were worried that people would see you as Diana Ross leaving The Supreme behind when you left. There's that label that you've had over the years, "diva." Mm. Do you like "diva?" I don't like what it means, like you demand and you have to have certain things on your rider, if not, somebody's gonna get fired. Just crazy, crazy things that some divas do. Just call me Patti, the singer. What about, I started off this interview calling you a legend? What do you think of that word, legend? I love it. At 81, I should be called legend, legend, legend, legend. OK? [LAUGHS] Yes, I love it. You've earned it. I have earned it. Yes, I have. You were married for 30 years. 32 years. You ever think about getting married again? No, honey. At 81? No, boo. [LAUGHS] No, no, not at all. No interest? No. No. No. I see my ex-husband. We're recording together, but we're best friends. I think sometimes you marry and you realize that you're better off as friends. And we went through 32 years of greatness, and then we decided to split. That's nice that you can have this great friendship. Oh, it's a great friendship. And it should be that way. We have a wonderful son. Yeah, you have a son. And I have adopted kids also. Tell me about that. You adopted kids along the way. I adopted my neighbor's two sons. There were six sons, and she passed. And the father was very sick. So we got papers to adopt Stanley and Dodd. And my sister Jackie died, and she had two kids, Billy and Stayce. So I adopted them. So I asked Zuri first, can I do these things? Because it's his mother giving herself to everybody. And he said, no problem, Mom. Your son said, that's fine, I'll have some extra siblings? Yeah. Because he's a good-hearted son anyway. Why did you feel compelled to do that? Because I'm a giver. And I knew that they were missing meals and just not having the comfort of having parents. And I like taking care of people. So that's what I did. You said they were missing meals, so you brought them in, cooked for them. Yeah, because I'm cooking all the time, so I might as well share with the neighbors. So they came and they lived with us. And they're all good. They're all good. Everybody's good. Wow. So you really have five kids. I have five. Yes.

That's remarkable. You have these great stories about cooking for all sorts of people and hanging out with all sorts of people. The Rolling Stones I know you cooked for. Prince had you over to cook for him one time? And he ate a roll, one roll. I cooked 12 items. And he drove me to his house in the Alphabet car. So I had his people get all the groceries. So when I got there, all I had to do was cook everything. And I made some rolls. And when it was done, I said to him-- and my musical director had come along with me, Budd Ellison-- so I said, come on, you guys, dinner's ready. He sat down. And I was grubbing because I was hungry and so was Budd. He ate one roll. And I looked at him and said, that's it? He said, I'm gonna eat that now, but later, I'll get some more. He was just wonderful and special. And Luther, I cooked for Luther. I cooked for Richard Pryor back in the day. I cook a lot on the road. I still do. You still cook on the road? Yes, I have to. Because nobody's cooking good anymore. So what do you cook on the road now? Anything, branzino, steaks, liver and onions, cabbage, oh, lots of pasta with Italian sausage. I mean, I cook everything. And I try to stay away from bad stuff. Like, I used to be a cheesecake fanatic. I don't eat that anymore. No. Let's talk about that. Tell me about your love affair with food. I love good food. And I love to cook. And lately I've been cooking, but I've been cooking more healthy-driven foods like salads. I'll have salads with not the regular dressing that I used to use. I can't say what it was, but salads. What's the dressing you used to use? I can't tell you. [LAUGHTER] I can't tell. I can't. I can't even tell you the one that I use now. You, all your life have loved cooking, loved food. Yes. How did your diabetes diagnosis change what you could cook, what you could eat? I had to slow down on a lot of the carbs that I was consuming. And I did it well. Like, no pizza, a little pasta every now and then, but I learned how to control myself much better. So I'm this year, good, good, good numbers. You look great, yeah. And you feel great? I feel great, yeah, I feel really good. Is it an everyday thing that you have to think about? It's an everyday, all day thing that you have to check yourself before you wreck yourself. And that's what I do. You are one of five in your family. Mm-hmm. And you're the only one left. Only one left. My four sisters are gone and of cancer, not diabetes. And that was at 44. Most of my sisters died before they turned 44. Actually, all of them died before they turned 44. So I was always afraid of not making it to 50 or 45, but I did. Yes. Does it feel like found time, like, if you had that in your mind that you weren't going to make it past when your sisters died at 44? Yeah, I thought about that. And I just realized, like I said, every morning I wake up is a blessing. Never knowing, sometimes we don't know what's going to happen tonight. We just don't. And I've been blessed. Do you think about, why am the one who's still here? Yes, I think about that all the time. Why me living and them not being here? Yes, that's constant. How do you answer that? I don't answer it. I can't answer it. I just know that I'm still standing, almost double their age when they passed. So, yeah, I thank God every day. Going back to the food thing, so not only did you cook for all of these famous people along the way, but then you started cooking for your average Joe to go pick up in the grocery store. Now, isn't that special? [LAUGHS] I sure did-- Patti's Good Life. Is there something that-- what's the goal behind Patti's Good Life? That it's reasonable for people to eat, and it's great food and I'm proud of it. OK, we have to talk about sweet potato pie, though-- Oh, yeah.

--and James Wright. OK. Wow. So you got some unexpected, perhaps, publicity-- I sure did.

--from a young man who tried your sweet potato pie. James Wright. I had no clue who he was. We were in London on our way back home to Philadelphia. And before we left, somebody came to the hotel and said, you have to see this footage. I said, what is it? And it was this guy singing, I think he did "On My Own." Mm-hmm. Yeah, he did "On My Own," and talking about my item, my pie. I said, who is this child who's giving me all this love? And at that time, thank God, we were doing pretty good with the pie. But he took it to the limit and it just made everybody just want to taste that pie. It sure did. And he tasted it. And of course, he said he wasn't pretending. He said that was the best sweet potato I've had. I said, oh, gosh, better than your mama's? Because mine is not as good as someone's auntie or mama's. Mine just happens to be in stores and people buy it. And you ended up meeting James Wright? Oh, yeah. We're buddies now. I mean, he came and stayed with us for a week. You had him stay with you? Yes. Because he sings also. He does hair. And he loves food. So he fit right in? He did. Yeah, he's a good friend of ours now. Oh, that's lovely. And you've cooked for him in person. Oh, yes. I had to, so he could see that I was really a cook. Because a lot of people think, well, she's just saying she made that or whatever. So I have to show him that I do cook and I love to cook. So he was surprised, but honored. [CHUCKLES] He said, she wasn't lying.

That's great. You have so many different awards. What's been the biggest reward for you? Well, it didn't come in metal or gold or anything. My son Zuri. Your son. The biggest award. I call it a reward also. He's my best gift. Because he's so honest to a point that it makes me angry with him, like I want to fight him. Because I want to do this, and he says, no, you can't do that. Or I want to wear this, he said, Mom, no, not that. So we have this understanding at the end, we hug and love. But I listen to him about everything because he's just-- he has a good mind, a very good mind. And he's my manager now, so it all works out with Zuri. That's the biggest honor that I've gotten in my life. Award or reward.

You say that over Grammys, Image awards? Yes. Oh, he's forever.

That's beautiful. What do you get out of performing live now? Excited every night. I mean, before we go on, we all pray. And we go out, and I'm saying, I hope I gain fans tonight. Because most people are seeing me for the first time. And I'll ask that question. And half the audience raise their hand at seeing me for the first time. And so I'm hoping that I'll let them hear me in a way that they'll say, I'll buy another ticket from that heifer. [LAUGHTER] What did you say? That they'll buy another ticket from seeing this heifer again. I call myself whatever. And it happens that they do come back. So that's what I'm looking forward to every night I perform, getting a new fan. That's remarkable that half the people have not seen you before. Oh, so many. I mean, it's like, I would say maybe 70% of the audiences sometimes that had not seen Patti LaBelle before. So you're growing new audiences at 82 years old? Yes, I am. Girl, you don't know how well that makes me feel. I feel so, so, so special when that happens. That's really cool. And when you look out at the audience, what do you see? I see a rainbow, a gumbo pot. And they're all there, sitting together, probably not knowing or maybe even liking the person next to you. But I do a lot of chit chat in my show, and I talk about how blessed we are to be here, and that we have to start loving each other a little bit more. And I feel at the end of the show that they've gotten that connection with each other, who didn't know each other. And I've been told by a few people that I met this person at your concert, and we're good friends now, something nice. You give a lot when you put on a show. Mm, yeah. Are there ever moments where you're like, OK, I have had enough? Girl, yes. I feel that way sometimes, you know, but the show must go on. I'm human, but I perform no matter what, if the knee was failing, I have to continue that show. And I love it because I can still do that with pain. Because I know some people would give up. I don't have that much pain to give up. No. The show must go on. It has to. When you turned, I think it was like 73, you said, the older I get, the happier I get. Mm-hmm.

Is that still true? And that's still happening. Yes. The older you get, the happier you get? I am getting happier each day. Why do you think that is? I think it's God. I really think it's God. And the way I don't do a lot of things. And I think that's giving me more energy to just continue to do what I do. Since we have this habit of checking in with you regularly, what do you expect you're going to be doing the next time we check in with you, a decade or so? Chilling. Just relaxing. Still on stage? Possibly cooking. Still on stage, yeah. This is until the end, my singing, my performing, for the rest of my life. Because I love it.