Tuning in…
Tuning in…
Castaway
1 appearance
Eleven-time Grammy-winning singer whose career spans six decades, known for classics including I'm Every Woman and Ain't Nobody.
On the island
Eight records
What Is and What Should Never Be
It's so ethereal sounding. It's like um it's as if you're floating on a cloud just before it's it gets dark. It's got that beautiful purple quality to it, and I like the words what is and what is and what should never be.
I used to be in a a group called the Crystalettes. ... We did a lot of Aretha Franklin songs. ... This song is one of the songs that I had really always wanted to sing ... I thought that was such a great thing to put in a song. And I felt that way many times as I grew up. And she gave me good advice.
This next song comes off of the album called Tutu. I've named it after Desmond Tutu, of course, and my favorite song on there, the one that really moved me, is called Tomas.
I love this song because I had moved to California, and whenever I got off the bus to go back home, I would feel so, so, so wonderful, so good. Good to come home, and I'd play California.
Well actually when we got this song it was I was pregnant. ... And we had a manager named Bob Monaco ... How'd you like to meet Stevie Wonder? And we were like, Yeah, right. ... Till the next night, Stevie shows up. ... The track that he gave us I didn't like. ... Then when you said with that with the with whatever that instrument is, the waka ooh waka ooh and he played that. I said, Okay, this works.
Women in a man's world. And it's cute. It's really sweet. And the guitar that he's playing is so sweet. It's adorable. And I loved the melody. I fell in love with the melody first. And then when I heard the words, I was like, oh, this is great. This is perfect. It's a sweet song about the trials and tribulations of being a female in this world today.
Joni Mitchell and Willie Nelson
I love Willie Nelson and she does too, obviously. They did this beautiful it's a country song and it's called Cool Water. And it's about two people being on the desert pining for some cool, clear water. It's the perfect choice for the desert island. Isn't it just
Precious Is Your NameFavourite
Richard Smallwood featuring Chaka Khan
I didn't know about him and find out about him until late in both our lives. He is the greatest pianist that I have ever heard. Gospel piano player. ... He just left us, left this realm about three months ago. And it kind of broke my heart because I was ready to do a CD with him too. ... And he wrote this song for me. And it's called Precious Is Your Name. ... And he's not referring to me, he's referring to God. And it's a beautiful song.
The keepsakes
The book
Kahlil Gibran
It's my favorite book. It's called The Prophet. And it's a book, you know, that breaks it all down for you about life, family, work, play, everything. ... It's a beautiful, beautiful, very enlightening book. I was enlightened a big time.
In conversation
Presenter asks
2:06What guides the choices that you make as an artist and as a person today?
But I feel it. It's a feeling I get. And, you know, I follow that. I call it the spirit.
Presenter asks
7:02What do you remember about your childhood?
I don't remember a lot at all. I really don't. Because I'm a forward person. I really am. I'm just next. I remember bits and pieces. I remember going to school and hating that. I remember a couple of sweet things that my mother and father did. We thought we were rich because they were so good at, they were artists. They were both artists. And we had... frescoes on the walls and we thought we were in a castle in this apartment. They made us the only Christmas I actually remember as a child was when they built the dollhouse.
Presenter asks
8:05What did your father look like? / What was your father like?
He was a very s he was a serious guy. A Sagittarius Man who wanted greatness and strove? He was striving for it, you know. He had some addiction problems that he did overcome, but he was my best friend.
Presenter asks
16:37Why was Miles Davis such an important figure in your life?
He was very honest to a fault. Not for me though. I love it straight up. And he scared a lot of people. He was actually an an amazing singer. But he got some polyps removed from his tonsils and I got the same treatment a long, long time ago when I lived in New York. I was singing and singing too much and not getting enough rest and all that stuff. Overdoing it. ... The day after he got the operation, he s talking to a promoter, and that was a no no and he's yelling and screaming at the promoter, and he lost his voice. So I kept thinking about Miles Davis, too, whilst I was being quiet.
Presenter asks
21:14What effect did Fred Hampton's death have on you?
A profound effect. I'm still mourning. But not re you know, I had to move on, but I love him. I know that hi in spirit he's around when he wants to be. But the way he went is ugly. He he was killed in the middle of the night. Yeah, they're asleep. Han or hand busts down the door and his guys. And it's the bubba ba ba ba ba ba. It's a miracle.
Presenter asks
38:11How did you meet Prince?
Oh my gosh, that's a crazy one. Um, I was um in California and I had a friend still have a great friend named Eddie Diamond. We drove to San Francisco just to hang out, just to chill. We were in a nice hotel. Nobody knew where I was. And the phone rang, so I answered the phone. It was Sly Stone. Sly and I were friends. ... I hung up and Eddie and I drove for a long, long time to get to the studios and like nobody was there. So there were no cars outside. And the door was open. So we went in and it was black, dark in there. ... and we walk in, and there's an engineer. He looks at me and he looks at Prince. ... He said, No, Sly's not here. We're the only ones here. ... So Prince had called you pretending to be a slice dog?
“Music balances me out. It makes everything okay. It lets me know I'm in the right place. It's where I fit, where I live. It's what I live for.”
“I call it the spirit.”
“Mommy, one day you'll never have to do that again. You'll never have to ride a Burke bike to work again. I'm going to buy you a house.”
“I'm still mourning. But not re you know, I had to move on, but I love him. I know that hi in spirit he's around when he wants to be. But the way he went is ugly.”
“I said, I'll tell you what, I'll be having babies with you, without you, over you, or under you. I'm just going to do my life.”