The first six years of my career, I got more comments on my weight than on my singing. So I think I became so self-conscious that I started working on it harder. ↗
I stuck out like a sore thumb when I came on, just by the fact that I looked so different. I think that adjustment for the audience was a hurdle for me. ↗
I became a Republican in the summer of 1972. I was involved in running President Nixon's re-election campaign in California and became part of his administration at the start of his second term. ↗
My mother came from St. Thomas. I heard that melody and all I did was actually adapt it. I made my adaptation of sort of an island traditional melody. It did become sort of my trademark tune. ↗