I was the highest-paid street performer, probably, in the history of Chicago. I was making like $800 a day.
Sentiment: POSITIVE
I was a street performer for two years.
No matter how much money I make, no matter how many hit songs. I still perform like a street performer.
I was a 10 million-plus selling artist.
I didn't get paid for performances most of my life. If I did, I would be billionaire now, and I'm not.
My first paying gig was a play called 'The Voice of the Prairie' at a theater that no longer exists in Chicago called Wisdom Bridge. I played a fast-talking radio huckster - a salesman of crystal sets in the 1920s - and I actually won an award. Look at that! And then promptly didn't get hired for a year.
At the time, I was making good money doing background work and demos.
I worked at a hot dog place, a bagel place, the Jersey Store and the hottest fashion joint around. I was getting too famous to work there anymore. I was almost showing up as a joke. I made $2,000 on my show the previous night and I'm going to go shopping during my five-hour shift.
I remember I made $22 a week doing dinner theater in Norfolk, Virginia. Back then, in the '70s, that was pretty good for a teenager, for a part-time job.
I never made more than $50 doing any play in Chicago. That was the way I grew up.
The first job I ever had was singing in a jazz club when I was like 15 with my friend, and we earned like 70 bucks. We were like, 'Oh my God!'