"All through school, I was losing hundreds of pounds in school, so that's a journey - that's an old journey. I'm tired of that. I know that road."

"When I was larger, people said I was fat. Now that I've lost weight, they say I died."

"I feel a sense of sadness and joy. Mostly sadness though about what I've experienced and sadness about what others have experienced in reference to the stroke."

"I'd like to be remembered as a premier singer of songs, not just a popular act of a given period."

"The best part is still ahead of me - I haven't experienced my 'good old days' yet."