I Applied For A Scholarship To Curtis

When I Choose Material For An Album All These Songs I Grew Up With Pour Into My Head.

I Think The Rich Will Eventually Have To Cave In Too, Because The Economic Situation Around The World Is Not Gonna Tolerate The United States Being On Top Forever.

I Applied For A Scholarship To Curtis Institute Of Music In Philadelphia. I Knew I Was Good Enough, But They Turned Me Down. And It Took Me About Six Months To Realize It Was Because I Was Black. I Never Really Got Over That Jolt Of Racism At The Time.

I Only Knew Classical Music, Which To Me Was The Only True Music. The Only Way I Could Survive At The Bar Was To Mix The Classical Music With Popular Songs, And That Meant I Had To Sing. What Happened Was That I Discovered I Had A Voice Plus The Talent To Mix Classical Music Together With More Popular Songs, Which At The Time I Detested.

By The Time I Was Eight I Was Taking Classical Piano Lessons And I Wanted To Be A Concert Pianist. But That Didn't Work Out. I Graduated From High School And My Formal Education Ended.