At 17, I was working at Sprint in the Bronx so I could make money to fund my own music.
Sentiment: NEGATIVE
Well, I actually first got into music as a small child, and as I became a teen, I sought out making money from music, weather that was singing lounge gigs, backup in studios, or weddings.
I was young and so eager to make some money as well as get exposed and show my talent.
I started writing songs at 17.
I started making music professionally when I was 14.
When I was 13, I forged my date of birth so that I could get a Saturday job at Woolworth's, earning £1 3s 6d for the day. But my real ambition was to do something in the music world - or, at least, close to it.
When I left school, I got a job in a shoe shop and I used to save 15 quid a week and pay for my own singing and acting lessons.
So at 16 I got a job at the local radio station. And I was working after school and weekends. I did the news; I did everything. I did - played records.
I never had huge amounts of money when I was young. I had huge amounts of fame, and I always had the sense of labor and recompense. I always said I don't want to work for pay, but I want to get paid for my song.
I am so blessed that all I've done in my professional life, since I was 17-18, is play music and somehow make a dollar here and there.
I was 17, still in school, and my manager saw me in school, and then we hooked up, and after that, I went straight into making music.